03 Apr Taiohae, Nuku Hiva – Tuesday, 03 April 2001
 View of Taiohae |
Tuesday we finish our “Official Business” of checking into French Polynesia. After missing the “open hours” yesterday, we go to the Post Office first thing in the morning, buy the stamp for 55PF and mail “The Official Letter” to Papeete. It isn’t really “first thing” because we have to wait until after a tropical downpour, which here go by the misnomer of “rain showers”. We then go back to the Gendarmarie office, and voila the English-speaking officer is there. We show him our airline tickets and he tells us that we are “complet”. We are done, until we get to Papeete, where the “Official Entry” into French Polynesia takes place. All of this Marquesian “check in” is just a courtesy; we aren’t really “official” until the guys in Papeete say it is so; however, the entry process here at Taohae was really a very pleasant and quite casual experience. They never asked us about our inventory list, whether we had liquor on board, or firearms, etc. Everyone was very helpful. We are the dummies who can’t speak French (we are trying to learn). Everyone we have met is Nice, Nice, Nice!
We conclude our business on shore by visiting the Air Tahiti office and arranging our flight from Nuku Hiva to Papeete for our return home on May 3, and making reservations for Chuck and Carol Worst to fly back with us to Nuku Hiva on May 23. We then go to the Moana Nui Inn., have a great fish lunch and befiend Corliss who is our waitress. We are really trying to kill time because we did not make it to the boullangerie by 0800 this morning when they usually run out of bread. Instead, we are waiting for Magisin Larson to reopen after lunch as we have been told that they sometimes have bread for sale. We eat lunch too quickly and don’t want to wait until 1400, so head back to Starr instead.
 Don, Ismael and Tevia at the Tohua in Taiohae |
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