We enjoyed the scenic views from
Skywalkers high atop the Sapphire Princess as we cruised from Moorea toward Tahiti, which is only 14 miles away. We had left our cameras in the room, which proved to be a mistake, because as we walked to the dining room for another outstanding dinner, a gorgeous sunset unfolded.
The sky was emblazoned in rich, bright shades of magenta, orange, hot pink and deep purple, like Paul Gauguin's thickly stroked, dark oil paintings, but illuminated from within. As we stood by a rail enjoying the moment, we were torn. Should we dash to the room for the cameras? I turned to a fellow passenger with a professional looking camera snapping away and asked if he could e-mail me photos, handing him my card. He said he would, but he never did.
It was again one of those "you have to have been there" moments. The sunset photos included herein are from the "disappointing" sunset the following evening. When the peak had long since passed, I headed down to the room and took a movie of the aftermath, which you can see at the end of the middle video embedded on my Moorea post.
Tahiti is the only island in French Polynesia with what you could really call a city, which makes it the most attractive for some people. Papeete has been a beacon to sailors for decades, and in my opinion has not aged well under the rough use. There are smokers at side walk cafes and a few other touches that bring to mind the French influence. The contrast to the day we enjoyed on Moorea was night and day, as I guess is appropriate because we did arrive at night. We were going to convert some U.S. dollars to Tahitian currency, but an uneasiness about the sleazy surroundings dissuaded us that night.
It wasn't always that way in Tahiti. Long before Paul Gauguin abandoned the city life in France to become the most famous artist on these distant shores, the famed explorer Captain Cook landed here to observe an astronomical phenomenon for England's Royal Academy which had financed his expedition. They would observe Venus moving across the face of the sun and by doing so hopefully determine the size of the solar system.
When his ship Endeavor and crew of 94 men arrived in 1769, they found what could only be described as a tropical paradise. In addition to the gorgeous beaches and lush foliage, there were half naked women who freely shared their bodies with the sailors. It's not hard to understand why a few years later Captain Bligh's men mutineed to return there.
On Cook's earlier voyage to the island, the Tahitians were fascinated by the metallic items, possibly because they recognized that these shiny objects held the key to the dominant weapons possessed by the new arrivals. The women, in fact, traded sexual favors for anything made of metal, and inevitably someone stole the large telescope required to fulfill the expedition's mission.
To get it back, Captain Cook kidnapped the Queen of the Tahitians and held her onboard the Endeavor until his telescope was returned. Fortunately, the ploy worked, and the astronomical observations were made. Soon after, Cook and his men sailed away, because, as Cook wrote, he feared the ship would fall apart if they didn't get out of Tahiti, because even a nail could be exchanged for sexual favors.
241 years later, when we went ashore in Tahiti the morning following our arrival, we took a taxi through the city traffic to a black sand beach by the Raddison. There was no real snorkeling there, but the views were lovely. In the afternoon, we went to the palapa bar at the hotel for drinks.
When we sailed away, we had cameras at the ready, but unfortunately the sunset wasn't as dramatic as the previous night.
