Blogs from Tahiti, French Polynesia, Oceania - page 8

We cruised into Papeete, the capitol of French Polynesia, on a sunny Saturday morning. The docks and waterfront area have been greatly improved in recent years. We were met by a small group of Tahitian dancers and musicians on the pier. When we disembarked we were given flowers to wear behind our ear—left if you are married and right if you are available. Papeete is the major town in all of the South Pacific and is the center of commerce and education for the islands. It is a busy place with lots of cars, trucks and mopeds. There is a distinct French influence from the language with a Tahitian accent, the abundance of patisseries selling long baguettes and the preponderance of French flags. Most of the shops and restaurants sport French names with the exception of ... read more

At Sea on Playoff Day We were at sea on Jan. 20 when the Packers played the Giants and couldn’t get the game on TV because of no satellite connection. However, one Packer fan brought his computer up to the Sports Bar and set it up for many fans to gather round. He connected to the NFL station through the internet, and, with a 30 second delay, got the plays with a simulated description of the game. He would read this to the crowd, as we cheered our teams accordingly. I must say there were more Packer than Giant fans watching. He also had the earlier game on, but said there were only a few people watching that one. This was costing him a pretty penny - forty cents a minute to be exact. People started ... read more

So here we are on a tropical island. Tropical in the sense of never-ending torrential rain that is. Apparently rainy season started the day we arrived. Being outside is like having a shower with lots of other people (avec clothing naturelement!). We spent the first day wandering around the waterfront area of Papeete (in the rain - did I mention the rain?). We stopped for a spot of lunch and Bill accidentally spent $20 on some apple juice. Nice juice, but a little overpriced we thought. My schoolgirl French is not getting us far but I did manage to say Je voudrais un croque monsieur which made Billy happy. Yesterday we spent the day on Moorea. It rained all morning (am I repeating myself?) but was fiercely hot in the afternoon and I melted. We trespassed ... read more

As of right now, all of our pictures will be uploaded to this Web site: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=175108951/a=72719732/t_=72719732 You have to create a log-in and then you will see our albums. The only one we have up right now is called “Summer 2007,” which basically starts with Rachel playing with her new digital camera and my graduation … traveling pics start at the end. DISCLAMER: There are some weird photos, especially of me (don’t judge). Really cool way to experience the trip: http://www.travelblog.org/gmaps/map_4Gv.html -- It’s one dot per country, and more countries will hopefully be added before the end! ... read more

French Polynesia was beautiful! We arrived in Tahiti in the dark after a very long journey from Paris, and awoke to a stunning view of Moorea - the island where our overwater bungalow awaited. We took the ferry across to Moorea, and drove around the coast to Cooks Bay. Our bungalow was perfect, with a wonderful deck and steps down into the crystal clear lagoon. There was also a claw foot bath, and a fantastic glass panel in the floor, directly over a little bit of reef. Beautiful tropical fish swam around underneath all day and night (it was lit up at night) - and Sandra took to getting out of bed in the middle of the night just to see what was swimming underneath! The island of Moorea was dramatic and beautiful - all towering ... read more