The Chinese New Year

The Chinese community here in Tahiti is very large. This is ultimately due to the fact that the pearl trade is in the hands of the Chinese. But many other trades in French Polynesia are also dominated by the Chinese. We already visited the Chinese temple Kanti last week. However, the festivities took place without us because we were once again too late.

Chinese Kanti Temple, Tahiti

This week we try again, arriving on time but too late to get a seat. So once again we have to stand firm and we put up a good fight. A tent is set up in the garden in front of the temple, where various performances are staged. There are various dances, including sword fights with dragons and lions. 

Dance performance for the Chinese New Year

There are various stands around the event tent where you can learn about Chinese culture and tradition. For example, various characters and their meanings are explained to us and then put on paper with pen and ink. These are greetings that are generally wished for in China at New Year. In this respect, the Chinese New Year is no different from ours. The university sells T-shirts and exotic plants are on sale in one corner. Of course, food is a must and so there are also a few stalls selling food. 

Roof figures Kanti Temple Papeete

The temple itself is overcrowded with people and we decide not to visit the interior today. As usual at this time of year, it gets extremely hot again around midday and the crowds do the rest. I look for a shady spot under a mango tree and watch the hustle and bustle. Mahjong is being played in a tent. I have never seen an analog version of the traditional Chinese board game. I've only ever played mahjong on the computer. The stones are called bricks and the rules are very impenetrable for beginners. The aim of the game is to try to get a certain hand by discarding and picking up tiles, which must always consist of four tiles (triplet, quadruplet and sequence) and a pair. The winner is the first player to have such a hand. Mahjong is not only a game, but also an effective tool for training the memory. It serves as an exercise to improve cognitive skills. I watch with interest for quite a while and forget about the people around me. The Chinese New Year is celebrated over several weeks and concludes next week, on the 15th day, with a lantern procession through Papeete.

Mahjong Chinese board game

In the meantime, we continue to prepare for our departure. The Starlink connection on SV Tuvalu is switched to 12 volts and, as expected, causes problems. The router refuses to download and only lets data packets through in dribs and drabs. Now that we've got the instability of the connection under control, data transmission is still a problem. As I have installed the same system with the same components on the Katinka Enjoy and it works for me, I'm a bit at a loss. But we will get to grips with this problem too.

Weather warning in Papeete

A warning notice in the marina office tells us that we are far too early with our preparations. Check your mooring from 16th to 20th of February. Well, the cyclone season is far from over. So far, the weather has been rather moderate in this La Niña year. Now trouble is on the horizon from the northwest. A whole series of low-pressure areas has formed in the west of Samoa and, according to the weather forecast, is moving south past Tahiti. Let's hope that the paths of the lows follow the forecast, otherwise it will be uncomfortable here in Papeete. The wind is only the second problem. As the weather changes, the wind shifts to the northwest and will also change the direction of the waves. This allows the swell to pass through the pass almost unhindered, which leads to enormous ship movements in the Papeete Marina. Last year there was some damage, not only to boats, but also to the marina's infrastructure. Lost cleats for mooring boats have still not been replaced. Let's hope it won't be as bad this year. However, heading west is not possible at the moment, but it's still February. We'll have to wait and see how the weather develops in March. I'm confident that we'll be able to slowly move west and see Huahine and Raiatea. Christer gave me some diving equipment that he no longer needs. I'm now trying to repair it and then start diving again. So it remains exciting to see how the next few weeks will develop. Until then, fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.