Day 93 Papeete, Tahiti

Day 93 Papeete, Tahiti

Black sand beaches, waterfalls, tropical rain forests, history with the Mutiny on the Bounty, Black Pearls….

We decided to join a Princess Tour this morning for a 3 hour tour of parts of the island. Unfortunately Paul and I were messed about by the organisers and missed the first section of the tour. We had arranged to meet up with another couple and share the tour with them by making sure we were on the same bus as them. We were all allocated No. 4 bus and walked off the ship together to join the bus. When we got on the bus we found there were only enough seats for our friends and not us. Our allocated seat had been taken up by another couple who missed their No 1 Bus which had not waited for them. Where were we to sit? Were we to go on the tour? Why didn't No. 1 bus wait for ALL its passengers? The extra couple who were supposed to be on the first bus had a mobility problem which caused them to use another exit off the ship and their delay. The Princesses Tour organiser had let the No.1 bus leave without all its passengers. So what did that mean to us who were without a seat?

We were quickly hustled into a van which proceeded to race to catch up with the first bus! I sat with my back to the driver while Paul sat facing the front. By the time we sped around the 3^rd or 4^th round about it worked out to be the wrong position for me, I was about to be van sick. Fortunately the driver managed to stop in time for me to get out and prevent an unfortunate event! The trip then continued with me sitting in the front, alongside the driver. We finally arrived at Point Venus and located the No. 1 bus and the tour guide. Not happy Jan. Of course the passengers on No. 1 bus already had their guide through this area, with explanations of the light house, a memorial to Captain Cook and an account of the breadfruit memorial which were all located here at this stop. Well, we were given 10 minutes to walk around by ourselves before joining the passengers already seated on the bus. Not happy Jan. I found out later there were quite a few significant sites in that area which we had missed. When we got on board the bus, there were only single seats left as couples had decided to spread out to the luxury of a double seat. We missed not having the friendship of our friends who were on the other bus and I am sure everyone on No. 1 bus thought we were the ones who were late and had to be transported to join the bus. Not happy Jan. Poor Paul tried to placate me which eventually worked…eventually. Well what does that say about Princess Tours? If you have mobility problems, they won't wait for you, and if you don't, you are still messed around.  Oh, by the way, no apologies from them.

We had three other stops on the rest of the tour. Arahoho Blowhole (fizzer), a walk through a tropical rainforest to Faarumai Waterfalls (I must have calmed down by then as the walk to the attraction was what it was all about, stunning) and our last stop took in the panoramic views of the coastline. We arrived back to the ship to see one of Greenpeace's 'Rainbow' ships docked nearby. A question arose, 'a Rainbow Ship in French waters'? It just goes to show how time changes everything.