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
When you live on a boat and cruise the seas of the world,
plans change all the time, even more so in the Pacific Ocean, where the
distances are long. Most people we have talked to the last year, did not stick
to their initial plans or schedules for one reason or another. Boat issues are
the number 1 incentive to stay longer in a place (it needs to get fixed before
being able to move) or leave immediately (to find parts). Some cruisers rush to
a haulout facility, others to Tahiti.
You stay longer than planned for packages to show up, because you enjoy the social scene, or because you are
finally in a city with all its useful amenities. Or, because you could use a
break from the boat.
Mark and I had been talking about a few options once we
arrived in Tahiti. After getting some things straightened out on Irie, figuring
out some health issues and catching up on internet tasks, we could move to shore
for a bit (hard to find a suitable place for one month near the mooring field,
and moving all our things would be a hassle), sail over to pretty Moorea (a
good option once we could pull ourselves away from the conveniences here), fly
to the States to see friends and family (very expensive and someone would have
to keep an eye on the boat) or take a vacation to Easter Island for a week
(yes, we do need a real vacation and haven’t had one in the seven years
aboard).
In the end, we decided it would be best for Mark to fly to
the US and for me to stay on Irie. He could take care of the things he needed
to take care of there, be with friends and family and have unlimited, fast
internet, and I could keep life going at this end. While he is being spoiled
with hot, pressurized showers, an efficient washing machine, a car to run
errands and family dinners, I am spoiled by cruiser friends around me. They
invite me over for dinner on their boat, give me a lift to shore, join me to
Happy Hour, include me doing fun activities and bring me fresh baguettes and
homemade cake. My days are so full that I barely have time for those leftover
boat projects and all those articles that need writing! :-)
