The fabled isle of Tahiti, exotic port of call and stuff of boyhood dreams, Marlin Brando, Fletcher Christian, beckoning bare breasted Polynesian girls and swaying coconut palms…. well at least the trees were there. Actually the mutiny on the Bounty took place in Tonga not Tahiti. We pulled into Papeete Harbor, as usual, in the darkness, but the pass through the reef was well marked and even had range lights that worked. Threading our way through the harbor using two sets of ranges, we found the anchorage, got the hook down and sat in the cockpit with some wine to soak up some of the exotic dreams of this far away land. Reality sets in once again with the incessant noise of car horns, mopeds, motorcycles and jet planes taking off from a nearby runway. Just like home I guess but after the quite and solitude of being at sea, this is a little too much, Liz loves it. In the distance, though, we could hear the rhythmic beat of Polynesian drums. The main thing is we made it here and right on schedule for the combination of Bastille Day and Fete. Now everyone knows that Fete is just a manufactured holiday to celebrate the union (takeover) of Polynesia by the French and was made to coincide with Bastille Day so it looked liked a nationalistic celebration. Well the Tahitians know how to keep their heads so they have a great time with dancing, canoe races and several days off at government expense. When Bastille Day actually comes, there is a small parade with any French military that happens to be in town while the Tahitians just enjoy the day off and try like everyone else not to take the French too seriously.
In retrospect, I have been impressed with the amount of alternative energy that is used throughout the region. All of the lighted navigational aids are solar powered as are most of the small town street lamps which are also florescent and work very well. Hydroelectric power is also used on a small local level. Most of the islands are high enough to stop the clouds and produce plentiful rainfall or at least major condensation, all of which produces dozens of small streams allowing the rich luxuriant vegetation. Some of this water is carried off in multiple 3” pipes from several sources to a central cistern about the size of a large hot tub and then through a larger single pipe down the mountain to a small generator, which supplies the village needs. The people in the smaller villages function mainly during daylight hours. Sunrise is about 5:45AM local time and sets around 7:00 PM. Most shops are open by 7:00 but few are open after dark, houses are dark after 8:00 PM. Electricity consumption must be quite low and I don’t know if that is because of cost or available supply. While I don’t like the very short days of a New York winter, I do enjoy the long hours of sun in the summer. Life near the equator with its fairly equal days and nights has not been very appealing to me. The weather however has been just about perfect with days in the low 80’s and nights in the 60’s, always with a comfortable breeze. True the midday sun can get rather warm and you generally seek the shade, but air conditioning is just not needed especially when an afternoon siesta is worked into the schedule. This is winter, but the summer doesn’t change things that much, it just rains more.
It is just about midnight, we are 40 miles from our way point at Raiatea where we will change course for a final approach to Bora Bora. Bora Bora can support an easy lifestyle where numerous types of fruits and vegetables grow in abundance without cultivation, while pigs and chickens eat the dropped fruit and need little if any care. The sea provides any additional protein needed but is little used today. The Marqueses had a population of over 60,000 when Captain Cook first landed there but now total only 6,000 on the same land mass because the people have given up fishing and copra production for government jobs and move away from the small islands to the larger cities. Health care has improved, infanticide and human sacrifices have stopped but they still eat their dogs, I guess a little at a time. Fortunately the expression “we would like to have you over for lunch sometime” doesn’t carry the same meaning as it used to.
We stayed in Papeete for most of the time there and didn’t get a chance to see the real Tahiti if it still exists. No longer does one have to spend months sailing to achieve this destination since on a daily basis planes disgorge loads of overweight dumpy tourists with their usual mismatched clothes and cameras looking for their tour guide. This was also the land of cars, pollution, faxes and E-mail; all welcome since the last time was in Panama. The outer islands and atolls provided us with a glimpse of how things might have been so that is about as good as we might get. Sailed over to Moorea for a few days which has few large settlements but incredibly beautiful anchorages. This too will change since here is a major building boom going on for resorts. With a ferry running between Tahiti and Moorea, it’s easy to live on one island and commute to the other. Bora Bora is less than 12 hrs. away, the last stop in French Polynesia and I don’t expect it to be significantly different than what we have already experienced but it is an end to this marvelous area of earth. The rugged beauty of these islands cannot be changed much and to even try to describe it with words is a total waste of time. It is something that has to be experienced on a daily level with the changing light patterns, clouds and rainfall all producing an incredible mosaic that is French Polynesia.
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