Tahiti September 9, 2023

Why is the idea of going to Tahiti so exotic? That’s a rhetorical question to which I have no answer. Maybe it’s because for us, it’s so far away and writers and artists (think Gaugin) discovered it and made us aware of it. There are no snakes or dangerous animals there. Fruit grows wild and the scenery is beautiful. We arrived at Papeete, the capital, early Saturday morning. It’s pronounced, Pap pe ( long e) A ( long A and the stressed syllable) t long a. Papi A TA. Not Pa Peet.

We had originally booked a walking tour of the town. But after discussion and reading, we decided to change our booking to a tour of the island. It is only about 70km around the island. We had our last scheduled toursbylocals.com tour and it was a great tour to finish with. We’ve never had a bad tour with them. Our tour guide Max was unbelievably well versed.

I have to say a few words about Max. I found his story so interesting. He and his wife are from St. Petersburg, Russia. Over 22 years ago, while attending school in Russia, they decided they wanted to build a sailboat and circumnavigate the globe. They, and 12 of their friends, purchased titanium and spent a number of years welding the boat and building it. Eight of them left Russia in 2001 and began their adventure. Max has 2 daughters, the oldest one who is now 17, was born in Columbia, and his 15 year old daughter was born in the Cayman Islands. 10 years ago, when the girls were ready for school, they settled in Tahiti. They are now citizens of Tahiti and Max and his wife act as tour guides, among their other jobs. Max drove us around the island, told us stories and gave us more information than I will ever remember. He was an ambassador for Tahiti and referred to the island as “our” and “we”. He is truly a member of the French Polynesian family. We discussed economics, socio-economics, religion, history and many other topics. His knowledge, history, and recall were tremendous. I learned more in a day than I could take in. Mauruuru, Max.

French Polynesia is 4 million square miles of ocean and islands. About 300,000 people make up the population. 80% of them live in Tahiti and over 140,000 live in Papeete and surrounding cities. Tahiti had its own government, but is also a “state” of France. There is no income tax and there is socialized medicine. However there is no national pension plan. It also seems that most of the island is run and owned by the Chinese. There is a connection to France and French food is flown into Tahiti 3 times a week for sale in the markets. Fruits and beautiful plants and waterfalls abound. Even with a short visit, you can see why it is considered to be a paradise.

Enjoy the photos.

Singers at the pier.

Tikis. Stone figures are found only on 3 Polynesian islands. Tahiti and Rapa Nui being two of them.

Remains of a Polynesian temple.

Bananas growing in the wild. We saw papayas and breadfruit too.

Banyan Tree

Rubber tree. I had never seen one before.

We fed the eels. They have blue eyes and are not a food source in Tahiti.

Chickens abound. We fed them too. Fresh French Baggett. I fed myself too. The baggetts are subsidized and cost about 30 cents..

Black sand beaches. Next year at the Paris Olympics, the surfing competition will be held in Tahiti.

We saw a number of waterfalls. Even in the rain, it was a good day.

Max and me at the park. I need the selfies he took!

I could show you more photos but listening to these teens sing, is a great way to end our visit. There’s Max walking by. Noni (goodbye) to Tahiti.