The weather has improved so we decided to go into downtown to do a little exploring and then maybe go to one of the Heiva (cultural festival) competitions, which we know was going on now, but we didn’t know what time the competitions were. We caught a bus to downtown Papeete and got off at the theater where the Heiva competition was happening. The theater is right on the waterfront in the heart of downtown. We walked around looking for signs or brochures indicating which competitions were happening at what times, but saw nothing to that effect. We looked for the tourism office, which according to Lonely Planet was right there, but couldn’t find it. We gave up and went sight seeing, deciding to head down the waterfront first.

Next to the theater there were a couple of restaurants. One was a sushi place, and we went in for lunch. The menu selection was much the same as home. We were surprised when instead of soy sauce we were given a thick soy mustard dipping sauce. The dipping sauce was good, but it was definitely different than what we are used to at home.

Next to the restaurants is a handicraft market. There are rows of vendors in small temporary looking stalls selling handicrafts made on the various islands. The vendors were selling jewelry, hats, purses, Marquesan wood carvings, clothing, decorative pillows and blankets, ukuleles, all kinds of plants, etc. We picked up some more of the magical anti-bug oil, which we were happy about. In the center of the market is a large stage and seats. Local entertainers put on shows free to the public, so we got to enjoy a live musician as we wandered around the craft market. Behind the market, there were hundreds of outrigger canoes that were used in a recent competition.

Beyond the market is a fair ground, with the usual carnival rides, games and food venders. We noticed the bumper cars had American flags on them, which we thought was weird. Being that it was a Thursday in the early afternoon, there weren’t many kids there.

Beyond the carnival is a grassy park area with a sea wall (aka quay) that private boats can tie up to.

At the end of the park we could see the sea wall continued for several hundred yards, paralleling the highway, and beyond that was a ferry terminal and commercial boat area.

From the sea wall you could also see commercial dock and Moorea in the distance.

Much to our surprise, there were only a few private boats tied to the sea wall. We had read that it was always crowded in here and hard to get a spot. This was supposed to be the most popular place to park your boat since it is right in the heart of everything. You don’t need to take a dinghy in to shore or take a bus to go downtown. What kept us from parking here was we heard that since the boats are so easy to get to, things left out tend to vanish. You are also parked next to the busiest road, so there is a lot of traffic noise. And, it costs money, and where we anchored it is free.

We crossed the street and started wandering around the shops on the other side. There were a few restaurants, coffee houses, night clubs, furniture stores, tons of hairstylists, some government offices”¦ you know, the usual city stuff.

We found the Pearl Museum and went inside. Admittance is free, so we liked the price. The museum is small, but surprisingly interesting. We were impressed with the intricate displays.

Christi wasn’t feeling very good, so when we had finished going through the museum we headed back to the boat for the night. Here they have both buses and trucks for public transportation. We caught the truck back. Here is a picture of it.

Shortly after getting back the rain began, so our timing was good.