After five long sea days of waiting, we have reached Tahiti at last! The island first came into view at 6:00 am, and by 8:00 am we were docked at the shores of Papeete. After eating a quick breakfast in the Park Cafe, we left for the pier to go on our shore excursion around the island. Now for the good news and bad news. Good News: The island is as beautiful as they say. The Bad News: It was raining for most of the day. Unfortunately those weather forecasts were right and the entire day was cloudy and rainy, still mom and I managed to have a good time. For our tour, we visited some gardens, a famous surfing beach, and a restaurant to get a drink, all while driving around the coast. At the end of our tour, we got back on the ship for lunch, and went back out to sightsee around Papeete. Of course, we saw all the wonderful, EXPENSIVE Tahitian Black Pearls, we didn't buy any though. To wrap up our visit to Papeete, we walked around a park and explored a Catholic church. When we got back to the ship, we had dinner in the dining room and went to tonight's entertainment, Tahitian Dancers from the island. After they were done with their performance, they left the ship and we set sail for Moorea (pronounced Muh-oh-ray-ah and only 18 miles to the west of Tahiti) at 9:30 pm. Moorea is supposedly one of the most beautiful islands of French Polynesia, rivaling even Bora Bora. I guess we shall see tomorrow, don't miss it!
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| Tahitian Rainbow to Welcome Us |
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| Close-up of the Rainbow |
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| Tahiti |
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| Rainbow over the Faaa (fah-ah-ah) Airport in Tahiti |
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| Papeete, Tahiti |
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| Moorea in the Distance |
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| Native Polynesians Welcoming Us |
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| The Radiance of the Seas in Papeete |
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| Tahitian Black Sand Beach |
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| Yes, the sand really is black! |
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| Surfing over the rough waters |
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| Black Sand Beach |
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| Trying to catch the next big wave! |
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| Flower of the Lily Plant |
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| A Pink Lotus Flower |
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| A plant that produces green orchids! |
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| Tahitian Woman making a green orchid lei |
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| You can always find a McDonald's, no matter where you go! |
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| Palm Trees |
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| Map of Tahiti. Tahiti is made up of two sections, Tahiti Nui (big island) and Tahiti Iti (small island) |
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| Waterfall over the mountains of Tahiti |
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| Tahitian Franc |
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| Another Tahitian Black Sand Beach |
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| Tahitian Black Pearl Store |
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| Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Papeete, Tahiti |
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| Interior of the Church |
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| Our Ship |
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| Moorea shrouded in clouds |
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| Canoeing in the waters between Moorea and Tahiti |
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| Tahitian Plumeria |
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| A Park in Tahiti |
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| Sign in Papette, in English and French (a lot of the people in the shopping stores spoke only French and limited English) |
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| Our Tahitian Entertainment |
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| The Tahitian Dancers |
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| Nighttime in Tahiti |
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