Day 25 - After a few days of scenic, South Pacific beaches, I was anticipating our visit to the capital city. Nouméa is on an island that is 400 kilometers long and 80 wide. We were able to dock inside the container port, so we didn't require a tender. This necessitated the use of shuttle buses to drop us off downtown though. Buena veau!
We started by walking from the Marine Terminal for ferries to the public market at the end of the waterfront. We'd heard the market closed at around 11:00 and we were there with hours to spare! The buildings housing the market were relatively new but the offering was a bit underwhelming. The live catch from last night was for sale.
The city itself was not terribly impressive. There were lots of artisan restaurants and retailers, but nothing that would particularly make me wish to return right away. Lots of younger Melanese boys looked as though they needed jobs but appearances could be deceiving. It looks as though beaches weren't far away and larger buildings were starting to sprout.
We walked through a one-street Chinatown and onward to the central public space, Coconut Square. The streets were oddly laid out and this meant walking nearly around the downtown in order to return to the same spot. We came back for there was a large market festival with food and merchandise vendors. That area boasted free wifi; however, registration was required. If using a text or email is impossible, then the whole option seemed pretty useless.
When back at the ferry terminal, we did find free access to the Internet. It was good to post a Facebook message and check a few website.
Our ship left before 4:00 PM. The journey away was interesting. The second largest coral reef in the world runs along this side of Grand Terre. It seemed as if the path out to the open sea was well marked. Now are on a straight routing towards Sydney, Australia.
