Papeete/Franz. Polynesian

February 26, 2024 Papeete

I went to our ship's medical department shortly after 8 a.m. to check on the "hickey" the stingray had left on me. I was given antibiotic ointment for treatment. The wound looks like a bruise the size of a one euro coin, it only hurts when I press directly on it and doesn't bother me otherwise. She never bled either.

I'm more worried about my arms. They got a lot of sun yesterday and were correspondingly red. I hope I can avoid sunburn.

A short time later I disembarked. If I had already met an excursion provider, I would probably have booked a bus tour. As it was, I looked at Papeete on foot. My first destination was the Papeete market, which is housed in a two-story building. The offering there mainly consists of beads, carvings, colorful clothes and fruits.

I continued walking, which was quite tiring in the heat, passed a few historic but unspectacular buildings and finally ended up in the "Museum of Pearl", which belongs to a jeweler. It offered some exhibits and information, but I don't like Pearls. I find the black pearls quite fascinating.

Somehow I couldn't find anything worth seeing, so I went looking for a tourist information center. I passed a faithful replica of a Polynesian ship. I found the tourist information office, got a map of the city and realized that I had already seen the highlights of the place. So I continued strolling until lunchtime.

I discovered an attractive restaurant near the tourist information center that advertised its fish dishes with the slogan “From the producer directly to the consumer.” There was also poke, the fish salad that I had only gotten to know and appreciate a few days before. I chose tuna and salmon poke and was very happy with my choice.

After that I just wanted to escape the sun and the heat and went back to the ship. There I had my favorite pool to myself again and was able to cool my aching arms.

I then rested and then, after a small dinner, attended a Hawaiian dance group's event.