Pits, Peaks, Points - Tahiti

January 5th, 2020

Cindy's

Pits: Capsizing in the kayak and thinking we were going to be washed away at sea. Macaroon bakery closed on New Year's Day - I know, life is pretty good if that is my pit.  :-) 

Peaks:  Amazing snorkeling, sitting on the deck at our beach shack, everything about the over the water bungalow and lovin' on  the sting rays. Crepe machine at the grocery store.

Points: Mauruuru roa is thank you. Roads are in great shape and easy to drive on.  Learn a little French or at least enough to know what is what on a menu. The shrimp farm is only open on Wednesdays - unless that falls on a holiday and then they are open on a Tuesday. Once you find a store with baguette bags, keep it for your future baguette purchases.  Some places don't have them and people just lay them on the conveyor belt...gross! Travel is all about chance encounters.  Keep your heart and mind open to the opportunities!

Hudson's

Pits: plane flight is long. Leaving Kimo. Sun burn

Peaks: Food is good on the islands.  Loved the snorkeling.

Points: Eat two baguettes a day.  Bring a rash guard and be sure to eat macaroons.

Saylor's

Pits: Bugs and sunburns

Peaks: the nature in the water and out. Shashimi was great

Points:

Andy's

Pits: losing Hudson's mask, the bee guy not delivering us honey as promised, not buying Thai spring rolls from the super nice local

Peaks: Our beach side bungalow with meals on the porch, amazing roadside food discoveries (bbq pork, endless fruit, macaroons and fresh fish), stingrays climbing all over us, unreal colors, conversations with rusty French and a lot of hand motions, the Hinano girl, family prevailed during the kayak capsize, crashing our friends high end OW bungalow!

Points: One small backpack per person is enough, splurge on lots of good sun screen, heading out for the day with no plan usually works out great, start all conversations with a smile.

Headed Home

January 5, 2020

Tahiti to LAX to Seattle

A total of 18 baguettes

Up at 5:45, out of the room at 5:55 and out of the hotel at 6:10.  Feeling like this family know how to move it in the morning - at least when it comes to travel.  Breakfast at the hotel really doesn't count as breakfast.  More bread and some cereal. 

Did our little walk across the street and at the airport counter.  There was a group off in the corner singing.  They sounded beautiful.  I commented to the family and the ticket person explained that when there is a serious or more specialized surgery that needs to be done the person in need flies to France for it.  The family gathers at the airport and sings to them before they leave.  So sweet and very sad to me.  I can't decide if it is very sweet to show their support or almost like their last goodbye to the person if they don't make it. 

Finishing out the trip with baguettes on the plane easily puts us at 18! Really could never have another piece of bread and be just fine. Air France food is not very good.  The cheese was very stinky, but I did like that you are offered champagne at your meal.  Still hungry and grateful that we carry beef jerky with us when we travel. 

8 hours to LAX, 3 hour layover (not enough time to go get In and Out Burgers unfortunately) and 3 home to Seattle. 

It has been a great trip and this is one of those rare places we would all come back to.  The people were kind and the place is Instagram beautiful!

Au Revoir Moorea

January 4, 2020

Moorea to Tahiti

80 degrees, 75% humidity - per my weather app, it feels like it is 84 degrees

Stats: 17 baguettes devoured and counting.

Final day in paradise.  Breakfast and back to enjoy the bungalow before we had to move out. 

The kids and Andy went paddle boarding. 

Sitting here on the deck feels surreal.  We have been here for 9 days and still hard to believe. 

Checked out at 11:00 and chilling on the beach. Soaking up every last second of warmth and sun.









There were some Tahitians also vacationing.  They were listening to some really fun island music. 
We asked them and this is what is was.  

and in the pool until our 6:00 taxi to take us 15 minutes down the road for our 6:45 ferry.

We sat outside on the top where the air was warm and the sky was beautiful.  A great way to wrap up our stay on Moorea.


Slow ferry this time, so it took us 45-60 minutes to cross.

Once on the other side we had a 10 minute walk to a nearby park.  In the evenings a number of food trucks, tonight was about 7, pull up and completely set up the area with tables, chairs, lights and of course good food. 

Lots to choose from and was blown away by the selection.  Pages and pages in the menus.  You pick a table, they come over and take your order.  The place is packed an the thing that is amazing to me is you can sit at one table and eat at that truck, but if you order from another truck and sit at a random table they somehow find you and get the right food to you.  We had lots of stuff, spring rolls, tuna sashimi, Vietnamese pancakes, fried rice, steak and frites and the most amazing crepes ever!     

                                                         

Was kind of nervous about our hotel, but it was so convenient that we booked it.  The bonus is that it is across from the airport so you just walk over and when it is an early flight that's pretty sweet.  Flight isn't too terrible,  8:10 departure, but when we checked in the hotel reception told us we needed to be there three hours early! Andy did a little internet research and found if we don't have to check luggage, two hours is fine.  Still early for me, but the rude French chickens will have us up early anyways.  :-)

Rainbows and Unicorns

January 3, 2020

Moorea, French Polynesia

82 degrees, 80% humidity - per my weather app, it feels like it is 92 degrees

Stats: 15 baguettes devoured by the family and counting.

Up to enjoy another beautiful day.  Feeling so appreciative every time we have blue sky since the original forecast for our trip was all rain and storms.  We had breakfast at the hotel and it was the first one on the trip that we didn't have to cook so it was good no matter what, but it really was.  It was a buffet, lots of great choices and everything was fresh. 

Another grocery store run so we could have snacks in our room.  We bought the usual stuff including the amazing egg rolls the grocery stores make and also trying some steamed buns.  It is only 9:00 a.m. and they are already sold out of baguettes.  We must fix this dilemma so we drive 5 minutes down the road to the only other real store and crisis solved.  We have our two baguettes! 

Walking to the car we see a truck with bee keeper stickers on it.  We started talking with the French gentleman about his stickers.  He said his son who lives in New Zealand has 400 hives, he only has 20 here on the island.  He thought is was amazing that we have mason bees and that they don't produce honey.  He was so intrigued that he asked for our email so we could chat further about it.  He also promised to drop some very special honey of his off at our hotel.  

We have met some really unique, generous people on this trip.  Such a fun encounter. I am reminded that travel is all about chance encounters.  Keeping our hearts and minds open to the opportunities and our travels will be much richer.

Andy dropped us off at the hotel and returned the rental car a day early.  No reason to keep it and we leave tomorrow anyway. 

The unicorn and rainbow floaties have been inflated and we are ready for a family float. 

It was great until the current had it's own plans and took us out a bit.  Getting back...not so relaxing, but we made it.  Boys were messing around, in their usual boy fashion, and jumped in together. Maybe more like fell in.  Andy landed on his stomach and Hudson, a full on back flop, ouch!  That boys back was pretty red. 

Hudson, Andy and I decided to check out the pool.  It is a beautiful infinity pool.  Hudson wanted a makeover and Andy was happy to help. My boy got a crazy mo-hawk! 

 

Tonight was the last dinner on the island.  Everyone raves about Rudy's so we decided to check it out.  They picked us up from the lobby at 7:00. We had the best French onion soup and the parrot fish stuffed with crab was incredible!

This has truly been the most relaxed vacation we have ever taken.  Everyone is very chill and enjoying the down time.

✔ the Bucket List

January 2, 2020

Moorea, French Polynesia

Up and ready for our final morning at our favorite beach shack. 

Time to face my fear and visit the shark infested waters.  OK, so it is only one area and they are black tipped sharks, but they are still scary to me.  Andy and I took the kayaks out.  He brought some of the tuna we bought.  Pretty much as soon as we pulled up and he jumped in the water they were lovin' all over him.  Climbing up his stomach and back.  Once he gave them a little tuna they were not leaving him alone.  I was pretty freaked out at this point watching sharks swim by and manta rays climbing on him so there was no way I was going to get in.  The show from the kayak was plenty for me.  I did get to pet them and they were so soft and happy with being touched.  Such a unique experience.

 

Out of our place and drove down the road about 5 minutes.  Coco Beach is a little island just out and west of our beach shack.  They pick you up and take you to the island.  They are supposed to have great snorkeling and a fun restaurant.  They greeted us as we arrived and showed us to our table for the day. 

It is right on the beach.  The place is super cute.  We couldn't wait to check out the great snorkeling and they pointed to the way.  There was a lot of current and we walked up the beach (against the current) thinking we would get in and do a drift snorkel.  made it out to the center of the channel and it was rippin and there was nothing to see!  A big disappointment.  Time for lunch at that point.   They served us olives in a clam shell which was a fun touch.  We had amazing poke (according to my three raw fish eating loves) and some great fish k-bobs. 

Most people spend the day here I guess, but we were ready to go after about 90 minutes.  I think we are spoiled after our last place.

Drove back to the area we spent our first night in, Maharepa, and checked into the Manava hotel.  We have a beautiful over the water bungalow.  I can officially "✔ "staying in an over the water hut" off my bucket list! I don't think we were here more than 3 minutes and the kids were doing flips and jumps off the deck.  It was a hot, relaxing afternoon. 

Dinner at Le Mahogany restaurant.  We had a wonderful dinner and back to our bungalow. 

We turned on the light under the coffee table and there were at least 7 big sea urchins.  Super fun to watch things come and go all night long.  

2020 New Year's Day!

January 1, 2020

Moorea, French Polynesia


86 high and 81 low


2019 ended with a little rain and wind, but we woke up to beautiful blue skies! In the routine of things we had breakfast on the deck and our slow start is a perfect start to the day.

Andy and Saylor set out to visit the sharks and rays.  Saylor's first time and she was surprised how friendly they were.  I'm still holding out because I'm a big chicken and always seem to hear the soundtrack to Jaws when I'm in the water.

As Andy was walking up from the beach he noticed some people having bloddy Mary's and said how good they are.  Minutes later we are having lunch on our patio and they delivered him one.  So nice!

Drove up to Beleveder's Peak.  Of course it started to rain as we get you, but it was pretty.  It could be a spectacular view if it wasn't cloudy.

  Very windy road to get there, but road is in great condition.  On the way down you can take the first left after the agriculture school and it will take you to Cooks Bay through a pretty, very local neighborhood.

We have seen a number of coolers on the side of the road.  Obviously looks like something for sale so by the third one we pull over to check it out. Sign says thon Blanco.  Thinking something white.  Beautiful white tuna, perfectly packaged in thethon ooler for only $3.00 a pound.  Not my jam, but Andy and the kids can't wait to get back to our beach shack for sashimi.

A great afternoon of hanging out in the water with the family and and chatting while watching the kite surfers.  Walked out on the pier and had champaign to watch a bit of a sunset.  

After dinner Hudson heard a giant palm fran fall. 

 He decided to give his weaving a go.  

It has been a great stay and we all agree that this is the best Airbnb  spot we have stayed!