The trip is going well and we are enjoying Papeete, Tahiti very much; I've never seen so many beautiful people, in all my life. Their inward beauty seems as obvious as their outward...showing in their smiles and generosity.

You just want to take pictures of them on the street as they come and go from work or run errands or do otherwise normal things. Many of the women actually do wear traditional floral print dresses to work; not bare shoulder pareos, but beautiful bright floral print skirts and blouses or dresses that they have likely sewn themselves out of the pretty fabrics you see in all the local fabric stores. Bright teal, pink, purple, or orange, with white or beige floral prints, sometimes edged with white cotton lace. Women of all ages and shapes, brightening up the streets of Papeete as much as any landscaping.

And it is all true what they say about the beauty of 'island singing'. The singing coming from any of the numerous churches sounds heavenly, and catches you off guard at odd times of day like 4:00 pm on a Thursday...(what service is that?); when you might be running around buying souvenirs or going to the public market. However much you might be rushing around, you are stopped in your tracks when you hear the heavenly sound of Tahitian singing.

Some of our neighbors back in Tacoma have been to Papeete and long to go back. I can now understand the faraway wistful looks on their faces when they talk of Tahiti. Even if the Tahiti of yore no longer exists, the present day island still has a way of pulling on your heart and I had tears in my eyes as we sailed away.