After what seems like an eternity at sea, today we were allowed off the ship to try to regain our land legs. Even better we didn't have to be back on board until 3am the next morning.

As we were both feeling a little under 100%25, our inclination for our day’s activity was for something that needed little effort on our behalf but would still be interesting . Given Mum has been here before and I hadn’t, we opted for a 3 hour tour around the island in a Le Truck. The Le Truck is an interesting concept, it is part flat bed truck and part wooden cabin with seats. It was primarily used for transporting the locals around the island but has since been replaced by more modern buses (that include air conditioning). These days they are mainly used for getting school kids to school and for moving tourists around the island.

Since the tour didn’t leave for almost an hour, we took the opportunity to go to a nearby chemist to get some paracetamol. Thankfully this was an easy exercise as 'paracetamol’ seems to be one of those universal words. With some time still to spare, we had a quick walk around the streets close to the port and the local markets.

At 11am, it was time to board our Le Truck and start our loop. Unfortunately for us, we were stuck on the middle row of seats that had no backs and meant we had the luxury of straddling the seat for the entirety of the tour . The loop of the island took us past many of the must see parts of the Tahiti Nui (the Big Island) and let us catch a glimpse of the Tahiti Iti (the Small Island).

Point Venus – A lighthouse now stands where Captain Cook observed the Transit of Venus in 1769. It is also in the vicinity of where the Bounty was anchored at some point. These days it’s a public park where people go to picnic, swim and I think generally have family time.

Arahoho Blowhole – This somewhat interesting blowhole is located on the edge of the Tahiti Nui ring road, actually so close to the road that cars going past would get very wet when the blowhole erupted. A few years ago, to take photos of it you would need to dodge the traffic and the edge of the cliff. This has however been fixed by diverting the traffic through a newly build tunnel.

Marae de Arahurahu – This is the only marae (ancient temple or meeting place) in all of Polynesia that has been fully restored, and it is maintained like a museum. There are a few stone statues and wooden carvings spread throughout the area, as well as numerous banana, ginger and other tropical plants.

Grotte de Maraa – This is a fresh water grotto that is surrounded by lush gardens and overhung caverns. While the water looks inviting, I’m sure that it would be very cold and probably not that pleasant to swim in. Also, it looked like the bottom was full of a fine sediment that could very easily disturbed .

Teahupo’o – It would also appear that while we were in Papetee, the 2014 Billabong Pro Tahiti was in its early stages. While we weren’t able to see anything, it was a little bit exciting to know the competition was on only a couple of miles away, just around a headland or two

Located on the South West Coast of Tahiti Iti, this site is known for it’s excellent waves (often reaching 2m to 3m, and sometimes up to 7m). Due to the shape of the reef, the wave technically breaks below sea level. This means that the wave produced, while tube like, can be quite unstable. It is considered to be in the Top 10 Deadliest Waves. The name 'Teahupo'o' loosely translates to English as "to sever the head" or "place of skulls". It is widely regarded as being on the 'must-surf' list of every enthusiastic surfer. However, it is not the place for those new to the sport, the technically difficult waves combined with a shallow shoreline can result in serious injuries and even death in a wipeout. In the last 15 years, five people have died surfing the break, including a professional Tahitian surfer a week prior to the 2000 Tahiti Pro event.

Completing the loop tour took longer than originally thought and went for almost 4.5 hours. I have a feeling the tour guide took one look at us and figured there was no way we’d be back on time. I think this was reiterated, when at around lunch time, people started asking if we stop to get something to eat . The guide was very obliging and got the Le Truck to stop at a service station – which had both a petrol station and place selling Pizza and other edibles. Unfortunately for most of the people on the tour, only the service station took US$, which meant most of the bus had potato chips for lunch washed down with soft drink. As we had some of the local currency, we were able to get a slice of pizza to share.

Back at the ship, we had a short rest and then headed out into the night to find some dinner.

We had two options – walk along the main street to find a French restaurant or walk 1 minute from the pier and have dinner in a nearby car park. We opted for the car park.

Every evening, local food vendors bring their food trucks down to a car park near the docks and set up their own outdoor night time restaurants. As it sounded like an interesting concept, we did a loop of the various food trucks and found one that looked good . While a little on the pricey side (it is Tahiti after all), the portions were huge and I found my beef and veggie risotto to be delicious.

Just as we were finishing our dinner, we noticed that people at the other eateries were getting up and seeking shelter. As we were seated under a tree, we had no idea about what was going on. It soon became apparent that Papeete was experiencing a typical tropical rain shower. Within about 5 minutes the rain had stopped and people started to mop up. It was all very dramatic, several people had decided that their meals would not wait for the shower finish and opted to put a poncho on and continue to chow down while heaven and earth opened up around them (I don’t blame them, I’d do the same thing!)

Having eaten too much, we walked to a nearby pub for a drink and then returned to the ship. I caught the second show by a local traditional dance troupe. The women wore grass and cloth skirts and had this amazing ability to move their hips in ways that made my hips hurt, and the men wore loin cloths and did several dances that involved leg shaking and jumping. It was all very good and I enjoyed the evening.

Overall a good day and evening had by all in Papeete

Fun fact:
The French artist Paul Gaugin spent many years living in Tahiti. Many of his works feature Tahitian women. The Paul Gaugin Museum in Papeete holds a collection of prints of his works, sketches and photographs, all housed in open air buildings. While the museum doesn’t hold any of his original works, it was suppose to be a nice place to visit.