Tahiti, often called The Island of Love, is the largest of the 115 islands and atolls that comprise French Polynesia. The 1,042 sq. km. (402 sq. miles) of Tahiti's surface area consist of mountain peaks reaching over dense rainforests of soft ferns. Waterfalls cascading into cool rivers and streams as well as flat coastal area contraining fields of taro and tropical flowers. The beaches on the island of Tahiti vary, you will find black sand beaches on the north east cost and white sand beaches on the south west side of Tahiti. Most of the hotel resorts in Tahiti can be found on the west coast side of the island of Tahiti. Around Tahiti-Nui (big Tahiti) a 114 km. (71 miles) road winds between the mountains and the sea. And on the peninsula of Tahiti-Iti (little Tahiti) the road continues down each coast for 18 km. (12 miles). An interior road climbs past dairy dairy farms and citrus groves with a panoramic view from the Plateau of Taravao - the isthmus that connects the two islands. Papeete, the bustling capital of Tahiti and her Islands, contains the government offices, police headquarters, hospitals and clinics, banks, telecommunications center, airline and travel agencies, boutiques and black pearl shops. International cargo freighters, copra ships, luxury liners and sailing yachts share the harbor. A modern city, it hums with happy voices as the daily drama is staged