Sunday in Noumea can be depressing - everything is closed, rubbish from Saturday night's revelry floats in the gutters and streets, and little groups of Kanak youth lie hungover in the parks or on seats in bus shelters, or stumble around clutching bottles of cheap spirits and smoking ganja.
But this weekend there was a terrific distraction - a kind of tourism fair down at the waterfront, with exhibits and displays from near and far.
Particularly great were music and dancing shows from various parts of the French Pacific. We really liked the Wallis Islanders - very Polynesian compared to the local Melanesian culture. Their dancing was very stirring and aggressive, and reminded us of Maori war dances.
On a more worrisome note, "Sea Child", a catamaran from Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, was robbed last night when we were out at dinner with them (Eric and Tamara). Nobody locks their boat here at night, and this is the first time we know of this happening here - makes you feel suspicious of any locals you see wandering the docks, and of course we will all lock up when away from our boats, at least until the memory fades!