Day 15
Well, the last day on vacation. The hut has been amazing and it is really paradise there on the island of Moorea. We woke up to sunshine and Guy had even set his alarm so we wouldn’t accidentally sleep in and miss the sun. He thought he had set his alarm for 7 but it was actually only 6. So we were up early. We ordered room service for breakfast and when it came the man set up our table on our back deck with a table cloth and fresh flowers laying all round it. I took a picture. After breakfast we set on our personal dock for a bit and was then on the beach wearing suntan lotion by 9:15. We wanted to get all the sun we could. We didn’t stay on our own dock because we face the sunset, not the sun rise and it was shaded. A few dark clouds lurked around the mountain top, but nothing started stirring until about noon. We were already back at the hut when the monsoon came and it rained for a bit over an hour. When it finally settled down, we took one last walk around the huts and came back in to pack up. Guy actually packed us up. He took everything out and made sure all the trinkets were safe and refolded the clothes so they’d all fit. We bought NOTHING in Tahiti. We did no shopping. There was really nowhere to go that didn’t cost $20 in cab fare and we didn’t need anything else anyway.
As we got ready to go, a bellman came to get us on a golf cart and made a comment that we were leaving just as the sun was coming out. Grrrrrr But that is ok. We did see the sun in Tahiti, and if I scoot my wedding ring over I do have a small tan line. As we checked out, the lady put shell necklaces on us and it means something like “we’ll be back soon” or something like that. Our shuttle back to the ferry was full as a family of Japanese folks were also going that way. We had to make one pit stop at a gift shop because one of the Japanese ladies had bought a blouse and they forgot to remove the anti-shoplifting security tag. So they thanked us for our patience and we moved on. The ferry was a bit rocky as another storm blew in just as we were leaving. Not a bad 30 minute ride, tho. The Hilton had made us a reservation for a taxi to be waiting and we got drenched as we made our way to him in the line. The interesting thing was the driver had his wife in the front and his 2 year old son in the back in the middle of the seat. So he rode between Guy and me. I think he had just peed in the seat because it was wet on both sides of him. I sat as close to the door as possible. Guy said the seat was wet because it was raining. Well, raining just in the middle of the car? I think the kid was raining. So the driver asked us if he could take us to the airport later tonight. I shook my head no to Guy but then later felt sorry for them and he was about the nicest person we had met here. So he will be here (back at the Hilton in downtown Tahiti) at 8:45. Maybe the kid will be asleep by then and the back seat will be dry.
We are back at the Hilton downtown Tahiti and they are holding our bags for us until we are ready to go to the airport. We didn’t really know where else to hang out for 6 hours so we came back here. This is were we stayed two nights ago. The place with the ants in the room. Well, there are ants in the dining room as well. Guy went to go wash his hands and while he was gone the sever brought us some great looking rolls. The only problem was there were ants on them. Guy came back to the table and his eyes lit up at the sight of the bread, but then I broke the news to him about the critters. He said he didn’t see any so he picked one up. When he set it on his plate one ran off of it. He ate it anyway I think to make a point, but I told him “Bon Appetite” since they do speak French here, ya know. We ordered a cheese pizza just for some “safe” food before our long flight and it was cold, so we sent it back. Yes, frightening as that may be…but it did come out with the cheese melted this time. Did I mention this was a Hilton? So I left the dinner table early so I could call home and I knew by Dad’s voice I woke him. I didn’t realize daylight savings time was last week! Oops. But I always want to hear my mom’s voice before I fly.
We aren’t sure how long this flight will be. I thought it was like 7 hours from Auckland to Tahiti and then 7 to LA. But our flight from New Zealand to Tahiti was only 4 ½ hours long…so now we are thinking we may have about 10 hours. We leave here at 11:30, so I’ll have me a big ole Xanax and I’m sure I’ll wake up only in time for breakfast if that. The weather here isn’t too back right now. Just cloudy, but still…I’m about 20 hours from home, my wet hair is drying in an unorderly fashion and I’m sweating as I type this. The airport won’t be any better. There is no air conditioning there either. Not complaining, just blogging. Ha ha
Guy and I played the game earlier. The “what was your favorite” game. What was your favorite entrée, hotel, dessert, etc. We always do that. Then of course the next topic is where will our next vacation be. We always do that as well. We have some pretty good ideas and we hope the Euro gets better if that is any indication, but this would have to be one of THE BEST vacations we have been on. New Zealand will be in our future again, but probably not Tahiti. Our hut was paradise, but maybe we’ll search out another hut in another tropical spot next time. Either way, we are blessed to even get to travel and are thankful for those blessings!!
Hope you have enjoyed the blog. It was fun for me to do and I hope you got to see a little of New Zealand thru me. I’m going to enjoy going back and reading it as well to remind me of the highlights. What a great trip.
Cheers to New Zealand!