After 6 weeks in the Tuamotus, we were ready for a taste of civilization. Sampling the Roullottes (rolling food trucks), visiting the infamous Papeete Quay and downtown market, and seeing the legendary Teahupoo Wave break were all on our list of “must do’s”. We enjoyed all of these and more!
Marina Taina Anchorage:
We managed to squeeze into an anchoring spot out front of Marina Taina alongside well over a hundred other boats. We were worried about reports of petty theft, dragging anchors and unpleasant conditions here. However none of these came to fruition. The worst part was locking ourselves out of our own boat one evening after a long day exploring town and losing our key. Our boat locks up tight! Luckily friends had bolt cutters we could borrow!
One of the best parts about this anchorage is its convenient dinghy dock and close proximity to Carrefour supermarket – a well stocked large grocery store filled with fresh foods, a crepe making machine, several selections of cheeses and proscuitto. Wow! After the limited shopping choices we encountered in the Marquesas and Tuamotus, we were in heaven.
Another good thing was that this anchorage was close to the only duty free fuel dock in Tahiti, which made filling up our fuel easy and convenient. (Note: duty free fill up only available on weekdays!)
And we were treated to the best sunsets of our entire trip from this anchorage. Watching the sunset behind Moorea, with paddlers and drums beating in the background was a highlight of our time here.
Exploring Tahiti by Car:
We are so glad we rented a car to allow us to explore Tahiti. We were able to visit exotic gardens, waterfalls, grottos, Point Venus, and of course the famous wave of Teahupoo. Even on a small day the waves were powerful. We were lucky to talk ourselves into a ride out to the wave on one of the Billabong Surf pro boats and were given an up close view of this impressive wave.
One of my favourite images from this day was a ‘road-side fish rack’ with several different sized tunas hanging from their tails. This was at the side of the road out front of a gas station. Cars would stop and buy fresh Tuna ‘to go’. Unfortunately we sped off before I could take a photo.
Downtown Papetee
After obtaining our duty free certificate from the customs office, we visited the famous fresh air market in downtown Papetee, sampled fresh fruit, went to the pearl museum and enjoyed a leisurely walk along the town quay. We’d read about boats in previous years being able to ‘med moor’ alongside the quay in downtown Papetee and we were sad that this is no longer possible. But Papetee Marina has done a great job of updating the quay waterfront and and we enjoyed viewing the coral rehabilitation garden and visiting friends there (SV Big Finn, thanks for hosting us!).
Point Venus
On our way out of Papetee we decided to spend a few nights anchoring out front of the Tahiti yacht club and at nearby Point Venus. Both are fantastic anchorages (with a close by Carrefour to the Tahiti Yacht Club)so we would consider spending less time at or bypassing completely the Marina Taina anchorage next time around. We also spent the day anchored off of a black sand beach south of Point Venus for a day. It was strange to look down and not see any bottom while your toes sank into soft (black) sand.
Most folks stop in at Papetee for a quick provisioning stop and any necessary errands before heading off again to the nearby Society Islands. We did the same and were not expecting to enjoy Tahiti and Papetee as much as we did. We were pleasantly surprised by our time here and our time in Tahiti ranks high on our list!
