We arrived in Papeete, Tahiti at 7pm. I can't begin to tell you what joy it was to escape the confines of the ship – which I had long been referring to as The Death Star. I went off with my friend Pauline, the onboard art teacher, in search of grilled shrimp or lobster in garlic – but we had to settle for beer, moules et frites. The café where we ate had internet, but it had failed – like all the establishments – under the strain of hundreds of cruise ship passengers desperate to check their emails. Our long Pacific passage had been entirely devoid of internet access – a complete satellite black hole. It was a hot and humid night and I was soon soaked to the skin – I later discovered this was a sign of worse to come.
My excitement about the next day following in the footsteps of Fletcher Christian, the crew of the Bounty and Gaugin, was soon dashed. No sooner was I back in my cabin, than a long night and day of running between bed and bathroom ensued. So yet another island missed. I wasn't doing too well with French Polynesia! My only consolation was that the weather in Tahiti, as viewed through my cabin window, was rather overcast.
留言