Pete had been contemplating getting a tattoo here well before he arrived. The Polynesians, especially the Marquesans, are some of the most noted and respected tattoo artists in the world. Tattoos were an important part of their culture in the pre-European days, especially for the warriors. The tattoos offered here are traditional Polynesian style artistry. They are only black ink. They are usually animals and usually have incredibly intricate and beautiful designs. Eric and Christi are not tattoo fans, but we think the traditional art work is beautiful and that the tattoos are really cool.

This morning Pete got up and began calling tattoo shops. It was now or never. He found a Marquesan guy named Fati that could take him at noon. He and Shelley headed out right away since it would take a while to get there. By 1500 (3:00 pm), they were back, with Pete sporting a giant manta ray on his calf. Inside the manta ray is a turtle and inside the turtle is a tiki. The tattoo is really big, but super cool. Pete is thrilled. Shelley is less than thrilled with the size, but has to admit that the tat is cool. Pete is excited to show off his “Fati Tatty”.

Fati also gave them three pamplemousse. Hopefully these will fare better than Norman’s did.

Once they returned, we headed into town so they could book tickets back to Papeete and we could go grocery shopping. We headed back to Kosmos, unloaded the groceries, then started looking for a place for dinner. Almost every place we called was full. We wound up going back to the same restaurant we had lunch at on Saturday. We even had the same waitress. This time they brought us a complementary appetizer, a puff pastry stuffed with a fish pate. It was good, but a bit fishy. Eric got gazbacho with salmon mousse for a first course. Pete got mahi pate for a first course. For entrees, Eric and Shelley got steak in a creamy pepper sauce, Pete got leg of lamb, and Christi got prawns. All the entrees came with a small quantity of yummy roasted veggies and scalloped potatoes. Pete said the mahi was only OK, but everything else was excellent. We got three desserts: a berry crumble, a chocolate lava cake, and a chocolate mousse in a dark chocolate shell and fudge sauce. They were all really good.

We had been told that Bora Bora was the most beautiful of all the islands and by far the most touristy. It is really beautiful here, but it is hard to say most beautiful. All the islands are gorgeous. It is definitely the most touristy of the islands. And most expensive. Most of the tourists we have encountered on Bora Bora are American honeymooners. This was kind of surprising. Most of the visitors to French Polynesia are French, so it is weird to see so many Americans.

Also, we need to thank Shelley and Pete for taking the majority of the photos we have posted since they arrived. They have been great photographers.