Tahiti

Wow...this is what a tropical paradise is supposed to look and feel like. It reminded me of Hawaii, but quieter, less people and they speak French (which I love). We landed late at night so we stayed in a small hotel next to the airport. In the morning, we took the truck (a small bus you flag down) to Papeete. We caught the ferry to Moorea, a separate island to the Northwest. Just a note, the ATMs are tricky because they only recognize the software from certain banks. Mine did not work, so I couldn't get any cash. Luckily Adam could. It is easy to use credit cards however there is usually a $20 minimum.

Moorea is small, 62 km circumference, with a few towns and a lot of hotels. We found a cheaper hostel, Mark's Place. We had the dorm bungalow with a private bathroom. It was nice although quite damp, but far from the beach and the towns. We had a kitchen and there was a small store down the road so we cooked most of our meals. We rented bikes the first day to explore and bike to the beach. In front of the Tipaniers hotel is a nice little beach. A large reef surrounds the island about one km from shore. The waves break there (also where the surfers go), so the inner lagoon is calm and great for swimming and sitting in the shallow parts. There is a current though. There are classic palm trees and some white sand. There are better beaches near the Sheraton and the airport. The second day I hung out at the beach again while Adam and Conor went diving. The third day we rented a car and drove around the island. There is a great lookout at the Belvedere. The juice factory is not so great unless you want to taste strong fruit liqueurs or buy souvenirs. We splurged on a dinner out and watched the sun set over the ocean. It was quite romantic.



The last day we went to Pinapo (yes like pineapple) Beach for one last swim before packing up. We took the morning ferry back to Papeete, but our flight didn't leave until late at night. We stored our bags at the airport (easy but rather expensive) until we could check in (3 hours prior to departure). We found a great cafe to relax in. I love having fresh tuna on salads. There wasn't much to do since we didn't want to shop or walk around much in the heat. They do have a large central market and 2 nice parks. It was hard to believe that this was our last day of traveling.