Blogs from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Oceania - page 3

It took about 12 days to get to Tahiti from NZ. The route took us through an area where there is pretty much absolutely nothing going on, and there is no normal reason for anyone to be there, as there is no real shipping going on between NZ and Chile (our course to avoid the weather took us nearly straight East). The only interesting thing that we saw along the way were the birds--nearly everyday for most of the trip we had at least one Albatross circling the boat for pretty much the entire day, never stopping to have a rest, and hardly even flapping its wings. They are the biggest flying birds in the world with a ten foot wingspan. The experience was reminiscent of the poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'.....not quite as ... read more

Its over. 16 days, 304 working hours (a land job would consist of 128 hours over the same period of days), 48 served meals, 432 napkin origami creatures, 400 loads of laundry, 12 islands, 16 turn-downs, 10 bruises, 100 “what am I doing with my life’s”, 20 linen changes, 1 confrontation with the chief stew, 4 provisioning trips, 0 alcoholic beverages, 1 flanking of the chain, 32 toilet scrubs, 2 yoga classes, 80 hours of sleep (this calculation was found by multiplying 5 hours x 16 days), 9 guests, 1 baby, 1 lazy nanny, 32 sunrises, 32 sunsets (Yes, I saw them both each day), and the completion of one very trying owner trip. It’s over in more ways than one. I came to Odyssey 4 months ago with great intentions to make my way from ... read more

f I said Pape'ete (pronounced Pap-ay-et-ay), most people would say 'where??' If I said Tahiti, the penny drops immediately and many folk think of David Essex in Mutiny on the Bounty and grass skirts. Ok, the women will think of David Essex whilst the men will consider thinking about the grass skirts!! Tahiti is actually made up from 2 islands Tahiti nui (Big Tahiti) and Tahiti iti (Little Tahiti) and were joined together a couple of million years ago by some geological shenanigans!. Tahiti makes up more than 1 quarter of the surface area of French Polynesia and two-thirds of the population. OK, enough of the geography lesson. Today it was another hot one hitting 90ºF at the hottest part of the day. Chris, (not from Chris and Roisin but another guest at the dinner table), ... read more

TAHITI, PAPE’ETE 7.-11.2., BORA BORA 11.-14.2.2010 Tahiti, Bora Bora, Mo’orea, Ra’iatea, Taha’a, Marquesas... Tarunhohtoisista nimistä syntyy mielikuvia äärettömän meren keskellä kohoavista viidakkosaarista, joiden terävät huiput ovat tiheän kasvillisuuden peittämiä. Villisti muotoaan muuttavat pilvet kätkevät niiden salaisuudet. ”Eikä liene ihmislapselle suotu maan päällä mitään, joka vastaisi niin hyvin hänen unelmiaan matkasta mielikuvituksen kultaisiin maailmoihin kuin tulo Tahitiin. Sen sisarsaari, Murea, tulee ensin näkyviin uljaine kallioineen. Se kohoaa meren äärettömyydestä kuin taikasauvan esiin loihtima, aineeton taruluomus. Sen särmikäs profiili on kuin Tyynen valtameren Monserrat, ja siellä voi kuvitella polynesialaisten soturien vartioivan oudoin menoin mysteerejä, jotka olivat liian kammottavia ihmisten tiedettäviksi. Saaren kauneus paljastuu katsojalle vähitellen s... read more

In November I'm flying from LAX to Auckland and will have a 2-hour layover in Papeete. What is there to do in the airport? May I leave the airport, or am I supposed to stay inside? Is there a cafe, public telephones, newspapers, magazines, etc.? Is two hours long enough to go outside the airport if I want to? As far as I know, I won't have to check back in since I'll already have my boarding pass. I hear that there is market set up across the street from the terminal that sells Tahitian handicrafts, etc. Is that true? I'll be there between 6am and 8am. If anyone can let me know that would be great. I guess in the worst case scenario I'll just have to sit in the international transfer lounge and read ... read more