Who hasn't dreamed of Polynesia at least once in their life? The imagined atmosphere, the scents, the sounds and the magic of the South Seas begin to come true as soon as you board the Air Tahiti Nui flight departing from Los Angeles. A little tiarè flower is the first thing given to you by the crew. 9 hours of flight separate us from what we have dreamed of so many times and that... won't disappoint us. TAHITI and its Islands made us fall in love and, even if only once, we lived paradise!
Day 113 Aug 2012
Flying over the Pacific
.........continued from CALIFORNIA.........
Our afternoon passes on the Air Tahiti A340, flying over the Pacific two hours behind schedule. This time seems never to end. The excitement is at its peak when we are about to touch down. Finally POLYNESIA. It is 22:00 local time, we set the clock back another three hours and it makes quite an impression on us to think that we are exactly 12 time zones away, at the furthest point on the globe. The small airport of Fahaa would already be closed if it weren't for the arrival of our delayed flight. You only have to enter the airport hall to be catapulted straight into the tradition of this country. We are greeted by two ukulele players and a dancer in the most typical South Pacific style. The exit formalities are very quick; strange to think so, and yet at customs it is like entering Europe, so as European citizens we have a dedicated counter.
As soon as we come out we are welcomed with the traditional welcome with a flower garland! Just time for a souvenir photo and with the shuttle we go to the hotel. Here we stay overnight at Le Meridien Tahiti, an exceptional value for money, at least for the standard room we had booked. The people prove to be extremely kind right away, at reception we find a welcome fruit drink and in the room a bottle of champagne with the management's best wishes. After so many days, these little touches don't displease us. We are exhausted and yet we stay on the terrace sipping champagne, we wish it were already day so we could look around. Goodnight Papeete!
Le Meridien Tahiti
Day 214 Aug 2012
Off again...towards MOOREA!
Needless to say, we wake up early, we are enjoying it like this... At 11:00 the flight to Moorea awaits us. With the decision to visit several islands we bought the Air Tahiti Fly Pass, extremely convenient. There are ones at different prices, depending on the archipelago or the routes taken. Ours for the Society Islands is around 300 Euros. Opening the window we are a bit like children on Christmas morning... and the surprise is guaranteed. In front of us a stunning tropical garden, flowers, colours, the singing of many little birds and in front of us the turquoise of the sandy pool and the lagoon. We could stay here without moving and be extremely happy. We rush to have breakfast and wander around the hotel, lingering on the beach with our gaze turned to nearby Moorea, which is down there waiting for us. Now we truly begin to realise that we are on our honeymoon.
We are pervaded by a sense of joy. We haven't seen anything yet but we are already madly in love with this lost piece of the world. Punctually we return to the airport. This time we manage to see the scattered little houses, the sea, the narrow roads but above all the thing that immediately strikes us is the vegetation and the mountains beside us. The vegetation is lush. At the domestic departures it doesn't even feel like being at an airport, we drop off the suitcase and wait for the flight in the waiting room without checks, without scanners, without police...just wood, flowers, and smiling hostesses. We board the Air Tahiti ATR and take off for our destination....
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