Being treated like Royalty in Papeete
Nickanddenisesailing
Tue 25 Jul 2017 04:51
Time has been wizzing by and we have been enjoying everyday. We have been experiencing royal treatment from Mahana and Marge (my ex students who are Tahitian) and their families and we have been non stop!
So in the last update we had just got to Tahiti-iti - the 'peninsular of Tahiti'. We had a great few days there where we got to make good use of the dinghy. We had planned initially to head to Papeete (the capital city) to check in etc by bus but after some laughs of disbelief from the girls we decided that maybe a bus trip of that distance might not be a good idea. So we opted for the town capital of the peninsula. We waited over an hour for a bus with no luck, by this time both of us were getting hungry. Tahitians love their food trucks and after watching many people go past us with delicious looking sandwiches we decided to head upstream to find the truck. Oh and we were not disappointed - fresh baguettes with steak, hot chips (fries) and cheese with a selection of the most amazing sauces. We even went back the next day for more of the same!
So after not having much luck with the bus situation we looked at the map and decided that with our big engine on the dinghy we could make it.... it was that or walking. So 45min later we made it to the town and found civilisation!! A supermarket!! We were both a bit overwhelmed after 4 months and all we came out with was a new frying pan and a bar of chocolate haha!
The next day we decided to dinghy the other way and head to Teahupo - the world famous surf spot. It was amazing to see the wave firing - although it was from some distance as it was rough through the pass with it being so windy. Unfortunately no one was out surfing but it was still amazing to see. We had a quick wander around the tiny village before jumping back in the dinghy back to the surf spot nearer the boat. This one was at the pass where we entered into the lagoon and there were heaps of people out ripping. The wave was probably 12ft (at least 2 people standing from the bottom of the wave) and the star of the show was a local guy in his 70's in his canoe!
We then decided that we would make the move around the island to Papeete as the girls had some big plans for us for the weekend. Marge and her boyfriend Hugo had taken the day off work on the friday to give us a full tour around the island which was great. She took us to one of her favorite Polynesian/Chinese restaurants and we had a feast! Then that night the girls had organised our tickets for the Heiva. This is a polynesian dance/singing/music festival that would blow your mind. So many amazing costumes and dancers as well as spine chilling music. The drumming was heart palpitating and the creativity of the people was overwhelming. The dancers were beautiful and handsome and as Nick would say - very wiggily! The things they can do with their hips is incredible! We can see how many of the sailors of the past were mesmerised into staying on these islands....... and then why the church tried to stop the dancing!
The next day we caught up with Mahana who also took us on a tour around Papeete to show us some of her favorite spots. We were then driven up to Marge's families house deep in one of the valleys and welcomed like long lost friends. We were treated to a feast like you have never seen with all the best in Tahitian cooking. Marges Dad is a genius cook and really went to town. There were about 15 of us all together with Marges brother, sister etc etc (they all live very close by). After dinner the ukelele's and the guitars came out and we enjoyed the music and laughter till late in the night.
The next day we had an early start as Mahana wanted to take us to the veggie and fish market in town. It was a bustling place with every kind of fish you can imagine. I stocked us up with veggies and we bought a few pastries to bring to house for brunch. OMG what a brunch - spring rolls, dumplings, roast pork, baguettes, donutus, coke, fanta, chocolate crossiants, raw fish in coconut milk and I think I have only remembered half of it! Incredible!!
So after filling up again we were on our way again - down to the beach house of Marge sister in laws grandfather. What a place! Right on the beach and by a fun surf spot! We surfed the afternoon away and then rinsed off in a river that fed into the sea. There were a bunch of young tahitian kids (maybe 4/5 yearsold) playing in the water - they took a strong liking to our surf boards and Nick and I were the entertainment for an hour or so. When it was time to go we headed back to the beach house where more food and drink were laid out for us. I cant even begin to explain how much we laughed and smiled!! My face hurt at the end of the day. Such wonderful people with an amazing take on life.
One of the things that I failed to mention is our bloody laundry.... so laundry is a nightmare on the boat. Its something we always struggle with - finding washing machines and not paying a fortune for someone else to do it for us. We had mentioned finding a laundrette to Marge and she had said 'no problem just bring it to my house'. I had tried to explain that we had 4 months of laundry and that it was a lot - but 'no problem' she said. So there we are arriving at Marge's parents house (on the night of the big feast) where they are feeding us, letting us stay the night, driving us around etc etc - and there we are with two giant bags of laundry. We felt TERRIBLE!!! Marges mum (a very sweet petite lady - all smiles) then explains to Marge - that she will take it to her work (where there are industrial washers) and do it there tomorrow. We desperately tried to protest explaining that we would find somewhere to do it and insisted that she not spend her weekend washing our cloth
es. Not
a word of our protest was heard and by the time we came back from the beach on the Sunday evening all our clothes, sheets, bedding etc etc were neatly folded up having been washed, dried and ironed. I took a photo because the pile was so ridiculously large!
We were then bid farewell with gifts of all kinds - t shirts, a handbag, necklaces, fruit etc etc. The family all came to bid us farewell and I was holding back the tears. THE MOST INCREDIBLE PEOPLE...... and as we are not going to leave for a little while we decided to invite them all over to the boat for a last meal on our last night!! Hahahahahahah!! I hope the boat doesnt sink!!! There will be 10 of us we think!
Anyway that pretty much brings us to today - where we went and did boring things - like customs etc in the city.
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