Noumea: Can we move here?

NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONIA--Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Noumea is an advertising copywriter's dream. Some of the advertising tag lines to describe it are "Where the French Rivera meets the South Pacific," "The Soul of France in the South Pacific," "Every diver's (the opposite of dry) dream," "Paris of the Pacific (because so many Parisians come here to work for the higher salaries)," and "Bermuda of the South Pacific (our tag line because everything has to be imported so the government adds a 40 percent importation tax)."

We were told that the entry into the port would be one of the most beautiful that we would experience, and the hype was not exaggerated. We really cannot describe the beautiful scenery that we saw. In addition if someone had told us that they were dropping us off at a port in southern USA, we would have believed it because of the perfectly paved streets with grass median strips, and the cars, boats and noisy motorcycles everywhere. On the advice of MaryAnn and John from Cruise Critic, we booked the first Yellow Tchou Tchou Petit Train tour. Other passengers included Mary and Ed from Cruise Critic, and Joyce, Donna, Neely and Ron from our dining table. Our tour guide was Anita, who teaches English in a private school and hails from Oklahoma. She told us that everyone loves the small train so we were to do our part and wave back at anyone who waves. Our arms got tired from waving! She also informed us that we should bring a gift for the chief if we were ever invited to a tribal home.

Some memorable facts about Noumea are the indigenous people are known as Melanisians for the black people of the island but they prefer to be know an Kanaks, the official languages are French and Kanak, New Calendonia accounts for 30 percent of the world's nickel deposits, the island has a distinctively different look because there are no volcanoes, the tall, thin, elegant trees are Japanese Pines, the only indigenous animal is the Kagu bird that barks like a dog and cannot fly, the missionaries brought the cats and dogs, on Wednesday afternoon the children have no school but they start to school at the age of 2 years and 9 months, siesta is taken very seriously and most of the stores are closed between noon and 2 p.m., and the first governor's wife who liked to hunt had deer imported from the Phillipines. Now there are so many deer on the island that a person does not need a hunting license but can kill only two deer a day.

Stops and sights on the Little Train included Limon Bay, the most popular beach for families because the water is so calm for small children and certainly one of the most beautiful beaches in the world; more than 130 restaurants on the island, of which we must have passed most of them; a refreshment stop for cider and French pastries that overlooked a gorgeous view of the lagoon; the first house constructed in 1869 1n Noumea that sported a red tile roof; and the Statue of the Virgin Mary of the Pacific that overlooked the island's nickel processing factory.

The history of New Caledonia is interesting. Captain Cook (he really got around) discovered it on his was to New Zealand on September 4, 1774. He named it New Caledonia because the Romans called his native land of Scotland, Caledonia. The French were looking for a place for a penal colony to supplement Devil's Island and started to send their worst prisoners in the 1860s. The Islanders convinced the French to stop exporting prisoners and free those already there in the 1880s. The French encouraged the prisoners to stay and sent female prisoners for them to marry and mate.

New Caledonia has two seasons, hot and cool. We are here in the hot season when cyclones occur. However, our guide emphasized that cyclones hit the east coast and not the west coast. Does that rationale sound familiar to the reason that Bradenton has not experienced a hurricane in recent years? We miss you--Carmen and Pat, Judy and John, Sue and Stan, Robin and Joe, Mary and Dennis, Mary and Jerry and Shelley and Sara's workout buddies at Shapes--but we don't miss the weather you are experiencing this winter!

Our only questions are how soon can we move to New Caledonia and how long does it take to learn French?

After our tour ended, we went shopping in downtown Noumea with Mary and Ed. Mary was ready for some serious shopping. All the clothes, even those for infants and children, have a distinctive French flair. Our only purchase was at the Casino Supermarket, a six-pack of Manta beer, made in New Caledonia. The supermarket is a one-stop-shop with food, beer, wine, toiletries, clothing and shoes. We returned to the ship and sat on our balcony, which faces the port, and watched the daily life of Noumea pass by. We see Wally and Lil, our next door neighbors returning to the ship, and Ed and Adele from Cruise Critic but are not quick enough to capture a photograph of them. We caught Lu and Mike sneaking off the ship at 5:45 p.m. but returning empty-handed so someone is not getting a souvenir. (Really, they just went out to take a short walk around Coconut Palm Place.) The sail away at 6:30 p.m. with the twinkling lights of Noumea was breathtakingly beautiful.

If you are reading this blog and have a relative or friend on the Pacific Princess, please let us know. If you know their cabin number, that would be a bonus. We will try to meet them and report on their impressions of the cruise.

We have two sea days before we arrive in Bay of Islands and Auckland, New Zealand. Check back with us on March 8 for reports of those ports.

NOTE to WENDY, Donna's daughter: Can you arrange for your mother to have a chauffeur, a cook, a waiter, a butler and a maid when she returns to Florida in May? She has gotten way to into this cruising lifestyle. In fact, all of us at our dining table would like these people to be waiting for us on our return! We need to ease back into reality. Our other table mates, Neely and Ron from Toronto, Canada, send greetings to their children; and Joyce and Bob, who moved from San Diego to Wiiiamsburg two years ago say hello to their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren in State College, home of Sara's alma mater.