Papeete, Tahiti

We named it "Shanty Island"...right outside our back porch
They seem to have lots of fun though.

Now that we've settled in I can give a proper perspective of Tahiti (obviously from my point of view)... as those before me have written, it's not exactly what you think of when you think "Tahiti."  I think we all think of the resorts, all inclusive hotels and immaculate landscapes...not exactly.  As cruisers, we're fortunate enough to get a glimpse into what it might be like to actually live in a place and see it from a local's point of view (we are currently anchored in front of some of the finest shanty's I've seen from the water, not an uncommon view).  It's a whole different perspecitve.

We took the bus in on Friday to town with Angelina and Natalie on La Fiesta (Natalie is the cute 5 year old Jake's been playing with for the last 3 days).  Everyone we've talked to finds it a dirty city and isn't too impressed.  Well, I like city's.  No, correct that...I love city's.  See, I grew up just outside of Atlanta and to this day my heart skips a couple of beats everytime I fly into the city and see that skyline...I know I'm home.  So, when I see a city, I don't see dirty streets (which they are not here by the way...just old) and too many people...I see a never ending place to explore.  We had a nice day walking around and seeing new places.  We found a playground for the kids and then eventually we made it home.  I say eventually because evidently we found the only bus stop where buses don't actually stop.  We must have waited an hour and half and finally a woman told us buses don't actually stop there.  She saw the two kids and was kind enough to offer us a ride back to the Marina.  She even bought the kids ice cream!

So what's here?  Lots and lots of lots of boats...literally hundreds.  But that's not what I meant by the question...sorry.   Within walking distance of the Marina are two grocery stores.  To the left is the Carrefours...American style grocery store (think SuperWalmart) with anything and everything you could possibly want.  Not quite American prices but close.  Lots of vegetables from the good old US of A though...  The best part is that you can push the cart all the way back to your dinghy so there's no lugging 15 backpacks with your poop in it. 
To the right of the Marina is a McDonald's (complete with waterfront seating...although don't expect a quick OR cheap meal, $30 for the three of us) and another grocery store.  Smaller, yet easier to get around.  It seems to have everything you need as well, without all the temptations of a larger store.



This is a very small fraction of the boats in this anchorage. 
Even though we're crowded, we always have our beautiful sunsets.



So here we are... It's Father's Day and after a full day yesterday playing on Savannah, La Fiesta returned the favor and picked up Jake this morning about 10:30...It's 4:00 and we have no idea where he is :).  It's hard to have a day by yourself...you find that you don't know what to do with all that free time!

We pick up a rental car tomorrow to do some provisioning and explore the rest of the island.  We've kind of been saving our money so we could do something like this.  Looking forward to it.  I haven't taken a lot of pictures but hopefully you'll enjoy seeing Jake finally get to play with someone his own age who speaks English (albeit with an Aussie accent :) ).



Jake and Natalie watching "Clone Wars" on Savannah.
She actually likes to play and watch the same things he does!