Papeete, Tahiti

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The Silver Shadow docked at the main pier right at the city center. Formed by two ancient volcanos and joined at the isthmus of Taravao, Tahiti is the largest island in the Southern Archielago.  Pepeete is a bustling business center and is the capital and the pulse of Tahiti which is part of French Polynesia. This  will be our biggest port until we get to Auckland. Pepeete has a population of about 150,000.We trook a tour here that included a ride through the city a stop at One Tree Hill Lookout point which provided geat views of the lagoon and Moorea.  Next was a stop at Point Venus where the astronomer Charles Green, observed the passage of Venusin front of the sun on June 3, 1769 during Capt. Cook's first voyage. The eclipse was studied from an oilskin tent used to protect the instruments.

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During our bus ride we stopped to observe Arahoo Blowhole, a spectacular roaring jets of water into the air as waves smash against a rocky coastline. We were disappointed with our stop at the Musem of Tahiti. On the way we past the only international airport serving this are of the south pacific. It was built at the time the French moved their nuclear testing fro Algeria to the atolls of Mururoa some 1500 kilometers est of Tahiti. The movie Mutiny on tthe Bounty was filmed here at Matavi Bay. The French artist Paul Gauguin lived and painted here. There is a museum located here named for him.