Pape’ete, Tahiti

Maeva and bienvenue to the tropical city of Pape’ete in Tahiti.

We had just arrived from cold Auckland to this warm paradise, greeted with leis by Rick and Polly at the Fa’aa airport. Family trip! Now the vacation really begins (again)!

View from my window. Dusty pinks, oranges, and deep greens.

Ian thinks the mountains are a cloud forest.

Polly and Ian walking around the city after brunch.

The next day, we walked around the harbor, and I could barely believe my eyes. Mo’orea was just staring at us right across the way. 

This is the ferry we would take in the next couple of weeks from Tahiti to Mo’orea.

Just walking around. Dipping our toes in the water. Looking at va’a.

Impressed to see a coral garden right in the harbor by the quay. The fish looked happy.

I couldn’t tell if it was summer for students because the boardwalk area was packed with kids and teenagers all just hanging out, blasting music on their huge boomboxes, laughing and smiling like they were on vacation too.

We checked out the Robert Wan Pearl Museum and learned that tahitian pearls are all nucleated to achieve its roundness, and can take up to 4 years to develop in the oyster.

This is the largest pearl in the museum.  It’s not perfectly round but still stunning.

This is the second largest pearl there, but the largest perfectly round pearl. I can’t even imagine what this would cost.

We were only in Tahiti for a brief time, and my favorite spot is hands down the Pape’ete Marche, but I’m saving that for another blog post ;).
Stay Tuned! My French Polynesisan adventure continues to Raiatea, Taha’a, and Mo’orea.