Blogs from French Polynesia, Oceania - page 39

One night on Tahiti The first impression you will get when you land in Tahiti is how French the place looks - all the roads signs, people walking around with french baguettes and creperies. The second thing you will notice is the very French reception you will get from everyone on the islands. I am not talking kisses on the cheeks but rather frosty "why are you bothering me?" responses. Still paradise is paradise and nothing can spoil a stay in French Polynesia. We were lucky to again be meeting up with people from home. We were only spending one night on Tahiti and we had heard very poor reviews of the cheap hostels in Papeete and that it is best to sleep rough at the airport. Despite these warnings we rang Teamo Pension and ... read more

Well day 5 finds us heading back towards French Polynesia after a day on Ranatonga, part of the Cook Islands. Unfortunately, Ranatonga was a big disappointment as a tropical paradise. We were promised a stunning 8mile golden beach to be confronted with a okay beach that was only about 12 to 15 feet wide with no proper beach facilities. The weather didn't help in that it started off sunny when we headed for the beach only for it go a bit overcast by the time we arrived and then when we left the sun came out again!! The journey back to the ship brought to mind the joke about the wooden car but unfortunately for us it did go, the bus if that's what you can call it comprised of mostly timber and to say that ... read more

En Isla de Pascua, nos despedimos de Marta y Roger, los duenhos de Mihinoa, que nos han acercado al aeropuerto y van en busca de nuevos turistas. Marta nos confiesa que le encanta estar en casa rodeada de gente, siempre que tenga su tiempecito para pescar, y para acariciarle esa pedazo melena a su Roger polinesico. En el aeropuerto, conocemos a una tipa que tiene un negocio en el aeropuerto y les ha encargado a los de kukuxumuxu que le hagan camisetas de isla de pascua con los moais y con tablas de surf de totora. Nos proponemos perseguir el tema para conseguir una cuando esten hechas. Estamos Marie, Stephane, y nosotros en el mismo avion, parapetados de collares de conchas que nos han regalado Tony y Soso siguiendo el ritual polinesico de despedida (los ... read more

Ok, its official - this is the most beautiful place that I have ever been in my entire life. Its stunning and amazing and a perfect postcard of everything that you picture a paradise island in the south pacific to be. But its much more then that, its much more then the forty degree temperatures, the volcanic mountains covered in lush green palm trees, the umteen tones of blue and green of the crystal clear water, the coral reefs that create a beautiful lagoon around the Island, the tropical fish, the french speaking chilled out locals(not to mention the french cooking), the lack of mainstream tourists with over sized cameras and tour buses. Moorea (which I'm told is not even the nicest Island) mixes all this with hundreds of other great bits - like the ... read more

Day 21 - February 4, 2007, Sunday, Papeete, Tahiti Time: 7:15 am (11:15 am CST) Latitude: 17 degrees 32.17 minutes S Longitude: 149 degrees 34.16 minutes W Speed: Docked Winds: Moderate Distance traveled from FLL: 7398 nautical miles Weather: Partly Cloudy/Sunny, 84 degrees Ok, Papeete, Tahiti was pretty spectacular to wake up to as well! Maybe not quite as spectacular as Bora Bora though. Papeete is definitely a city. The name, Papeete translated means “water from a basket”. Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, located on the island of Tahiti, and is a center of government, commercial, industrial and financial services in French Polynesia. We chose a circle island tour here because we wanted to see some of the landscape of French Polynesia. As we circled the island in 4.5 hours we saw so much—beautiful ... read more