Following breakfast, we walked over to the cruise ship, first to see our security guard friends, and then Harold selling his circle island tour on Papeete and Celine selling Hiro's Tour in Moorea tomorrow; and Julienne selling her circle island tour on Moorea. Two cheek air kisses and several Bonne Années later; we continued on to the bus stop, intending to take a bus to the Le Meridian Resort, then stop at the Intercontinental Tahiti on the way back to the Hotel Tiare Tahiti. Well, we were told the buses weren't running today. We're not sure why, exactly, but many stores and most restaurants were also closed. That put an end to that plan.
We enjoyed the folkloric show taking place near the visitor center. There was a little guy about 5 or 6 years old who was dancing and he was absolutely darling. He was also a bit of a ham and all the grandparents (and great- and great-great grandparents) off the Statendam were loving that.
G spent some time feeding our old, dry baguettes to the fish near the Statendam, and I was amazed how clear the water was. We could even see coral growing off the seawall there, a shocker in a busy harbor. We left there to walk to Le Marché to purchase some souvenirs, but it was also closed today. Still celebrating the holiday? We don't know. But it certainly shut down our plans.
It was only 1pm by then, but was already hot. I was like a horse heading back to the barn, walking toward the Hotel Tiare Tahiti with single-minded determination. We have an established routine when we first walk into our hotel room; first I help G pull his soaking wet t-shirt over his head and then he assists me. We spray them with Fabreeze and throw them over our travel clothesline to dry out a bit. Luckily, they aren't stinky so much as just soggy.
We made sandwiches and had a small lunch and then spent a couple of hours making up a calendar for the rest of our cruising winter, listing ports and times, and flights we have booked. This is the sort of thing we usually do before we leave home but...well, you know how our plans have changed. G is definitely a visual person and it helps him to have it all written out in one place. Then it was time for another haircut for G (taking advantage of all the space in our bathroom, room and balcony).
About the time we finished that, we got caught up on a show on TV. It was in French, of course, but it was an Aerial America program about West Virginia. It was so nice to see video from home...well; not home, exactly, but closer than we've been in 76 days. Remember, we have five channels, all of them in French or Tahitian; we're more easily amused these days, I guess. We're also fascinated by the local news (all in Tahitian; it sounds painful) and I love the weather forecasts (méteos). They show the forecast for each of the five island groupings in French Polynesia, and then each island in the grouping as if they were cities. G has said since we arrived here that being a weather forecaster in French Polynesia must be the easier job in the world. Partly sunny with a chance of rain, 88 during the day and 78 at night. That's it, 365 days a year.
We went back out about 4pm and walked through the waterfront park and then over to where the Statendam was docked and les roulottes were setting up. G had BBQ and I had a spinach and cheese crepe (incredible) and we watched the sunset right from our picnic table. We also had the chance to talk to several Statendam passengers (in English! It felt so good!), except for one couple from Quebec who spoke mostly French but a little English. I was dying trying to keep from laughing. Every port they'd been to- the Hawaiian Islands, Fanning Island, Raiatea and Bora Bora- they hated. And they hated Tahiti too. Apparently they were concerned that they weren't adequately conveying their displeasure because as the wife listed the names of the islands they'd visited, after each one the man would go "Phhhssssst", like he was blowing a raspberry. This went on and on until we had to take a step back, for fear of getting sprayed, and with each one I was dying a little more, laughing on the inside. "Bora Bora?" G asked. Not even Bora Bora was nice? No, not any of them. Phhhssssst!!!
Between the absolute disdain and the raspberries, I'm laughing just thinking about it. Coincidentally, Harold had needed two more people to fill his van this morning for a circle island tour, and we briefly considered joining them. We remembered that this couple had already been lined up to go with him. As they walked away tonight, I looked at G said, "Dodged a bullet on that one".
It's Friday night and the waterfront was host to a lot of activity, most of it family oriented and there are 100 plus kids on razor scooters and little bicycles. G said it well: this town is at its best in the evenings, when the heat of the day abates. We returned to our cabin to see the lights of the Statendam right out the door. It sails at 5am tomorrow. No alarm, but maybe I'll hear the horn's signal once again and get to see it sail.
