Big City Culture Shock, Recycling, the Market

April 29,2015, S 15 d 48' 03"

We left Tauo, a quiet atoll in the Tuamotos,

where the population consisted of one family.  

May 1, 2015, S 17 d, 32' 24"; W 149 d, 34' 12"

Tahiti greeted us at night fall

With another lovely sunset.

We got permission from the port captain to enter, a requirement for all sailboats as the airplanes cross over the entrance to the harbor on their way to land at about 30 feet over the water.  Our mast is 55 feet tall and we don't relish the idea of being dismasted.  The city of Papeete, Tahiti is home to 3/4 of the population of French Polynesia. We pulled into the marina on Friday night of a holiday weekend literally across the street from a disco blaring American rock and roll. Even after having been up almost all night, as is common on short passages through the islands, we dispaired of being able to sleep through the noise, but as soon as our heads hit the pillow, we were out.  All of the Polynesian islands are volcanic.  The young ones, like the Marquesas, have tall mountains with very steep shore lines and no coral around them. The older ones, like Tahiti, have smaller mountains and are surrounded by coral reefs. The oldest, like Fakarava or Tauo, have flat, coral atolls and the mountains have eroded into the sea, leaving a lagoon behind, surrounded by coral.

May 2, 2015

On our way to market the next day, women lined the sidewalks selling flower tiaras and coronas.

We thought the market was somewhat small and went to the Carrfour, a major grocery store, similar to what  we  would find in the states, except the prices were amazing.  We found orange juice for about $7.50 U.S.

and some California strawberries for about $9.50 U.S.

You can buy a whole veal there, or some m&m's.

May 3, 2015

We learned the main market is on Sunday mornings from 4:30 am to 8 am.  We showed up around 6 am and found every kind of local fish,

coconut meat

as fresh as it gets!

Jerry enjoyed it.

They sell the fresh coconut milk in re-used water bottles.

We also found lycee, both fresh and jam.

Note, they make use of any jar they can.  It probably wouldnt pass any health department in the states, but it was delicious!

You can also buy fresh sugar cane juice mixed with lemon or lime.

The market consists of a two story building covering a whole city block, and all the streets around it. 

Jimmy Cornell, the organizer of the Blue Planet Odyssey rally came to visit the fleet in Papeete and spent several hours with us, going over our choices.  We have major news on this subject, tune into the next blog post!

In case you're wondering, Jerry has lost 42 pounds, and I've lost 15, although a daily habit of French baguettes may be putting a dent in that.  It is interesting to try to weigh yourself on a boat.  You look at the scale and say, "Oh, I weigh 172 lbs, no that's 186, no 165, no 178, and so it goes until you finally use a dock, and it only wavers 2 or 3 pounds. . . not much for accuracy ;)

May 6, 2015

We had a great trip to Tahiti's recycling center where we learnd that almost everything is sorted 

and sent to New Zealand for recycling,

except the glass which is a raw product for road beds. Any small town can do it by adding the glass to a small cement mixer with a few bocce balls.  The resulting crushed glass makes a good interlocking draining layer for the road bed.

               

One sorter was collecting figurines and our knome, Lief, decided to make new friends.

    

May 8, 2015                  

A drive into the mountains gave us the requisite swim in a waterfall. REFRESHING!!!  We are having a cold spell as we enter into winter here.  It dropped down to 79 degrees this morning!  It usually varies between 83 and 86, 24/7.

The following Saturday brought a cruise ship into the harbor with 1,900 tourists and 700 crew.

The streets and shops were full of white people, normally a rarity.

May 10, 2015, S 17 d 29' 48", W 149 d 29' 29"

We visited Point Venus, where Captain Cook tried to measure the transit of Venus as a part of a worldwide scientific effort to measure the distance to Venus, but lack of consistent time pieces prevented it from being successful. A beautiful sunset from Point Venus over the island of Moorea capped our day.