Last Days in Papeete - Dance, Art, Tours

Acting all angelic in the Papeete Street Art Museum

Just a few more words about Papeete before we return to Raiatea where Cinnabar will be hauled for cyclone season...

Much as we enjoyed Papeete, it was time to wrap things up and plan for our journey to Raiatea. There is so much to do in Papeete it was impossible to fit everything into our days, not to mention the ubiquitous boat maintenance that is always on our agenda.

Tom goes aloft to check the top of the mast.  One day while I was alone on the boat one of our mainsheet electric winches spontaneously activated and nearly ground the rigging off the boat before I was able to race to the cockpit and whip the sheet off the winch. The loud groaning and popping noises scared the hell out of me! But all was well with the rigging, thank goodness.

We borrowed Maluhia's sewing machine to repair the dinghy chaps that got shredded at the Nuku Hiva dinghy dock. Plus other sundry sewing projects.

Once in a while we had to tear ourselves away from boat tasks to get a little bit of the "local color". Tehani, our yacht services agent, told some of us about a Tahitian women's dance class nearby, so one night a group of cruiser ladies grabbed our pareos (sarongs) and walked to the nearby dance school. the hour-long class was fun and interesting but very hard work! I haven't sweated so much in a long time and I have a newfound respect for Tahitian dancers.

Still sweating even after class - L to R Wendy (LINDA), Sylvia (CINNABAR), Kim (MALUHIA), Kim (NORTH STAR), our teacher Macao. Sitting - Tehani our yacht agent (she's a really good dancer)

During our walks throughout Papeete we kept seeing some very interesting and quite excellent street art. 

Hangin' Loose with Batman

Tom monkeys around with the beach crowd.

Street art in Tahiti? And then Tom found this cool article in the Huffington Post about the subject: Jellyfish and Sharks and Octopi, Oh My! 

Turns out a local woman is an afficionada and starting in 2014 she almost single-handedly arranged an international street art and graffiti competition/festival in Tahiti and some of the other nearby islands. 

Street art goddess Sarah Roopina (right) who conceived and created the festival, with NY Post photog Martha Cooper (left) who is one of the judges. (photo Instagram)

The festival was very popular and has been growing annually, attracting famous street artists from around the world. Sarah's Street Art and Graffiti Museum had just opened days earlier so Tom and I walked over to get ourselves educated.

Street Art Museum outside, trash octopus sculpture created by found items. Its tentacles were aerosol can caps.

Our lovely guide gave us a tour of the museum.

One might think that an indoor museum of street art is a contradiction. In reality the indoor exhibit gives the artists a chance to expand their medium by the use of videos and interesting lighting.

We liked the black light room where we were invited to take flash photographs of the art. With the black light the art had one appearance...

...and with the camera flash it had another. 

Fierce snarl and artists signature revealed.

Coincidentally, the museum was right next to an outstanding pastry shop. Tom and I enjoyed some decadent pastries and great coffee; every single bite was truly divine. Yum!

They look beautiful and taste even better. Best pastry we've had in years.
(Les Reves de Lucie - free wifi, easy walk from PPT marina)

One thing we really wanted to do before leaving Tahiti was to take a tour with a knowledgeable guide. Turns out our yacht agent Tehani's Auntie Corinne has a PhD in Polynesian Languages and Civilizations and we could hire her to give us a tour of the entire island of Tahiti. Corinne knows her island very well and specializes in Tahitian legends and history. She also gave us a reading list of books and stories that have to do with Polynesia.

Corinne and Sylvia 

I knew Tom would be happy with Corinne as a guide since our first stop was at a combination hardware and kiting store. He was able to pick up a board bag and an on-sale machete. Watch out coconuts!

We headed north to Point Venus to visit the site of our first anchorage and where Captain Cook traveled to watch the Transit of Venus in 1769.

We stopped along the way to visit the grave site of the last Tahitian King, Pomare V, d. 1891. 

A mausoleum built of coral.

I asked Corinne what was the bottle on top of the mausoleum, was it an urn that contained his ashes? "He loved Benedictine, so it's a Benedictine bottle" she replied with a laugh. 

The point Venus lighthouse decorated with posters of smiling Tahitians.

On our way around the island Corinne took us to the best juice bar and fruit stand ever. This guy owns a big farm and he grows all sorts of fruits and vegies. We had a refreshing juice of banana, papaya and soursop all blended up with crushed ice. Very refreshing! Then we bought some fruit and veg and headed on our way.

Fantastic juice bar on the highway. All fruit and veg grown on the premises.

We continued on with Corinne telling us all about the Tahitian legends of the various locations. Did you know that the coconut represents the Eel-King? When the Eel-King was beheaded by a jealous god (yes, a beautiful woman was involved) his decapitated head swore "those who hate me will eventually kiss me on the mouth." Urk. Turns out the three depressions on the coconut are the Eel-King's eyes and mouth, and when you pierce the soft depression and drink from the nut you are now kissing the Eel-King. Prediction confirmed!

Hina the seductress who caused the Eel-King's death can't resist the Eel-King's coconuts.

We stopped for lunch in the south island of Tahiti Nui. Our friends Nicole and Ryan on NAOMA were anchored here and Tom surprised us by hailing them on the VHF radio and they joined us for an excellent lunch of fresh fish.

L to R - Nicole, Ryan, Corinne, Sylvia, Tom

Tom made sure that Corinne stopped at all the good surfing spots, especially the world renowned Teahupoo beach. The name ("place of skulls") comes from the legend that the locals used to stack the heads of their victims into a wall along the beach. One of the locals told Tom to be sure to pronounce each vowel carefully. He said a lot of people pronounce it "Cho- Poo", which means "head up your butt". This place is famous for its big wave surfing competitions and is the site of the annual Billabong Pro Tahiti surf competition.

Sorry Tom, no waves today so this is the best you'll get.

We continued circumnavigating the island, stopping at various points of interest, and happened to to time the sunset perfectly at another surfing beach, Taapuna.

More street art at the beach!

We enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Corinne gave us a tour from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. I'd say we got our money's worth.

A few days later our hydraulic boom vang (important boat part that holds up the boom, which helps hold the mainsail) arrived from being serviced in San Diego. 

Boom Vang carefully packaged. Tom's super robust packaging job was damaged in transit but luckily the vang remained intact, so worth the $75 shipping tube.

Not surprisingly the freight cost (much) more than the repair, and not surprisingly it was a pain in the butt (a gross understatement; 3 weeks time!) to coordinate shipping. But on the plus side our good friends Henri and Ellis (from the new sails delivery) delivered the vang directly to the boat on a Monday afternoon. Luckily we were able to install it with minimal drama the next morning, and that Tuesday evening at around 17:00 (5:00 pm) we sailed out of Papeete Harbor bound for Raiatea. (Navtec hydraulics must be serviced by authorized technicians only; we highly recommend Rigworks in San Diego).


Next Up: Cinnabar gets hauled with inches to spare on sides and bottom.