Two weeks ago, Mark and I arrived in Papeete, the capital of
Tahiti and French Polynesia, and attached Irie to a mooring ball off Taina Marina in an area called Punaauia. We have so much work to do, stuff to buy,
boat projects to fulfill and things to accomplish after over a year of not
being able to do anything efficient in regards to the boat and the internet,
that we will probably be here a while. Whether we want to or not. As with all
civilized and “citylized” places, being in one brings pleasure and dread, and
requires a lot of effort, patience, endurance, and money.
The mooring field off Taina Marina with Tahiti in the background
The Good
Broccoli! Fresh mushrooms! Different kinds of meat, cheese
and bread! The selection, the air conditioning, the space, the pure joy of
shopping in a western-style, mosquito-free, well-lit grocery store (like the
Carrefour) pleases many of our deprived senses. We still like chicken, carrots,
onions, garlic and cabbage, and we still enjoy a fresh baguette once in a
while, but it is mighty nice to have a change in diet for now. Although the
abundance of tasty (fatty) foods is already showing a change in “belly looks”
as well!
A western-style mall and supermarket
Other (English speaking) cruisers! Yes, we can finally
communicate in earnest again and have a social calendar to prove it. The new
cruising season has started and a new group of sailors has crossed (and is
crossing) the extensive Pacific. We caught up with a few people we met in
French Polynesia and the Galapagos last year; they are all here for the same
reason: to work on their boats! And, I managed to meet and talk to Yvan
Bourgnon, the famous Swiss-French sailor who is trying to set two world
records.
BBQ/potluck on one of the docks at Taina Marina - Mark and Lily are getting some meat
Marine stores! There are a few “real” marine stores –
although as with most of the stores here, the choices, availability and prices
in Panama were much better – so we have managed to check some items off our “to
buy” list. Now, we still have to find (or order) the other 95 items…
The wireless internet is not too bad. Some providers truly
suck – yes, even here, Ioranet is deficient - but after a few tries and tons of
money, we think we found some reliable internet, most of the time…
English (and tourism) is more common here, so communicating
with the locals and the French ex-pats is much easier, especially for Mark.
Full moon over Tahiti or "Under the Tahitian moon", as Porno for Pyros sings appropriately
The view of Mo’orea across the channel and a full moon above
the Tahitian hills is something honeymooners and other vacationers pay hundreds
of dollars for and enjoy from their hotel balconies. All we have to do is drop
anchor or pick up a mooring and look around us.
Sunset over Mo'orea, Tahiti's sister island, about 10 miles away
The Bad
The cost of everything but baguettes (and the usual
subsidized items – chicken, rice, pasta, sugar, milk, the four vegetables …) is
outrageous. Now that we can finally
touch the items we have so long desired, we have to consider whether they are
worth the high price. Of course, we splurged on some goat cheese, croissants,
salami and ice cream the first couple of days, but now we are back to “the
usual” food stuffs, with something extra here and there. Tomatoes cost $4 a
pound, zucchini $5 (we have not eaten any of these yet), chicken breast $14 a
pound (when I wrote chicken before, it meant whole chicken – frozen). Boat
products cost twice the price than in the States, alcohol – other than beer ($2
a bottle) - is still unaffordable (the cheapest wine costs $8 a bottle,
drinkable rum costs over $40 a bottle) and tax and import duty is high. To
order something into the country (with a value of over $300 including the
shipping costs, which are taxed as well!), you need to use an agent, who charges
$250 and up. This would add 20% to the cost of a new jib ordered from abroad
for example. On the other hand, if we would buy a new jib here, it would cost four times more.
Billboards and fruit stands - $11 for 4 small pineapples or one watermelon
Pape’ete is a city, so… it is busy. Four to six lane roads,
traffic jams, cars parked everywhere, people crowding the stores, dinghies
buzzing back and forth in the anchorage and local boat traffic creating massive
wakes, especially in the weekends. There is music, there are fumes, there is
garbage, there is smoke from fires, grit from construction, and noise from
landing planes. Parts of the mooring field consist of garbage, seaweed and
scum, making showering impossible and creating massive stains on our waterline.
Many people make Taina Marina their home, so the selection of moorings is very
limited. A spot in the marina itself costs $60 a night for a catamaran of 35
feet (no weekly or monthly fees) in this high season. But, they are full at the
moment anyway. The World ARC fleet is here…
Traffic and four lane roads in front of the marina and along the road to Carrefour
The heat and the hassle trying to locate necessary boat
items are very draining. The sun, especially when there is no wind, can be
relentless. The distances between useful stores are big. There is a main bus
route (every trip costs $2 per person which adds up quickly) to and from the
city, but most of the time, we are walking for hours to get to a store, only to
discover that they don’t have anything we need – either it is not in stock,
unavailable or the wrong size.
The ugly
I will just repeat here that Pape’ete is a city and that
comes with the ugliness of a city: noise, smells, dirt, crime, crowds, garbage,
expense, and lack of authenticity. It sometimes reminds us of a third world
country, but with higher than first world prices.
Parking lot at the Carrefour grocery store
It is possible, however, to find a relatively remote mooring
ball or spot to anchor and forget about it all, until you have to take that 30
minute dinghy ride to amenities and facilities again! :-)
Meeting up with Mark and Marian from SV Zenna and getting to know Emma, who took care of SV Liward during the owners' absence
Sister island Mo'orea during the day
Ma Louloute on a mooring ball in front of Marina Taina during Yvan's visit in Tahiti
Yvan Bourgnon and his wife Nadia, who joined the support boat in Fakarava
Mark and I have a wealth, not of money – unfortunately – but
of time and adventures, and until not too long ago, age and health. Most
visitors coming to Bora Bora have the kind of wealth that comes to mind first
when you talk about wealth: the money kind, the big bucks, the means to go on
fancy vacations. All those pretty over-the-water bungalows, or villas as they
call them here, look very attractive. Sure, you can see the neighboring huts,
or the ones from the next resort over, but some sort of privacy is offered, the
water underneath looks very appealing, the comfort level is very high end, and
the view of the lagoon and Bora Bora’s mountain is suburb. All the resorts on
the motus (outer islands) have upscale restaurants and “private” beaches, and
offer all the luxury one can imagine. No wonder this place is a prime honeymoon
destination.
But, what does all that cost? Mark and I were curious and
went online to have a look. The average over-the-water accommodation costs about
$1000 a night. That is without meals or even breakfast. Depending on the
location and the size of the villa you prefer, costs go up to about $10,000 for
one night. The resorts on the “mainland” of Bora Bora are generally cheaper –
some even half price; wow, only $500 a night! - than the ones on the motus. We briefly
played with the idea of going out for a meal or a drink in one of the places, since
we have so many past occasions we never celebrated. We even went ashore at the
St. Regis – one of the top resorts on Bora Bora – to get some information. The
hostess was eager to get our business – despite our raggedy outfit (we really
don’t fit in with the crowds here) – but didn’t have much useful information to
tell us. “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it!” 
Back online, the dinners ranged from about $40 to over $100
a piece, the sushi was outrageously priced. Bottles of wine started at $30, I
believe, but the bigger selection was more in the $70 price range for one
bottle. You could even buy a Cuban cigar for the same amount of money. The desserts
were priced like a dinner in the more down-to-earth places of the western world.
Fresh coconut water, straight out of the nut with a straw, went for $10, while
on the street in Fare, such an ice cold and tasty local refreshment costs $1.
And, that is probably about the going rate for everything at the resorts – ten
to one. A bit disgusted by all this (they even charge $30 a day for WiFi if you
stay there!), and not even feeling up for spending $8 a beer or $5 a soda, we
stayed on Irie, made ourselves a drink and enjoyed the same marvelous view for
free. I guess we are your typical kind of cruiser after all… :-)
One afternoon, while we stayed on a mooring ball off the Mai Kai marina and yacht club, I took advantage of their pretty infinity pool. It
had been many years, since I dipped my toes in some fresh water to cool off,
and the feeling of just sliding in and having all the tiredness and hotness
leave my weightless body was amazing. I met the (well-paid and hardworking) crew
of the mega yacht Noble House (on which we received a tour by the departing
captain later), which was docked at the marina. The friendly folks enriched me
with stories of how the “other side” lives and offered me a delicious glass of
white wine. In the evening, Mark and I joined them again for some social times
and drank the happy hour beers and wine. Spending a reduced price of $12 for
two glasses of fair tasting wine (beers are two for one during happy hour, wine
is half price for the second glass) made me crave one of the glasses the mega
yacht crew was drinking. While they drank, ate, and laughed the night away,
fitting in with their nice clothes and chic demeanor, Mark and I walked back to
our dinghy barefoot (the soles had come off my recently purchased flip flops)
and went home to drink water and eat leftovers.
Nevertheless, despite all the boat wake and trash burning, and
despite some tinges of jealousy of the happily spending and enjoying
vacationers, we are fortunate and glad to be able to be here, rich in our own ways,
and to combine our daily work schedule and boat chores with the beauty of these
Society Islands, savoring (almost) everything they have to offer. Improving the performance of
the wind meter: check. Cleaning Irie’s bottom and waterline: check. Sewing some
ripping seams on the bimini: check. Cleaning the BBQ: check (no more grilling
until we sell the boat!). Fixing the outboard engine: almost check! Writing
articles and finishing up the new Wirie products: getting there… Busy times on
Irie, as always. :-)
