This is French Polynesia (poly nesia means many islands; there are 130 of them). Papeete (translated as “Water Basket”) is the largest city (population about 130,000) on the island of Tahiti Nui which is joined by an isthmus to the smaller and aptly named island of Tahiti Iti. We are, as The Captain puts it, “in the middle of nowhere” 4,100 miles from Los Angeles, 3,800 miles from Sydney and 5,900 miles from Tokyo. Nowhere.

In 1767, Captain Samuel Wallis in HMS Dolphin claimed these two islands for King George III of England. The sight of “attractive” and “uninhibited” young women—along with plenty of fresh food and water—were great attractions for him and his crew. Tahitians initially threw stones at the crew. The Brits responded with canon fire. Friendly relations were quickly established.

Wallis left after a few months and Louis de Bougainville, a French explorer landed and claimed the islands for France. His crew felt similarly to Wallis’ crew. The island was renamed New Cythere, the New Island of Love. Soon the French left as well.

 In 1769, the notorious Captain James Cook in HMS Endeavour arrived. His celestial observation mission completed, he vowed to return. He did on two further occasions. In 1788, Captain William Bligh arrived on the HMS Bounty and stayed for six months, his crew in a state of “bliss.” Forced to leave, some of his crew—not necessarily for this reason—decided to mutiny. Bligh and 18 crew members were set adrift as a result of this “Mutiny on the Bounty.” They later reached Indonesia far to the west.

Today the island is a part of France and sends a senator and two deputies to Paris. Also today, it is visited at 8:00am after five days at sea by the Queen Elizabeth bringing Gloria and Paul and their cohorts, Mark and Keith who have decided to not book a Cunard excursion here. We head for the Tourist Office on the quayside. There are plenty of outdoor cafes en route. The very up-to-date Cunard Port of Call Guide to Papeete notes that, while this island is notoriously expensive, there are good buys to be had on French clothing, perfume, wood carvings and “music cassettes.” I wonder if there are deals to be had on cassette players as well.

Keith, Mark, Gloria and I disembarked (after everyone else; quite late really) and quickly found a local tour operator who had marked her $50 tour down to $30 and then to $20. We jumped on. After much confusion and bus changing and a bit of a delay, we were off with Holly, Phil and Val. Our driver was Michael but he didn’t have too much to say. Fine.

We visited a lighthouse where Bligh landed (they said). A black sand beach abuts a memorial and a small park where we grabbed a few photographs and a bit of black sand beach residue on our ankles. Next stop: a waterfall, always a wonderful sight to see. The falls created a verdant park and shaded stream that, were it not for a great number of tiny flying bugs, created a place of peace and calm. The opposite of that awaited at our next stop: a blowhole (Keith got a blow job there; see photo). He was the only one of us brave enough to endure the soaking that came with the wind. Michael then took us to a panoramic view where we stopped for still more photos and then we returned to the city. That was twenty bucks well spent.

A quick crossing of the street found us at Le Retro café for wine and sandwiches and internet. Paul posted two blog entries (Wellington and To Papeete), Gloria called her kids (Keith got to talk to Paul), we all did emails and life is good. We determined that a ferry ride over to the nearby island of Moorea was a good idea but when we approached the ferry terminal we discovered that there wouldn’t be time to return to Papeete so we quickly abandoned that plan.

Gavin (remember him? Gavin is the port expert for Cunard)had told Mark that we could go to the Sofitel and use their beach. So, we enlisted a tour driver to give us a ride which she offered to do for free since she was going that way. After we had gone a few blocks she asked, “What are you going to do there?” We said we were going to hang out at their beach. She told us that the Sofitel was closed and had been since October. Thanks for the tip, Gavin.

We got out and walked back to the ship along the waterfront, laughing, taking snapshots and spotting a fish that seemed worthy of a photograph. Queen Elizabeth beckoned and we went to sit in the Lido on Deck Nine and chat while watching the main street of Papeete beneath us. All is well here. There is no snow, no cold, and nothing to worry over. We sail for Bora Bora at nine. Look for us on the fantail.