October 2008: South Pacific
Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia pt2 (S 22.16.815 E 166.25.963)
Go to the museum and learn something. That’s not an order that’s what happened to me today. Even though I don’t understand French I understood the sign of a camera in a red circle through it. So, no museum pictures. Anyway, I noticed that everyone here smokes. Well, every local that is. It think it is the law. It’s kind of like the woven basket you are put in upon birth for 18 days and then the basket weaving you learn as a cultural thing. I learned that in the museum today. The Kanak’s and weaving are synonymous. Ok, back to the other thing. I saw a display of cigarettes on top of cloths in the museum. I already knew that giving a family a pig and some yams pretty much buys the girl for your son but I did not know that smokes were also dowry quality. Go figure. I thought they were only worth something on the inside.
On that note, why are prison’s in the south Pacific near marinas and bays? Does it date back to the old days when they sent all the bad guys here as punishment? Ah yes, New Caledonia was a penal colony too.
I guess where I am going with this ramble is that smoking here is very acceptable and very open and every one does it.
The running joke around here is that the odds of getting a slip in the small guest slip area are pretty bad. There are lots of locals that have boats around here and this is a good destination spot. Not only is it scenic, modern and comfortable it is also a stopover for boats on their way to and from Australia. We’ve given up on getting a slip.
The other Dave and I took a bus ride to the next bay over. We are currently in the older industrial, commercial section of Noumea and wanted to see the newer side. They have catered it to the tourist crowd with small hotels, manicured beaches, shops and restaurants. Most of the development here looks well planned. They have done a fantastic job of keeping the beach area open with minimal buildings. And, the food is excellent.
We went to the aquarium and I loved it. The outside of the building is very misleading. The displays are very well done with natural light coming in from above. It was great to see the indigenous creatures as they can be spectacular. I am used to seeing the U.S. aquariums and was quite pleased to see what this place offered.
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