Thursday 29th June
Arrival in Tahiti destroyed the rhythms of the ship. A huge demonstration of 15-20,000 people was underway as the Rainbow Warrior arrived at the entrance to Papeete harbour. She was to be berthed at the public quay -- the Quai d'Honneur -- but at the last minute the authorities decided otherwise. So a stand-off developed: the ship refused to come in unless we could be near the local protests against nuclear testing (rather than shuffled into an obscure dock a couple of kilometres out of town and under the close eye of the French Navy). Finally, the Warrior was allowed in to anchor on a temporary anchorage a few hundred metres off the point where the protestors had blocked the main western highway into the city. The eastern highway was also blockaded.
Some of the crew joined the blockades overnight, picnicking on tinned beef, crackers and spa water in the middle of the road and sleeping on the tarmac. The commitment of the people here is amazing -- sitting all day through 35 degree heat, and then sleeping on hard asphalt all night.
Alice Leney