Papeete

After 5 relaxing days at sea we arrived in Papeete. It bore no resemblance to the city we'd visited in 1967 on our way to England except for the market which is still there in the centre of town.

We dressed in our swimmers for a day at the beach. There were vans with drivers for hire but the eight of us intended to hire a car so we could drive ourselves around. That way we could find a beach at which to spend the day without having to worry about the time.

After a quick look at the sarongs and shell jewellery for sale at the dockside stalls, we went off into town to find the Avis place.

Alas! Our hot tramp led only to failure. There were no vans for hire.

Back to Square 1.

We'd wasted over an hour of our time but Elaine came up with a solution; we'd hire a van taxi and go to Le Meridien. Elaine is a member and we'd be able to use the facilities for the day.

So that's what we did, making sure to order the taxi to return for us at 3.15. We had to be back on board at 4.30.

The hotel was lovely, as you'd expect. It was on the beach with a huge sandy bottomed beach-style pool. The pool was very similar to the one at Sanctuary Cove, set amidst tropical gardens and with long chairs with shady umbrellas to keep us cool. There was a restaurant by the pool and a waiter to bring us drinks. Heaven!

Surprisingly, the water was cold but it warmed up during the day. We lunched on toasted Panini and French fries.

After lunch I wandered down to the beach. It wasn't wonderful but I waded in. The current was strong and fallen palm leaves and other natural debris was floating rapidly past. I had to brush it aside to stop it from tangling itself around me.

I was about to duck under when I noticed a very natural object floating nearby. It resembled a Mars bar; you can imagine what it was! I was outa there quick smart.

We passed the day very pleasantly by or in the pool and it was time to go. We assembled in the lobby to wait for our taxi.

3.10, 3.20, 3.30, 3.40.

Yes, you guessed it - no taxi. Several ordinary taxis came to drop off guests but ours wasn't one of them. We hadn't taken the company's number so we couldn't check on its progress. Eventually, Reception ordered us another and it arrived within minutes.

By this time, our two Italians, Arturo and Vincenzo, were having coniptions. They are Nervous Nellie's, or whatever the Italian term is, about time and are terrified of being left behind by the ship. It was also rush hour in Papeete so even the cool ones amongst us were experiencing slightly sweaty palms.

It all worked out well, however, for most of the traffic was going in the opposite direction and we arrived back near the ship in time to have a quick peek in the pearl shops for some black Tahitian pearls. I saw a huuuuge, perfectly spherical one and fell in love. It was only 2 000 000 CPF!

We didn't buy any although there were some unset ones that were quite affordable.

Richard and Patricia had invited us to join them on their balcony for drinks for Sailaway. It was a perfect evening as we departed Papeete and watched the lights of the town slowly fade into the distance.

We were off to the fabled island of Bora Bora.