Eyes doing just fine

Papeete, Tahiti, was our destination for Wednesday, April 26.  Papeete (which basically means water well) is the capital of French Polynesia and has a population of about 26,000 (2012).  This was a walk-off port and our only plan was to get me to the ophthalmologist and then walk around.

My ride had been arranged and off we went in a Ford pickup with a very-nicely-dressed female driver.  She got us through traffic and narrow streets and put us off on another narrow street with lots of people and a grey-ish-colored building.  Hmmmmm.  There was a window and I asked about the eye doctor.  Down the block and to the left. 

We walked a short distance down the street.  There were people all over, waiting, for?  We turned left and entered a large open-air type of clinic, with doctor offices located in a large square around a waiting room full of people.  There was a surgery, eye doctors and other specialists. 

I checked in.  English is not the first language, but we managed.  Soon I was taken back and a young lady with very little English questioned me.  She then did a few eye exams, including the glaucoma puff test, and then a doctor came in.  He spoke way better English and said they wanted to dilate my eye and take a look.  Okay.

Back out to the lobby we went.  A young lady with a bottle of drops in her hand came around and put dilating solution in my eye, and the eyes of others.  Head up, drop, and then she moved on to the next one.  It was a bit intimidating as everyone mostly spoke French and these were all local folks.  I was glad Stef had come with me as it would have been pretty uncomfortable in a strange country, strange clinic and not speaking the language.

We sat and waited.  The young lady came and dilated eyes again.  Not mine.  We waited.  Then I was finally called back in and the doctor did some other checks.  It appeared my eye was fine, but he also recommended having it checked again, by my regular doctor when I returned home, just to be on the safe side.  I paid, in their currency, and am not exactly sure how much it cost … maybe $90???  Guess I’ll find out when I look at my credit card statement.

I felt much better about the whole situation, and so we walked back toward the ship, wandering here and there as we hadn’t been but a few minutes away. 

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception took nearly two decades to build.  It can
accommodate up to 400 people. 

The church is located at kilometric point 0.  This is the point from where road distances are calculated all around the island.

We walked through a very large market with everything you could imagine, including some food stalls.  There were other shops and a couple of restaurants upstairs and that’s where we found some WiFi, for a small fee, or free with your food. 

There was everything ... food, meat, trinkets. 

The food all looked so fresh.

We had food that was very good, and lots of it.  As I was finished with my food, leaving some as it was lamb, a man came to the end of the counter where we sat and asked us a question, pointing at the food.  Someone from the shop came and ran him off.  Apparently he was asking for the food on my plate.  I didn’t know as he spoke in French I think.  A very strange situation.  If he was hungry, I would have given some if I’d known. 

Yep.  In French.  The French gained control over the Tahitian Islands in 1842.

While these don't look like outriggers, double-hulled outrigger canoes are called tipairua.  The canoes are used in Tahitian culture for races and festivals.

We walked back down by the docks, and saw fish in metal-grate pens.  Some were beautiful, and we didn’t know why they were there.  We were told there was sort of aquarium down at the cruise port area.  Was that it?  We didn’t know for sure, but there was a large variety, and some were quite colorful.

When we came around the fish would come to the surface, maybe thinking we had food?

There was also a big art exhibit and they were setting up for an event for the evening.  We saw the art and didn’t even have to go to the event, although it was pretty close to the ship and we’d be there until late in the evening.  I just didn’t feel like getting off later as I was tired.  And we’d seen the art.  It was beautiful, arranged on big cubes, with a different photo on each side.

This one was my favorite.

A big wave is kind of cool, too.

The word "tattoo" had its origins in French Polynesia from the legend of the god of the tattoo, Tohu, painting the ocean fishes in vivid colors.  Tattoos continue to represent ceremonial symbols across Polynesian culture.

 

We walked over by the ferry terminal and found this.

From which you could get a photo of this painted on the surface.  It's 3-dimensional, so quite cool.

The Emerald Princess is loading up ... we eat a lot of potatoes, and they make some of the best mashed and au gratin.

Loading us up.

We got back to the ship and had some dinner, then went to the movie with Vangie.  They gave us popcorn, pizza, milk and cookies.  We’ve only had popcorn before, so this is pretty special on this ship.  After, I went down to the Tahitian dancers and musicians they’d brought on board.  I love local talent.

They were great ... O Tahiti E ... showcasing traditional music and dance.