Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Happy March! Our trip seems to be going very fast!
We are in Papeete, Tahiti after having been canceled into Fakarava yesterday among swirling rumors of Coronavirus, even though our ship is clean. The Polynesian islands are asking all ships to check into Papeete for health screening. We’re not sure what this all means for our upcoming ports of call-I’ve noticed that several of the island ports we’re to stop at are closed so it will be interesting. Right now, we are a bit of a “floating safe space” since we have traveled just ahead of the virus. Oh well, travel is always an adventure!

Okay, on to something different. When I say Tahiti, what images are conjured up in your mind?
Warm, sultry air, sunshine, turquoise water, grass skirts. No, no, no and no. It has been absolutely pouring for the past 24 hours. All the tours today have been cancelled due to bad weather. Since it is a Sunday morning and we were up at 6am (darn time changes) we decided to brave the rain and go to the local market. There was so much fog and such heavy rain, it was difficult to even see where we were headed. Jeff mentioned, with a questioning look, that the rain was now going sideways, but we decided we were already wet enough that we would just forge ahead.

The market is a blast of colors, smells and people shopping for their fresh items for the week. Flowers, vegetables, fresh fish and meats abounded. Many vendors were chopping up various cooked meats that smelled mouth-wateringly good. The people waiting in line attested to the fact that it all tasted as good as the story the aromas that surrounded us told.

Once done there, we waded back to the ship (why are we so hungry at 7am?-oh yeah, darn time changes) and the fruit that was served at breakfast was overwhelmingly delicious and obviously came fresh from the market here. The mangoes and pineapples were some of the best we’ve ever had.

The ship has planned an outdoor dinner and show for this evening. The weather is going to have to make a pretty big change for that to happen-I’ll let you know how that goes.

We are on to Moorea tomorrow, hopefully to do some snorkeling. Our fingers are crossed for good weather!Read more