Island of paradise and turquoise water

Sitting in a sunbeam between two palm trees, looking out on the harbour to the right and the ocean with an island of Moorea in the background on the left.

I sit in one of the city parks in Papeete on Tahiti. A large container ship from Maersk has just left the harbour and the view opens up when the container terminal is empty for ships. Here in Papeete, it seems they only have room for one ship at a time.

The sea today is clear and bright. It is a wonderful day. Only very few clouds in the sky and a nice breeze keep me from feeling overheated.

In the park, there are always people walking or sitting — just having a good time. There are two major playgrounds for the smaller kids and with parents sitting outside the fence.

A young teenager rides her skateboard. She is good. She had done this many times before, it was like the skateboard was part of her as she moved over the pavement with the noise that a skateboard always makes. She is concentrated on the ride and does not acknowledge me sitting on the bench.

There are a few chess tables I have seen being used many times in one place. There are many areas of grass where some are sitting on a blanket having lunch or just collecting some energy from the sun. Others are standing in a circle and playing with a ball using their fingertips like in volleyball.

The other evening as we walked home a group of eight was sitting at a table playing different instruments and singing local songs. They were not a band, just friends getting together to share some music and use their instruments. It was very tequila and they sang with a low voice. I got a nod of the head and a smile from a few of them as we stopped up and listened to their music — we were the only ones doing that.

In the morning and afternoon, you meet many runners. They seem to be everywhere these days. By the shore, there are more than a hundred canoes lined up. Many come early in the morning to take their canoe out and this is repeated in the afternoon. In the afternoon there are many coming there to learn how to sail the canoes.

I put down my takeaway coffee and pick up my book. The sun comes in from the side, in a few hours it will be head-on and then it gets too warm sitting here and also impossible to read because of the bright light.

I woke up this morning knowing I would have a great day. We had a full moon during the night and our sky window made it shine into our bedroom. Maybe it was just because I had a perfect sleep and woke up by myself without an alarm clock. I have not used an alarm clock for years except for when I have tickets for something early — I try to avoid the early arrangements but it happens that the best ones are the early ones and I do want the best.

Life had made a turn. I came to this place feeling a little cold and was looking forward to being in the sun again. We did have a lot of sunshine but where we came from was colder than here.

The first week here was more rain than sunshine. We got the most out of it and lately, it has changed to be much more sunny and hardly any rain. We do have some very high mountains behind us and they seem to build up the clouds, so often the morning has a clear blue sky and then especially in the late afternoon it is ruined with clouds which also causes the humidity to rise and for the sunset to be hidden — we have got some amazing sunsets but the perfect one is still to come.

We came in the middle of the night and as we entered the airport building after the short walk from the airplane the first thing was a band playing local music. At 2.30 am they sounded good.

We got through emigration and waited only shortly for the luggage to come in and as we walked out into the hall of the building our host was there waving his hands with a big smile. As soon as we had said hello, he put a flower wreath around our necks.

An amazing start to our time here in Papeete on Tahiti which is part of French Polynesia.

The park is just across the street from our apartment — and we can look down in the park from it. Some old trees are blocking the view so we cannot see Moorea but we can see the ocean and the harbour.

An older man has just walked onto the grass in front of me with a rather large red suitcase. He has a blanket with him that he spreads out and sits down on. I have seen him many times now and suspect he is homeless because he is walking with the suitcase all the time. Not the newest clothes but it looks clean and he looks like he takes care of himself. It might be a little easier here as in the park there are two places where they have open-air baths (and buildings with restrooms) for people who have been out canoeing and want to wash off the salt from the sea before they go home. As they are open-air, it would be easier for a homeless to get a bath — and I have seen a few going in to take a bath. Just today a mother had soaped her boy in soap all over his body — he was certainly not happy but at least he gets clean.

In the middle of the day, it can become very warm here but as we are by the sea it never gets too much. Sadly we have a short drive to get to a beach but having the park this close fulfils my needs on a daily basis.

At both ends of the park, there are some restaurants. At one end of it, the end closest to the city and where the sailboats are located there is a more expensive restaurant that has the worst waiter we have had during our stay here but the food is good.

Next to it across a small square, there is a very cosy restaurant that has a bar built out over the water. A perfect spot for watching the sunset. They have the worst fish and chips I have ever had, and the slowest waiters of them all but during happy hour their drinks have a fair price (half price) and the best view.

At the other end of the park, there are four restaurants next to each other. We have been at everyone by now. The pizzeria is the best — not because their pizzas are the best, they are good but not more than that. But they have good music occasionally, they are open more than the others, the head waiter (or is she the owner?) is a crossdresser that likes wearing long dresses and has a very friendly smile — we are always greeted like friends of the house. They have a special section in their menu for pizzas with pineapple (pineapple is a local delicatessen from Moorea) but they are never available because they do not have the pineapple. I order it every time — and every time they return and tell me it is not available today. Last time I said I would order it next week, but the waiter looked at me shook her head and said “They will not be available then either”.

There are many crossdressers here in Papeete — men dressing as women. Many more than I have seen anywhere else I have visited. I have no clue as to why that is but it certainly adds some colours to the day as both women and those crossdressers love to wear long dresses with colourful flowers and often also a flower behind the ear.

Another restaurant is a grill house where you get the raw meat served on a very hot stone and you grill it at the table yourself. I have not tried this before but it is cosy to be your own chef. And looking around at the other guests we all look equally silly with the white plastic aprons on.

At night the lights are turned on in the park but unlike many places, it is cosy and not too bright. In fact, there are areas where it is rather dark. It has those old-fashioned white metal lamps that match the French style they often use here on Tahiti.

It is a joy to sit on one of the benches and watch the locals use their park during the day or evening. I have a few favourite benches I usually sit on depending on my wish to see the sea or if I want shade.

If you come by, say la ora na (pronounced yo-rah-nah). It is the Tahitian way of saying hello.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it and felt the sunshine touching your cheek if only a little bit. I could keep on talking about Tahiti — and maybe I will at a later time — as it is an amazing place and very relaxed.

Do let me hear what you think in a comment and if you have any comments about my writing I would love to hear it. I will feel happy for any good comments and learn from any bad ones — both are most welcome.

I sincerely appreciate your support!

You can also support my writing by offering me a coffee >>