Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia



Tahiti is our destination for today. It’s an island paradise surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and other islands that makeup French Polynesia. Tahiti is the most populous island within what is called the Society Islands first settled by the Polynesians in about 800 AD. It is made up of two islands: Tahiti Nui (Big Tahiti) and Tahiti Iti (Little Tahiti). Our port city today is Papeete which is a very large metropolitan city.

We decided to go to the local market this morning to do some shopping. Here are some photo we took while out and about in the market. The weather today started with rain and overcast skies. It has remained overcast for most of the day. Hopefully we won’t get any more rain for the rest of today and tomorrow.



Rambontans



Thunder and Lightning

Thunder, lightning, and rain welcomed us this morning. The sea isn’t too rough, just some minor rocking and rolling. But, it appears that we will probably have thunderstorms throughout the day.
Our current position has us between Nengonengo Island and Hereheretue Island on our course toward Papeete, Tahiti in the Society Islands. We are 378 miles away from Papeete; 2420 miles from Auckland, and 3557 miles from Sydney.

Yesterday, we made the decision to do the Bridge Climb on our first day in Sydney. Hopefully, my new knee will do just fine during the climb and the weather will clear.

Pitcairn Island

A beautiful blue ocean and clear skies awaited our arrival here at Pitcairn Island this morning.  Pitcairn is an extremely remote island halfway between New Zealand and the Americas.  There is nothing to the south of Pitcairn until you reach the ice caps at Antarctica.  It is located at Latitude 24.30 N and Longitude 133.00 W with between 50 to 70 inhabitants depending on whether some of the people are in New Zealand or not on any particular day.  To truly understand how remote this island actually is, you need to travel as we have for days without seeing any ships, planes, wildlife or any land whatsoever.  And, of course it is the setting for the famous story surrounding Second Officer Fletcher Christian and Captain William Bligh onboard the H.M.S.A. Bounty and the subsequent mutiny that occurred in 1789.

A small whaling boat loaded with between 35 to 40 inhabitants traveled from the island to our ship carrying their supply of wares and handmade goods for sale.  They were welcomed onboard by all the passengers and crew.  The setup shop in a forward lounge and stayed with us for about 4 hours as the ship did a scenic cruise around the island.  Even though you can’t go ashore, it is always a great experience to visit Pitcairn Island.  Of special note is the number of Amateur Radio Operators Curt met this morning.  This is one of their primary means of communication off of the island. 

When we sail away later today we will head northwest toward Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.  It will take us 3 days to make the voyage to Papeete.