French Polynesia
Arue

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    • Day 151

      Bye bye Französisch Polynesien

      May 20, 2023 in French Polynesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      Und schon geht die Reise wieder weiter, in Richtung Osten über den großen Ozean.
      Nach der Kreuzfahrt verweilen wir noch 3 Tage auf Tahiti an einem schwarzen Sandstrand und machen gar nichts außer die Sonne zu genießen und im Meer zu baden. Zeit, nochmal die Erlebnisse Revue passieren zu lassen!
      Von Bora Bora waren wir insgesamt nicht ganz so begeistert, was aber auch an der Krise lag und daran, dass alles so unglaublich teuer ist und Freundlichkeit nicht immer an der Tagesordnung war. Genauso auf Tahiti.
      Die Schiffstour übers Meer zu den Marquesas hingegen hat uns allen richtig gut gefallen. Hier war es mit der Freundlichkeit ganz anders bestellt. Sowohl die Menschen auf den Inseln als auch das Personal auf der Aranui waren extrem aufmerksam und zugewandt. Die Kinder wurden bevorzugt behandelt und es wurde immer darauf geachtet, dass es „der Familie“ gut geht. Die Polynesier musizieren und singen sehr gerne und kamen uns immer so fröhlich vor. Zum Abschied von der Aranui wurden wir am letzten Abend mit Musik und Gesang zum Abendessen begrüßt, das war richtig schön! Wir wollten gar nicht gehen :)
      Ebenso waren wir fasziniert von der Abgeschiedenheit und der Ursprünglichkeit der marquesianischen Inseln. Besonders beeindruckend fand ich die Kriegstänze, von denen wir einige Vorführungen zu sehen bekamen. Wirklich schade dass die Marquesianer ihren Glauben und ihre Kultur wegen der Europäer gegen das Christentum eintauschen mussten. Überhaupt fällt uns erst jetzt auf, dass wir im Laufe unserer Reise in sehr viele Länder kommen, die damals von den Europäern eingenommen wurden und im Falle von Französisch Polynesien noch immer eingenommen sind. Die Franzosen haben hier sehr stark das Sagen. Im ganzen Land ist Französisch die Landessprache, die französische Flagge weht überall, das Essen ist extrem „französisiert“, ein sehr hoher Anteil an Touristen sind Franzosen. Auf Bora Bora am Rathaus war die französische Flagge zu sehen, aber keine polynesische. Genauso fährt die Aranui ausschließlich unter französischer Flagge.
      Interessant fanden wir, dass unser Reiseleiter Frank kein Blatt vor den Mund nahm und nicht besonders gut über die Franzosen in Französisch Polynesien sprach. Auf die Frage, wie die Polynesier zu den Franzosen stehen, sagte er dass die Polynesier die Franzosen nicht besonders mögen und viel lieber unabhängig wären. In Neukaledonien könnte es demnächst so weit sein. Aber die anderen Inseln sind noch weit davon entfernt. Frank sagte aber auch, dass Frankreich sehr viel für die Inseln tut, viel Geld hineinsteckt und die Inseln militärisch beschützt. Wären die Franzosen nicht da, würden die Chinesen kommen und die ganzen Meere vor den Inseln leerfischen (so haben sie es vor Tuvalu gemacht).
      Zitat von Frank: „Ja, der französische Staat ist ein Hai, aber das Gute ist: den kennt ihr gut, auf den könnt ihr euch einstellen. Und der beschützt euch vor dem Hai, der viel gefährlicher ist!“

      An der Kreuzfahrt war noch eine andere Sache ganz interessant (mal abgesehen von der Sache mit dem halben Containerschiff). Wir hätten nicht gedacht, dass es uns gefallen würde, mit einer Gruppe zusammen an Land zu gehen und dort Vorträge über die Kultur der Einheimischen zu hören. Dieser Gruppengedanke war uns bisher nicht geheuer, vor allem wenn ansonsten keine Kinder und nur ältere Menschen dabei sind. Aber es hat sogar mit den Kindern ganz gut geklappt, sie fanden es sogar toll! Hätten wir die Inseln auf eigene Faust erkundet (was wegen der Abgeschiedenheit sowieso ausgeschlossen war) hätten wir niemals so viel so hautnah über die Kultur erfahren. Frank hat das aber auch ganz hervorragend gemacht. Er hat uns am Tag vorher immer informiert was auf uns zukommen wird und uns schon die eine oder andere Geschichte zum Thema erzählt.
      Die Tour mit der Aranui können wir nur wärmstens weiterempfehlen! Lustigerweise haben wir sie heute vom Strand aus gesehen, wie sie wieder auf Tour geht und haben uns sehr über ihren Anblick von Weitem gefreut.
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    • Day 123

      Tahiti - Papeete

      December 7, 2023 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

      Endlich Aus dem Flugzeug ausgestiegen, in dem zur Landung laut "Oh Tannenbaum" lief, sind wir
      angekommen in Papeete auf Tahiti. Das ist die Hauptstadt von Französisch-Polynesien, einer Inselgruppe im Südpazifik. Wie der Name schon sagt, ist Französisch-Polynesien ein französisches Überseegebiet, mit lauter korallengesäumten Lagunen.

      Nach der laaaaaaangen Anreise, überraschte uns eine kleine Gesangseinlage und vorallem der Duft vieler Blumen und Blüten. Vor dem Flughafen stehen Einwohner die Ihre Familienmitglieder für Weihnachten abholten mit Blumenketten. Die Lei haben in der polynesischen Kultur viele Bedeutungen, sie können ‚Liebe‘, ‚Danke‘, ‚Herzlich Willkommen‘ oder auch ‚Auf Wiedersehen‘ bedeuten. Es trägt quasi jede Frau auf der Insel Blumen im Haar oder Muscheln. Wirklich schön anzusehen.

      Unsere Unterkunft ist ein traditionelles Haus von Julien und seiner Frau Monic, ein Künstler, Schauspieler und Sängerpärchen.

      Schade, dass uns der Starkregen einen Strich durch die Rechnung macht, die Insel zu Fuß zu erkunden.

      Wir haben mit Ozeanien unseren nächsten Kontinent erobert. Damit haben wir bereits 4 von 7 Kontinenten bereist. Land Nummer 24. Und seit Puerto Rico haben wir weit über 10.000km Luftlinie zurückgelegt. Insgesamt haben wir bereits 53.000 km hinter uns. Der Erdumfang beträgt ca. 40.000km. Und so seltsam es klingen mag. wir wollten einmal soweit wie möglich von Deutschland entfernt sein und haben nun eine Entfernung von 15936 km von Zuhause.

      Wer also jetzt ein Loch durch die Erde zu uns graben möchte,sollte gut zielen. Nicht das Meerwasser entgegen schießt!
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    • Day 3

      Day 3

      March 9 in French Polynesia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      Journée tour de l’île:
      On commence par les grottes de Mara’a et de Teanateatea, resto succulent et poisson cru au lait de coco mon plat préféré, champ de palmiers, baignade avec les anguilles royales dans la rivière de Vaïma (espèce sacrée car elles contribuent à la propreté et la clarté de l’eau), « surf » sur la plage où aura lieu la vague de JO cet été, plage magique deTautira, premier petit chat que je croise (ici beaucoup de chiens errants notamment…), et enfin le spectacle de danse tahitienne « Heiva Taure’a » fait par des collégiens mais qui a malheureusement dû être écourté à cause de la pluie tropicale, donc rdv demain pour la suite !🥳Read more

    • Day 25

      Feb 14 - Exploring Papeete

      February 15, 2020 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      We took the 8:30 a.m. shuttle into Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, this morning. The distance of about 7 km was just a bit beyond our grasp, especially coupled with the very warm and humid conditions today.

      We found a little café and had breakfast. Toast there was a 12" submarine sandwich roll, cut in half, put for about 3 seconds under a broiler to "toast" it, and served with unsalted butter. We explored the market with its fruits and vegetables and clothing stalls. Everywhere, there were people selling flowers - lots of red ones, because this is Valentines Day!

      The architecture of Papeete is entirely forgettable, but its harbour makes up for that. There is some serious money around here because the marina is stuffed full of expensive boats. There is a thriving business here cleaning boats.

      We stopped into the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The cathedral is located at kilometric point 0. This is the point from where all road distances are calculated all around the island. Must be a French thing - there is a bronze plaque in the ground in front of Notre Dame Cathedral - all distances in Paris are marked from there.

      One of the major activities in Papeete is selling jewelry, particularly jewelry made from black pearls. There are stores everywhere selling beautiful items from black pearls - I chose (in my mind) a lovely necklace that would only have cost $90,000 CAD.

      We got smoothies for our early lunch - mine had fruit in it; Doug's was a chocolate explosion. We took the noon shuttle back to the resort. We read for a while and decided that it was time to go for a walk on the beach. Horrors - it started to rain really hard. We walked down to the restaurant and had ice cream bars for our afternoon snack and watched the rain.

      We are back in Suite 1504 with paper books borrowed from the lobby library to keep us company. Downloading e-books is difficult with the sketchy internet here.

      The sunset tonight was a washout - too much low-lying cloud. Glad I got the picture of last night's beauty.

      Dinner is at 7:00 p.m. with a show scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
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    • Day 2

      Sleeping and Hiking

      July 22, 2022 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌙 77 °F

      After 26 hours of driving, flying, and general travel nonsense, we made it to Tahiti. Quite a long journey, but even I managed to sleep a little bit at LAX and on the flight across the ocean. It was a somewhat stressful 20m drive to the Hotel near Māhina, and after check-in we crashed pretty hard. We had a few blissful hours of sleep, before... Roosters? Many, many roosters -- all very excited to announce that the sun was rising (though they got a little ahead of themselves).

      We had an omelette, some pastries, and coffee to shake off the sleep and began to plan the day. Since the morning looked clear of rain, we planned a hike to stretch the legs after being confined with minimal leg room for a significant part of the prior day. We got the necessary permit from a local government office and drove out to Fautaua Valley to begin the trek. After 2 easy miles, we reached the fork and had to choose the challenging, or very challenging trail. Up for the challenge, we elected for the latter.

      The hike was challenging, but not dangerous. We didn't trust the estimated times (we were moving much faster), and we made good progress switch backing up the hill. The view waterfall popped out unexpectedly, and evoked matching "wow"s from us. We continued on to reach the end of the trail, and then started the descent. As we did, the skies opened up, and after a few minutes we ceased all attempts to keep any parts dry and accepted that we were soaked. Still, it was a warm walk through the lush tropic landscape, and just meant we needed to be a little more sure of our steps as we navigated the rocky/root-y trail. It was just over 3 hours of hiking, and our glutes/knees were ready to be done.

      Once we made it back to the car, we drove back into town to secure some lunch at the market. Simple sandwiches, a smoothie (Laura), and a beer (moi). We were ready for a nap.

      Nap time commenced, and we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the ocean and lounging on the black sand beach.

      A quick drink at the hotel restaurant (they were having an electronic rave, a little dissonance there given the venue), and off to dinner at a little place called 'Kozy'.

      My navigation skills fell short as we missed our exit and had to backtrack. While searching for parking, we ended up on a particularly strange road where Laura was convinced that we were on the wrong side, and initiated a correction to vault over the median (nevermind the oncoming truck in the lane that she merged us over into). I did my best to be a calm, if terrified, passenger. Eventually we managed to park, and went into the super cute restaurant. Laura had the fish, I had the boeuf.
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    • Day 23

      Feb 13 - Reunion Day!!!

      February 13, 2020 in French Polynesia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      It’s Reunion Day!!! My flight from Christchurch is at 1:00 p.m. I will get into Auckland about 2:30 p.m and make a beeline for the NZ Lounge where, if the stars aligned, I will be reunited with Doug. This enforced two-week separation has been hard on both of us.

      Karen picked me and Henry and Irene up on schedule. Bless her heart, she escorted us into the terminal. She point H&I towards Qantas and me towards the check in terminals for Air NZ. The terminal spit out a message to see a representative. Karen snagged on immediately and left me in Jan’s capable hands. Getting my boarding pass took some manual intervention - this coronavirus has all airlines on red alert.

      My flight got in to Auckland on time and I made a bee line for the International Terminal. Through security (again) and up to the Air New Zealand lounge. I snagged a spot where I could see the door, and lo and behold, not 5 minutes later, Doug strolled in. Big hug. Big kiss. Big sigh of relief from both of us. His revised ticket hadn’t shown up in the Air NZ system and it took 45 minutes of back and forth to get his boarding pass issued.

      In this sea of free food and drink called the Air NZ Lounge, we passed the time until our 4:55 p.m. flight was called. The chocolate chip cookies weren’t as good as mine, but the pretzels passed the test. We both stayed away from the bar - there will be enough of that on the ship.

      We have done some serious indulging on this leg of the trip - flying business class to French Polynesia and then home. The female staff wore crisp blue suits and then changed into colourful Polynesian dresses and wore flowers in their hair. They all changed back into their suits at the end of the flight. The men wore colourful shirts. We had pods on the plane where we could stretch out. The service was lovely with warm towels served on souvenir sea shells, a 4-course dinner served with real cutlery and crispy linens. More free wine/beer - more avoidance on our part. I watched “Captain Phillips” with Tom Hanks, and Doug watched "J. Edgar”. The entertainment selection was a bit thin. If you want a fabulous entertainment selection in the air, travel with Emirates Air Lines.

      We landed a bit early in Papeete (Pap-eye-ET-tay) to warm temperatures and high humidity. We had gained an hour (for crossing another time zone) and a day (for crossing the international date line) so it was 11:00 p.m. yesterday/Wednesday. We all had to be screened for fever - Doug was hot, but not in the fever sense. My bag was the first one on the carousel. Doug’s was a few bags behind. Another perk of business class.There was a hotel transport waiting for us. We had to wait a bit for another couple who obviously had not flown business class. We drove through, horrors, a very light rain to the Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort. We have a two-storey mini villa with a living room, TV, half-bath and balcony downstairs, and bedroom, spa bathroom, another TV and another balcony upstairs. We won’t be watching much TV - everything is in French. We have a view of the ocean - not that we could see much at midnight. More about that tomorrow.

      Here’s a bit about French Polynesia to whet your appetite:

      French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic and its sole overseas country. It is composed of 118 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over an expanse of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) in the South Pacific Ocean. Its total land area is 4,167 square kilometres (1,609 sq mi). If you draw a line from Auckland to Los Angeles, French Polynesia sits about one-third of the way.

      French Polynesia is divided into five groups of islands: the Society Islands archipelago; the Tuamotu Archipelago; the Gambier Islands; the Marquesas Islands; and the Austral Islands. Among its 118 islands and atolls, 67 are inhabited. Tahiti, which is located within the Society Islands, is the most populous island, having close to 69% of the population of French Polynesia as of 2017. Papeete, located on Tahiti, is the capital.

      The Society Islands archipelago is believed to have been named by Captain James Cook during his first voyage in 1769, supposedly in honour of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook stated in his journal that he called the islands Society "as they lay contiguous to one another.” Cook would stop in Tahiti again in 1773 during his second voyage to the Pacific, and once more in 1777 during his third and last voyage before being killed in Hawaii.
      French is the only official language of French Polynesia. An organic law of 12 April 1996 states that "French is the official language, Tahitian and other Polynesian languages can be used.”

      French Polynesia has a moderately developed economy, which is dependent on imported goods, tourism, and the financial assistance of mainland France. Tourist facilities are well developed and are available on the major islands. Main agricultural productions are coconuts (copra), vegetables and fruits. French Polynesia exports noni juice, a high quality vanilla, and the famous black Tahitian pearls which accounted for about 55% of exports (in value). Great surfing, kitesurfing and diving are major tourist attractions along with the warm temperatures and the stunning blue waters.
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    • Day 23

      Feb 13 - It's Thursday - again

      February 13, 2020 in French Polynesia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      The waves roll loudly onto the beach here, so sleeping in isn’t really easy. And when a very loud rooster greets the dawn, sleeping in is not an option. Still, we managed to loll about until 9:00 a.m. We showed up for breakfast at 9:45 a.m. - the restaurant is open air looking out over the glorious blue Pacific ocean. It was almost 11:00 before we decided to do something else other than eat and ogle. Hmmmm - missed Aqua Fit in the nearby pool. We booked dinner for 6:30 p.m. - there is a music and dance show on at 7:30 p.m.

      Had to buy another electrical adaptor - the plugs here are recessed into the wall and use 3 pins - we thought our Aussie/NZ plugs would work. Nope - this is like being in France but with better weather.

      We went for a long walk on the beautiful black sand beach - yes, we put on sun screen and bug repellent. Then we retired to the downstairs balcony for some reading and a bit of a nap. This vacation thing can be very tiring……

      We ventured down to the pool and paddled in it for a while. The water is lovely and warm. More reading. Ice cream bars for lunch. Saw that noisy rooster strutting around the pool - had the urge to do something unkindly to him.....

      Mindful of sun exposure on our pasty white Canadian skin, we headed back to our suite for more reading - something I didn’t have a chance to do on the NZ trip and that Doug did have time to do during his two weeks in the penalty box in Auckland.

      The internet bandwidth here is pretty sketchy……it works sometimes, and not other times. Updates are going to be hit and miss.
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    • Day 25

      Feb 13 - Our first dinner in Tahiti

      February 15, 2020 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      The sun sets quite early here - about 6:30 p.m. - so we were able to enjoy its splendour just before dinner. We had a really nice dinner in the open-air restaurant. As promised, a great Polynesian music and dance show began at 7:30 p.m. The women here can really shimmy their hips and the men can really make you believe that they are warriors.

      Perhaps fuelled by the Riesling wine, I agreed to learn a native dance. Doug graciously declined the invitation to learn a warrior haka.

      It was a good first day in beautiful Tahiti.
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    • Day 25

      Feb 14 - Valentine's Dinner in Tahiti

      February 15, 2020 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

      The restaurant was overwhelmed with people because it was Valentine's Day. There was a special Valentine's Dinner menu that we looked at when we made the reservation, but it did not appeal to us, so we opted for a reservation in the a la carte section.

      It was painfully obvious that the place was woefully understaffed. The service was erratic and the staff were curt. Most of the staff were running around gesturing and correcting one another - it was chaos. We were originally seated right beside the bar which was a madhouse. We asked to be moved which made us social outcasts with the head lady. Another waiter (thank you, Steven) moved us, but to the cheap seats. We had dinner, but it was not the most romantic one we have ever had. Because we were so far back, we couldn't see much of the music and dance show, so we bailed early. I sincerely hope that things are better organized and more professional on the cruise ship.
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    • Day 53

      Baden im Pearl Reort / Papeete

      December 7, 2017 in French Polynesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Heute war für uns Baden angesagt. Mit dem Bus wurden wir zum Pearl Resort gebracht. Es durften nur zehn Personen von Aida dieses Resort besuchen.

      Der Strand bestand aus schwarzem Sand. Er lud nicht gerade zum Baden ein und so sind wir nur am Strand spazieren gegangen. Die Brandung und die Strömung waren schon recht heftig. Alles im allem war es ein gelungener Tag. Anschließend bummelten wir noch durch die Stadt Papeete.

      Um 21:15 kamen 40 lokale Gastkünstler an Bord. Sie präsentierten die traditionellen Tänze zu den paradiesischen Klängen. Die 18. Etappe mit 20 sm (37 km) bis Moorea war eine recht kurze. Diese fuhren wir in der Nacht.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Arue

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