Saturday, February 16, 2019
Where am I?
Our ship is docked at Papeete, Tahiti.
What happened today?
It’s a blustery, rainy day on Tahiti. The ship is docked in the harbor and downtown Pape’ete is in clear view. As I look out over the downtown part of the city, I’m just a little disappointed. Perhaps because I’ve only seen Tahiti in the movies or on TV, and as a result I pictured Tahiti, in my mind, to be an pristine island paradise with white sand beaches, beautiful women with flower leis, blue skies, and a cool breeze. This morning I see a crowded downtown, economic depression, no beaches (in view) and it’s overcast, hot, and rainy.
I had paid for a tour for today. It was supposed to show me the wonders of Tahiti. In spite of the rain, I was anxious to go out and see more of the island than this anticlimactic view of the inner city I was faced with at that moment. At about 1:30, I boarded the bus to go see the sites.
Fortunately for us, this was a Saturday and there was not as much traffic as there would have been Monday through Friday, according to our tour guide. She told us that some people who live in the “suburbs” about 36 kilometers outside of the city must expect 90-minute commutes to get to work, then the same deal going home. This news makes me happy that I’m not one of them, not here, nor anyplace else for that matter!
Once we’re outside of the greater Pape’ete area, things start to look more like the Polynesian paradise of the movies. There’s lush growth, I can see the waves breaking over the coral reef far offshore, and the people look as though there are truly living on “island time.”
Our bus stops at a park on Point Vénus. This point of land was originally used by Captain Cook for scientific purposes and is now a beautiful seaside park, though its natural beauty may have been a bit concealed today, owing to the rainy weather.
When Captain James Cook made his second trip to Tahiti in 1769, he had two goals: 1) to witness the transit of Venus, and 2) to find the great southern continent. Cook built a tower that would allow him a good vantage point to observe and study the transit. Once the tower was built and the equipment needed to accomplish the observation was in place, the equipment was stolen, according to our tour guide. Cook and some Tahitians went looking for the equipment, found it, and had it returned to the tower and reinstalled. This was accomplished just a day or two before the predicted transit. On the actual day of the transit, the sky was clouded over and no observation could be made. Cook travelled half way around the world to see this transit and could not see a thing.
By the way, he never found a great southern continent, either.
Aside from the historical tower (which now serves as the only lighthouse in Tahiti) the beach and park that is now Point Vénus was filled today with Tahitians enjoying the atmosphere, seemingly not at all worried about a little rain. Here are a couple of photos from Point Vénus.
The lagoon at Point Vénus 
Stormy weather just off the coast and heading right for us!
We left Point Vénus and did about half of our circumnavigation of the island in our tour bus. At some point, we stopped at a botanical park to see some of the native species of flora and fauna.
The park had a gorgeous waterfall, thanks to all of the rain we had been experiencing both today and the night before.
The heat and the rain also keeps many species of tropical plants in bloom for much of the year. Here, in the Tahitian summer, there were many strange and colorful flowers to be found. Pictured below are just a few that caught my attention.
Lovely flora. But what about the fauna? Well, the number one animal seen everywhere in Tahiti is this one.
Our tour guide explained to us that chickens can be seen everywhere. They are a feral animal on the island. Nobody owns them, and nobody raises them. They just strut around, coming and going as they please following whatever whim might be in their little bird brains. Also, nobody chases them away! It seems as though the chickens are very good at pest control and are especially good at containing the cockroach population. Nobody wants cockroaches, so the chickens are always welcome, whenever they’re around. Even in the botanical garden.
We left the botanical garden with one more planned stop ahead: a dramatic black sand beach. We drove for a few miles and then made a stop at this beach:
The sand here was as black as coal! There’s nobody out on the beach because of the rain, but I walked out a ways to try and snap a quick photo before it started to rain again and I would get wet.
Well, I got wet. Those storms move fast over this island!
After our beach stop the bus took us safely back to the ship. I was very happy that I spent a half day getting to see a more tropical more primitive side of Tahiti. It was certainly an afternoon well spent.
What is it?
Previously I asked your opinion of what this towel animal was:
If you guessed it was a swan, you are absolutely correct!
Here’s today’s identification challenge. What is it:
Enter your answers in the “Replay” area of this page, or send me a message. Let me know you’re out there!
Tomorrow we visit Mo’orea. Hopefully, we’ll have better weather.
G’night!
Es un dinosaur.
Que gusto saber de ti. Ya te extrañabamos.
Ah, gracias! Sí, es un dinosaur.
Apatasaurus?
Apata on the back to you because you’re correct.
Appears to be a brontosaurus, or simply a dinosaur.
I think it’s a terriclothosaurus, but your answer is also correct!