Day 5 (July 17, 2016): Go fly a kite!

The time difference is playing havoc with our sleep more than any trip in recent memory. Insomnia has set in, in a big way. Hence the importance of caffeine. And the New Caledonians, as a result of so much French influence, have mastered coffee -- and French pastries -- just as you would find in Paris. 

Next to Norway, this has to be the most expensive place in terms of food prices we have ever experienced. We see families of 4-5 here and wonder what their holiday food expenses might be!  But let's remember the insomnia I mentioned, so one has no choice but to consume those pastries and coffee just to keep functioning. 😀

'Chocolat au pain' and 'flat white' coffee to get the blood pumping after another sleepless night. 

After breakfast, the perfect blue sky beckoned us to explore the local area for awhile before heading out. Our hotel is located in the south of the capital city, Nouméa (population 92,000), on a bay called "Anse Vata". No sea snakes crawling around on the sand here, at least not that we saw!

The beach at Anse Vata. 

The pool at our hotel, Le Meridien. 

Next it was on to the Nouméa Market in the heart of the city. There were several pavilions selling fresh fish, fruit and vegetables, crafts, bakery items, etc. Live music made it a very nice way to spend the morning. 

Pam contemplating her shopping list. 

This is an example of why restaurant prices are astronomical:  broccoli at the market was 850 Pacific Francs, which is almost $11 Canadian per head!

After the market, our focus was on one of the top sights here -- the Tjibaou Cultural Centre. It tells all about the local indigenous culture, that of the Kanak people. It was designed by the same man who designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The structure reflects the type of buildings found in a typical Kanak village. Extremely well done!

The Tjibaou Cultural Centre

It's amazing how totems are present in so many indigenous cultures, from the South Pacific to Asia to North America. 

This is a photo of a photo at the Cente showing typical Kanak dress and the importance of the lowly yam to the culture. 

A traditional Kanak struture

My new friend. 

Flowers growing out of a stump on a trail at the Cultural Centre

Lily pads along the trail at the Cultural Centre

After so much culture, we had worked up an appetite and found an excellent patisserie (bakery) for lunch. You see people walking around here carrying fresh baguettes, just as you would all over France. 

le Croustillant - amazing pastries!

We had promised ourselves a half day of total pool / beach relaxation while in New Caledonia. The weather forecast hadn't been overly promising for our time here, so we thought we might not get the opportunity. But the day just kept getting better and warmer. So we took advantage of the opportunity. 

Kite surfing is huge here, and the bay where our hotel is located is a major focal point for the sport. We enjoyed sitting and watching the kite surfers doing flips and twists as they flew through the air. 

Kite surfin' central!

To end our relaxing afternoon, we made coffee and went out to sit on our balcony to enjoy the water view and the stunning tropical pines that are all around.  One of us (and it's not moi) tends to be concerned about bugs getting into our living space, so the patio door was pulled shut. Except we didn't realize it locked automatically. I considered scaling down the side of the hotel but realized I am not Tom Cruise and it was not a Mission Impossible movie set. So we had no choice but to make a huge scene and scream for help. Eventually someone heard us and hotel security got into our room to let us back in. A bit of drama to end the afternoon. 

The view of the pines from our room. 

Dinner was had at the hotel. All told, a great day in New Caledonia.