We spent several days in Papeete, the largest city and administrative center of French Polynesia. We tied up to the yacht quay right downtown. Within walking distance, we had:
- The downtown market where vendors sell everything from island art, fresh fish, and ready-made food.
- Papeete's Cathedral.
- The ferry and commercial docks.
- Plenty of boat-related shopping including an ACE Hardware (which even sold American flags) and a 'NautiSport' (the local version of West Marine).
- The main square, home of the 'Roulettes' - vans that sold food. Similar to a hot-dog cart, except these were home to French chefs serving up gourmet meals.
- The Robert Wan Pearl Museum - showcase of pearl production and jewelry for sale. Here we saw cases with expensive 14,500,000 PF pearl necklaces.
- A Wal-Mart sized Carre-Four grocery store.
Despite all this, the city is anything but large. Almost everything was within walking distance and there are really only one or two main roads in town (and on the island).
However, if you talk to our friend Robert in Takaroa, he'll tell you that Papeete is like Hong Kong to him. In truth, the city is anything but a bustling metropolis, but if you consider the dramatic contrast between Takaroa and Tahiti, it's easy to see why he considers it so.