Welcome to Paradise, well not exactly. Papeete is a bustling city of over 100k people. Traffic, noise and you can get most anything here, but it will cost you. We moored right on the main road at the yacht quay, Blvd. Pomare, named after the ruler for many years. The quay over looks the waterfront shops, hotels and restaurants. It is the main road in and out of Papeete, so the traffic starts at about 5am and on weekends, the city is still going until the wee hours of the morning. Along the waterfront there is a very nice park, which is the location to the annual Haiva festival, which takes place each July. Competition of dancing, paddling, music..... goes on for a week or two. The competitors come from all over, as far as the Marquesas. There are lovely gardens and views.

In the town/city, there are many boutiques, restaurants and businesses. You see people dressed like they are going to an office or on a boat with short, definitely a melting pot. Many of the shops are run by Chinese, apparently there are over 10K on Tahiti. Along with typical shops you have the Marche, which is an open air market that is huge. proprietors come form all over the island as early as 4:30am when it opens to sell there products, which consists of fruits, pastries, fresh fish, a wide variety of meats and cheeses, as well as flowers and other crafts made by local artisans. It is quite the spectacle. It is where everyone comes to buy their fresh food.

And like everywhere else in the world, there is a McDonalds, Paul and I would head over there for the coffee each morning, as it was the best price and quite good, then head out to find the real French pastries. There is a 2 hour walking tour of waterfront which goes from outrigger canoes to the ferry docks and commercial docks. Taking you through the park, the pearl museum, a few churches and the government buildings. You want to do it early, as the city gets quite warm under the tropical sun, without the tradewinds blowing like you would on the boat.

One can enjoy the many activities the big city has to offer. But it is Mothers day here, just like in the states and Europe, so churches are full and stores are closed. One thing we have noticed cars/motorbikes really stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk along Blvd Pomare, even though they are speeding along. Maybe a big fine for not stopping.

Back to the boat, we will meet the mechanic tomorrow morning and hopefully get the transmission cable fixed.