Pacific Odyssey - Leg 2

Our day started early; at 0500 hrs some of us got up to visit the market. It was definitely worth the effort. The streets were full of parked cars though the sky was still dark. The market however, was full of people selling everything to do with local food. It was like a beehive, seemingly quiet on the outside, but teeming with life and busy-ness and patterns on the inside. The fishboats had come in earlier and there were aisles of tables full of an amazing variety of fish. Most were still complete, head, guts and all. The tuna and the bigger fish were cut in large chunks ready to be used. There were tables and tables of food; wonderful looking vegetables, baked goods such as croissants, bagettes, cakes etc., there were several tables where 50lb. sacs of coconuts were being halved and grated to make ´noix de coco rape´, or to have the grated coconut squeezed to make the coconut milk, the cream we use in curries etc. There were hundreds of bottles of this white liquid lining the tables, beside the bags of grated coconut and other packages of cut shapes that I presume was something edible although it looked rather disgusting. We stood and watched a woman grating coconut and she offered us a half shell with the grated nut in it to taste, delicious. The vegetable stands went out the back opening of the market and into the street; there was every vegetable you could think of. I asked myself where all the gardens were. Inside there were tables selling cooked beef, pork and baked chickens, all still on the bone. They cut bits off with a cleaver on a big chopping board, making piles of the various meats one could buy. They would put the sold meat on newsprint, weigh it and pass it over, receive the payment, all very efficient, a quick exchange. We were some of the only ´visitors´ at the market, everyone else seemed local and intent on getting their shopping done. The voices calling prices, the smells, the amount of bodies moving around, the variety of things to look at, the colours and the shapes, the fact that it was only 0530 hrs, all made the experience intense. We loved it. By 0630, we were back on the boat and the sun was up. I can understand why the Tahitians shop this early, it was wonderfully cool. By the time the bosun whistle blew to announce breakfast at 0800 hrs., most of the trainees had left to rent cars and spend the day touring the island. Sara, Gillian, Katie, Skipper, the 4 younger kids and I were the only ones left on the boat. Yona, Anthony, Darcy and Chris went walking and found a beautiful beach and hotel to relax at; they were thrilled at their luck. Jen´s parents and her sister arrived today; they´re off to Moorea to spend a few days together before Kelsey boards and Jen disembarks. It was Jen and Jenna G. who looked after my boys yesterday while Tony and I wandered. Sara and Skipper stayed on the ship while the rest of us walked to church for 1000hrs. The church was 2/3 full of white hats, ladies and little girls dressed in white dresses, men and boys in dark pants with white short-sleeved shirts. The singing was beautiful; the voices lead themselves in harmony, without any accompaniment. The words were in Tahitian and after a bit we could follow some of them on the printed sheet they gave
us. After church we picked up a drink from the one place that was open and had an impromptu picnic. On Sundays, everything shuts down here. The big market was done by noon, everything else never opened, not even a coffee shop somewhere. We spent a quiet afternoon on the boat. The cruise ship dock behind us was busy, a new trip started today on the Tahitian Princess Line. People slowly started to return to the ship. Only 13 of us had supper together, stir-fry and rice. As people returned, we heard of the various adventures. The tours around the island sounded good; a great black sand beach with huge surf to play in, snorkelling in the rain showers, drives up mountains to spectacular view points, chinese food on the beach with semi-live music (that´s a mixture of live and recorded), a visit to an International calibre surfing competition beach where the coral and surf meet in an intensely dangerous proximity to one another, etc. They all seemed satisfied. No one ended up camping as the island was small enough to travel around in a day and they experienced regular rain; they all have dry and comfortable beds here on the ship . . . home. Jordan, Carolyn, Antony and Arielle had a fantastic day hiking into the interior of the island and meeting some wonderful people along the way who helped them with lifts. One family was backroading with their 4 WD truck and took them along on their route, as well as fed them pizza and ice cream and drove them to see the view from one of the nearby mountain peaks. Jordan said that both groups were excited about the interaction and their new friends hope to come by for a tour. A very full day for everyone. Tomorrow some trainees are leaving early on the ferry to Moorea for the day. The day following is the beginning of our two work days where we all work together 0900-1700 hrs to prepare the boat for the next leg. This is it, I am very tired. Good night, Happy Birthday Monique, Bonice.