On Tuesday we became “sticker people” taking a Holland America tour “Tahiti’s Natural Wonders.”  About halfway through I was asking myself “why?” feeling that I had made a mistake booking this.  Our first stop was at Venus Point where Captain (then Lieutenant) James Cook did his sightings of the Transit of Venus to help develop a way of determining longitude.  We visited last time we were in Tahiti when it was a much nicer day.  This time it was drizzling. 

Back on the bus Gary, our guide, told us that it would be 45 minutes to the next stop, the Restaurant du Musee Gauguin.  Unfortunately, the museum had collapsed so all that was left was the restaurant.  The trip took an hour and 20 minutes, in part because of single lane traffic due to road work.  When we got there Gary told us that since we were running late our other stops would be abbreviated.  A speaker on the ship warned us that toilets would not have paper, so “bring your own.”  The toilets at the Restaurant Musee Gauguin were well supplied with toilet paper, but not with toilet seats.  I was feeling pretty Meh about this tour.

But the museum had a dock over coral with blue fish swimming in and out.  And our next stop was at the botanical garden.  Although we only had 15 minutes, they were quality minutes and many fewer than it deserved.

Following the garden we had a five minute stop at Papara Beach, a surfing hotspot. Five minutes were enough.  Our final stop was at the Voipoiai Grotto, 10 minutes, to look at the lava caves.  Most of the time we were on the bus, once Gary warmed up, he became a pretty engaging storyteller so the day turned out better than ok.  Suzi says it will not be the high point of our trip but better than last time we were in Tahiti when I started sneezing in the cab from Venus Point. I thought it was allergies; there is plenty in Tahiti to be allergic to. But when I got back to the ship, I ended up quarantined for a week with COVID.

After our tour it was not so hot outside (although very humid) so we decided to take a walk in Papeete, stopping at a shop where we had been before.  It has Aloha shirts that fit me.  We tried to stop at the Cathedral, it was closed, and the market was closing.  So, we settled in at McDonalds because the one in Sitka had shut down and I was craving a hot fudge sundae and some fries with lots of salt.  While it was not too hot, I was sweating because of the humidity.

Back on the ship we attended the Tahitian cultural show, a lot of dancing and drumming, better than the usual tourist show.  By then we were both beat.  I had worked my lame leg too hard, it was hurting, so we went to bed, not sure what shape we would be in the next day for Mo’orea but intending to sleep as long as we could and wait for open tendering before going ashore.