Last night was a clear night with great visibility. The captain turned the lights off on the top deck so we could all star gaze. What an amazing experience out here on the ocean. Obviously a different sky to what we see at home.

Papeete is the capital and largest city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is situated on the island of Tahiti, which is also the largest and most populous island in French Polynesia. It serves as the administrative, economic, and cultural centre of French Polynesia. It has  a population of around 26,000 residents. A mix of French and Polynesian culture. Also a major transportation hub for the region, with Faa'a International Airport providing international and domestic flights. Papeete is  a common starting point for people  exploring nearby destinations like Bora Bora and Moorea.  The economy is driven by tourism, government services and commerce.  It has warm temperature all year round and the wet season is from November to April. 

We arrived here after another moderate sea and 3 metre swell. Had a walk into town and checked out the local Papeete Market. The streets and roads were really busy here and very chaotic, just like Thailand. We decided to catch a ferry over to Moorea, with another couple we met on the ship. It was a 30 minute ride in some very rough seas to the island. We didn’t tour around for long then visited a local resort and spent some time in the bar just taking in the beautiful scenery and crystal clear water and the different shades of blue. After we returned to the Papeete we enjoyed a sunset cruise out among numerous atolls. We watched a 3 man outrigger ride our wake for about 10 minutes as we passed them by. An interesting point of difference is it is one of the only places  in the world to have a consistent low tide in the morning and night and high tide at lunch time and around mid night. We passed the beautiful coastline and soaked up the pretty sunset. We had a late sail out today and sat outside to watch the lights disappear in the distance. Another great day.