Tahiti and French Polynesia - Tahiti Marketplace
(click on each thumbnail picture to enlarge)
I made these two photos at the Marche Papeete (the municipal market). It is a great place to check out the fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, baskets, jewelry, souvenirs and handicrafts of Tahiti. It is just a two block walk from the pier where the Renaissance R6 docks. There's a couple of banks between you and the ship where you can exchange money. The vendors will take American dollars, but only give you 100 CFP (Central Pacific Francs) per dollar. The exchange rate at the bank when we were there was 131 CFP to the dollar. We went here our first morning and our last morning of the cruise. The last day we spend all of our "excess" CFPs on gifts to take home. The downstairs of the marketplace sells fresh foods and flowers, the upstairs sells handicrafts and jewelry. Very lively place and lots of fun!
These flowers are fantastic! I bought a bunch for 500 CFP (less than $5) and they lasted the length of the cruise--10 days. The stewardess on the ship found a vase for me to use. They also sell flowers already arranged for about 1500 CFP and flower tiaras for about 500-1000 CFP. Great to buy and wear. Note that you can't take the flowers back into the U.S., so don't plan on buying them the last day to take home on the plane.
Photos by: Linda Garrison
Article on Renaissance R3 Cruise to Tahiti and French Polynesia - Mega 7-part feature from the South Pacific cruise
