We arrived in the dark at 2 am local time (5am PDT), got into the room, and crashed. I got up in the daylight, went out on the veranda, and found this most magnificent sight- the isle of Mo’orea across the water. Yes, it was then I fully realized I was not at the Beachcomber Motel in FB any more (not that there is anything wrong with that).
A few words about the flight on Air Tahiti Nui.
1) It was delayed 6 hours, never got a real explanation. Someone said volcano…OK, maybe, but I’m not sure I buy that for this situation (great sympathy for travelers caught in Europe, however).
2) I am surprised 100% of passengers don’t get DVT’s (“blood clots”) on these flights. Cramped in a small space, very difficult to get up, narrow aisles. I would support heparin shots at check-in and pulmonary angios on arrival manditorally.
3) I forgot how nostalgic I can be for lousy airplane food. The airline is French/Polynesian, so we actually got two fairly decent meals en route, with complementary vin blanc ou rouge. It triggers thoughts of my most unusual airplane meal, on a charter flight to Europe in 1971. All of the meal tray compartments (entrée, salad, dessert) were cold and encased in a gelatinous substance. You could literally turn it over and nothing would fall out. Ah, the good old days!
Back to the present. We picked a lovely place to stay, conveniently very near the airport, the Interecontinental Tahiti. We were warned by several people that Tahitians were less than welcoming to Americans, and that comparatively speaking the island of Tahiti was much less appealing than the others (BTW, I think it drives the French Polynesians crazy that we tend to refer to the whole country as Tahiti). Well, I have nothing to complain about thus far. People have been pleasant (perhaps speaking some high-school French poorly helps), and where we are is gorgeous. There are natural comparisons to their cousins the Hawaiians, and Hawaii is closer, cheaper, and much more convenient from the US. But it seems a bit like choosing your favorite almond croissant from a Parisian patisserie, an embarrassment of riches- its all so much better than 99.9% of the rest of the world.
Took it easy, snorkeled some, had two great meals; life is tough (although navigating the Google bar in French was a bit challenging. Plans for Day 2: Take z ½ day tour circumnavigating the island, then on to the catamaran for Mo’orea. (I will resist the urge to say “Mo’orea to follow”, or maybe not.)
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