18th August

18th August
Papeete Sunny Temp 26c
About 7.30am we arrived at Papeete where we are docked beside 2 beautiful yachts and within walking distance to the town. Part of the Windward Islands, Tahiti makes up more than one-quarter of the total surface of French Polynesia and two-thirds of the population. Papeete is a busy bustling town. There is a centrally locate 2 story market, the lower floor is full of fruit and veg, the upper floor has lots of clothing and jewellery stalls. It also has a cafe where I was able to get fast WiFi to update our Facebook apps. I have never seen so many shops selling pearls as there is here and you guessed it both Coral & Betty bought some. They of course sell the Black Tahitian Pearls. I think everyone is glad to be here because it is the first opportunity to go ashore since we left Lima. It feels quite warm.
We heard that just outside the port gates they set up food stalls and that some are cooking crepes. We decided to go to the Horizon Court for a light meal and then to go ashore to have a crepe. We met Bev & Ian in the Horizons and came with us ashore. It was a lovely balmy night and we don't sail until 4am as it is only 10 nautical miles to Moorea. We found the area where the food stalls were. It was an open piece of land and a number of vans are there with tables and chairs set up around each one. We found one that sold crepes and ordered and paid. It was obvious that they were not very well organised but we sat and waited. After a short while down came the rain which had everyone crowding under the little shelter there was around the vans. It did not last long, after we dried off the seats and table we sat down again to wait all the while keeping an eye on the queue at the van where we had ordered. After what seemed like a long time Ian & I went up to the the van to enquire about our order and were assured that it was coming. Not to confident because of the apparent lack of organisation we stood and waited. I'm happy to say that we did get our order and the crepes were delicious, every one said they were worth the wait. There was a Folkloric Show in the Princess Theatre tonight but as we went ashore we missed it.