Papeete marina
13.07.19 - 21.07.19
We're moving to Papeete marina, the bus journey from Taina is a bit of a bore and we don't really feel secure at the anchorage. Too close too many boats and the current and wind are doing weird stuff, Ian is up half the night watching how close our neighbours get. And it will be nice to have hot showers and be in the thick of things.
As they don't take bookings, we have to wait on the outside pontoon for a night before we can get a berth. We nearly come a cropper when the bow line untied itself and the boat does a 180° on the stern line only, all this in the 15mn it takes to go to the office. Fortunately the was very little wind, no damage done.
We get back down to the Polynesian games on the bus in the afternoon. Stone lifting, javelin throwing, pirogue races, coconut shelling contest, again what fun. The stone lifting was impressive with women, some of them very slight, some not so slight, picking up stones up to 60kg. The boys went up to 150kg. Loved the traditional blessings of the stones under the banyan trees, with kids perched on the branches. The javelin throwers looks a rowdy lot, all throwing spears wily nilly at a target easily 15 metres above ground on top of a pole. There must have been over 20 of them throwing at any one time the air whistling with spears flying, onlookers cheering. As could be predicted, not many javelins finding their intended target.
The last game the coconut shelling, was a feast of speed and skill. Each of the 15 competitors had a heap of coconuts to be husked, shelled and the meat had to be tidied and bagged, and their work station had to be cleaned up. The speed at which these tasks were done was dizzying. Husks and shells flying in all directions, the audience cheering and shouting encouragements. It was just brilliant. In the end experience won out over youth. The winner was ancient in comparison to the last one to finish.
