A Walk Around Pape'ete

Mairie de Pape'ete (aka Town Hall)

We took a 15minute shuttle into town, Pape’ete.  It seems like a medium sized town and yet it is not only the center of Tahiti but the national center of French Polynesia.  The “metropolitan” area is 127,000 with about 30,000 in the village center.  It is the main port for the country and the name means “basket of water.”  We walked around for a few hours visiting the large market.  The town is clean but "tired".  Many old colonial buildings are in disrepair and very little new is being built.  Everything seemed like it need a fresh coat of paint.   Three cruise ships were in port and the town was overrun with tourists like us.  So….we found a little restaurant for local beer and pizza—tasty but different from at home.  

Believe or not this was a garden growing tomatoes and other things on a corner right in the center of town!

It was hot and local Hinano beer and pizza hit the spot!