2006 Honeymoon in Tahiti

While cleaning out our place here in Riverside, I came across our handwritten notes we kept during our honeymoon in 2006 in Tahiti.  I never took the time to capture all our notes and integrate with our pictures.  Guess that work thing really gets in the way of such activities, plus I am focusing on capturing travel notes during our future travels.  Nice to reminisce about the trip and hopefully make it back for a few days during this career break.  Our entire honeymoon consisted of flying into San Fran, spending 1 night in Napa Valley, then driving down the PCH to Los Angeles over the course of 2 days.  Took a flight from LAX to Papeete, Tahiti to spend 16 days amongst a few of the Tahitian islands.

October 11, 2006

8-hour flight from Los Angeles to Tahiti. Saw Tim Allen checking in at LAX for the same flight, which was weird cause we had heard of his recent wedding on the radio.  Arrived in Papeete where we were greeted with tiare flower lais which smelled amazing.  Cindy is now on a mission to find a perfume of that scent.  Checked into the Sheraton hotel which was less than stellar.  To start, the AC wasn’t exactly working.  Also came to find out that the workers were on strike, fortunately there were still a few people working at the hotel.

October 12, 2006

Spent the day walking around Papeete which was quite interesting.  Due to the strike, parts of the road were blocked off so that people couldn’t drive through.  People were everywhere and we couldn’t figure out what everyone was doing or where they were going. After walking around, we hung out by the hotel pool and met a nice couple from California who had just gotten married in Hawaii.  Saw Tim Allen again lounging by the pool, chances of seeing the same celebrity at the airport and hotel??  We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing poolside.

October 13, 2006

Strike ended today and our hotel was back in business.  After breakfast we headed off to Moorea in a very tiny plane for a 7 minute flight.  The pilot was a pro and it was a smooth flight.  Moorea is simply breathtaking.  We were whisked off to the Moorea Pearl Resort where we again were greeted with tiare flower lais.  The people are very friendly and helpful.  The resort is amazing!  Our room wasn’t quite ready when we arrived, so we went swimming in the pool while we waited.

You cannot beat our over-water bungalow.  It’s out on a boardwalk with a thatched roof that rustles in the breeze.  There’s a glass panel on the floor so you can watch fish swimming underneath and the view from our little porch is paradise!  We jumped off the porch and did some snorkeling.  There’s coral along the edge, unfortunately it’s mostly dead, then the water really drops off and gets pretty deep.  Off in the distance, there’s a reef break with some pretty sizable waves.  But, back to the snorkeling.  We saw a ton of different colorful fish all swimming right outside our room.  The triggerfish are Cindy’s favorite with all of their bright colors.  We then washed up and had a light dinner and drinks at the bar in the resort.  There is an outside bar with tables near the pool.  The food was good.  We had a salad with shrimp and roast pork, ahi tuna and shared a bottle of Chardonnay.

October 14, 2006

Woke up and had room service bring us breakfast which we decided to feed some of it to the fish off of our balcony.  We saw some pretty big fish swim up and they were green and blue but it was pretty windy so it was difficult to see what they were.  Chris thinks they were Mahi Mahi and was kicking himself for not bringing his fishing pole.  After breakfast, we did some more snorkeling but didn’t see this big fish again and then went for a long walk around the town.  We stopped and had lunch at one of the other hotels(our is much nicer!) and found the grocery store.  Cindy found an impressive palm tree over the bay to climb on.  Then it was time for more snorkeling and a nap.

October 15, 2006

This morning we went scuba diving off the coast of Moorea.  It was a two-tank dive at 2 different locations.  When the boat was tied to the mooring at the first dive you could see sharks swimming around.  It seemed kind of weird to intentionally jump into a sea of sharks and Cindy had a moment of panic.  But once the initial anxiety was gone and we dove down, it was one of the most amazing experiences we’ve ever had.  The sharks really didn’t bother anyone at all and the colors and variety of fish and coral are too many to describe.  You’ll just have to refer to our pictures!  The most exciting things were the sea turtles!  Cindy was hoping to see one and we saw 3 of them!  They were very cool!  After scuba diving, we relaxed the rest of the afternoon and ordered room service for dinner.

October 16, 2006

After breakfast we rented a scooter and rode around and explored the island of Moorea.  There were some areas where you could stop and look out at the views and wow, how amazing they were!  The colors of the water are just so incredible – so many shades of blue and green.  Once again you’ll have to refer to the pictures which still don’t give it justice.  The reef break is really cool and at some places the surf is absolutely ginormous!  It looks like a giant wall coming down, forming a nice tube!  But even my brother Mike couldn’t surf those waves!  They were incredibly powerful.

Next, we headed to a lookout called “Belvedere”.  Quite an amazing view of the two bays on the north side of Moorea.  (Found out later about  Jimmy Buffett’s song “One Particular Harbor”, which he wrote when viewing the same bays…)

To round out the day of activities we headed to the Dolphin Center at Hotel Intercontinental.  We participated in the Apnea experience with a woman from Indiana.  We got to ride alongside the dolphin, two times each for about 50 feet.  Then we watched the dolphin jumping and sprinting underwater.  It only last 3 minutes, but a very memorable experience!

After a cold beverage at the hotel’s bar, we headed back to our hotel.  Some relaxation for us and then we walked down to Maria Tapa’s, a mexican restaurant nearby.  Pretty good mexican food for two french women running the place.

October 17, 2006

The day began with some snorkeling around the hotel.  Most of the coral is dead, but tons of fish.  They are trying to grow some new coral nearby in a roped-off area.  We spent the rest of the day drinking, swimming and sleeping poolside for a nice, relaxing day.

Showered and changed for the 5:30 trip to the Tiki village.  I had expected a cheesy, touristy event, but was pleasantly surprised.  The event started with a coconut peeling demonstration, then off to see the underground oven cooking style.  Some disgruntled American guy in the back row was yelling for english translation as the host talked in French.  Afterwards, a small tour of the village which was mostly to look at the shops for buying handmade items.  Then the real parts of the event being a buffet and show.  The buffet was very good.  Talked with a couple from Denver during dinner.  The show was very good as well.  Hopefully the pictures and videos come out good.  Cindy got chosen to dance on stage and did much better than Chris in shakin it. Our latest evening on the trip so far, up til 11pm!

October 18, 2006

Woke up late today, around 8:30am, which is 2:30pm eastern time.  I guess you could say we’re getting used to the time change.  We decided to take another walk around town.  Along the way we stopped and had lunch at Alfredo’s, an Italian restaurant.  We had a tuna appetizer, salad and seafood pizza with clams, mussels and shrimp which was delicious.  Our “waitress” was also very friendly and we particularly admired her adam’s apple.  We’re guessing she might have been a mahu, which is a baby boy raised as a girl and used to be a culturally accepted practice in Tahiti.

After lunch we walked back to the hotel, stopping along the way at the grocery store to pick up some of our new favorite cookies and some tahiti drink.  It felt refreshing to jump into the water after a long day of walking in the hot sun.  We did some more snorkeling and then enjoyed a tasty beverage on our deck.  We headed out to Le Mahogany for dinner which was another 15 minute walk from the hotel, but they weren’t open on Wednesdays!   We turned back and went to a nice place called Le Cocotier.  Had a very nice meal and bottle of wine.  Headed back to the hotel for our last night in Moorea.

October 19, 2006

Our last morning in Moorea…  Snorkeled around for a bit near the hotel.  Checked out of the hotel around 11am and boarded the bus to the airport.  A quick ride to the airport, checked in for the flight and got some lunch.  First time having Sushi at an airport!  We were the last to board the plane, so had the worst seats at the back and on the wrong side to see the islands as we flew.  Plane made one quick stop in Huahine to drop off and pick up people.  At that point, Chris decided to move and change seats to the other side of the plane, but that turned out to be the wrong side again!  Did get to see the last few hundred feet while landing at Bora Bora.  Grabbed our luggage and checked in with the hotel representative.  Took an amazing boat ride between the airport’s motu (land made from reef circling the island)  and our hotel’s motu.  The colors of blue water are amazing.

Checked into the hotel and received our normal tour of the grounds.  A very nice hotel and room, but the foundations of the bungalows are very suspect and a few are under repair.  They are cutting our stay one day short here, so we received in exchange:  helicopter ride to the the next island of Tahaa, couple’s massage at the Bora Bora hotel spa, free dinner and drinks our first night and some sort of credit at the next hotel.  So we have 3 nights in Tahaa instead of 2.

Signed up for a bunch of activities, then snorkeled around our room, which was another over-water bungalow.  The water is clearer here than at Moorea and shallower so it’s easier to see more stuff while snorkeling.  Once again, lots of dead coral and tons of fish.  Even saw a turtle nearby while walking just outside our room on the walkway, took some video.  We had the buffet dinner and enjoyed a show at the hotel.  Not the next show we’ve seen, but decent.  Food was good, but looked better than it tasted.

October 20, 2006

Beautiful morning in Bora Bora.  Got up and headed to the hotel’s dock for our jet ski and ATV tour at 9:45am.  Rest of our group were Italians who didn’t speak much English.  Guide was nice enough to let us stop back at our hotel to pick up our camera.  (What a good thing, as the weather would be getting worse soon thereafter)  We first took a great ride around the entire island.  Cindy got to drive her first jet ski and she did great!  Might be out next toy at home..  Ended up at a private motu on the southeast side of Bora Bora.  Parked the ski and loaded up on an ATV.  A pretty cool off road ride thru some jungle and out the ocean side.  We could see Tahaa and Raitea in the distance.  The guide chopped up some papaya, pineapple, bananas and coconut for a snack.  Headed back to the lagoon side on the ATVs, then hopped back on the jet ski for the ride back.

Got back to the hotel, went for a swim in the pool and ate lunch at the bar.  They made the wrong sandwich first for Cindy, so she got to try some ham!  Headed back to the room for nap time and had room service for dinner.

October 21, 2006

And now for some RAIN…  Cloudy, windy and drizzling this morning, but we’re off on the lagoon tour with shark and ray feeding.  First we headed out west of our motu onto the flats.  In about 2 minutes there were 10 sharks and at least 10-15 rays all around, without even feeding yet.  It was a little scary with them swimming so close underneath, bur we got comfortable after a few minutes.  Guide fed them well, even up close and got them to come up to Cindy, she freaked and got it on video!

Next, we headed over to the coral gardens area, saw a large manta ray on the way which was cool.  Coral gardens were nice, but too much current.  It was really tough to swim around.  Saw another smaller manta ray near the drop-off of the channel, just flying effortlessly as Cindy and I struggled to stay in line for pictures.  Got back onboard and headed around the island, luckily it didn’t rain much, but just cloudy.  Guide pointed out all the hotels.  Next stop was a motu where lived.  He chopped up some banana, coconut and papaya for snacks.  Then he gave Cindy the coconut shells for her “titi’s” and for my “blublu”.  30 minutes spent on the beach walking around, then headed back to the hotel.

Took a warm shower and bath, then headed up for lunch.  Nap time was next for a few hours.  Headed out for a walk, but had to get back to the room as Chris incurred a case of the ‘itis.  Took down an anti-diarrea pill and all was better later that evening.  Cindy had room service for dinner.  Woke up in the middle of the night as it sounded like a hurricane outside.  Walked out, but nothing major other than some wave action and wind.  Forecast of rain for the next 5 days…

Looks like that’s all the notes we kept during the trip..bummer.  The rest of it from memory and pictures:

We had our couple’s massage before leaving Bora Bora (my first massage and have enjoyed them all ever since!).  Also made a journey one day to the main island and rented a car to see some sights.

We left Bora Bora shortly thereafter and took an awesome helicopter ride to Tahaa, which is a small private island near Raitea.  More snorkeling and water activities around Tahaa, off road tour of Raitea up thru the jungle and stopping at a vanilla bean and pearl farm, then rented a small buggy to cruise around Raitea.  Remember getting bit in the leg by a nasty bee or wasp during our buggy drive.  Also remember dropping my wedding band into the water below our bungalow, luckily the water is clear enough with sand below at this one so I recovered it successfully!

Had a fantastic final dinner at the hotel on Tahaa.  Menus only had prices for the man, so Cindy was ordering sans prices.  But i ended up mis-calculating the exchange rate and almost ended up ordering a 300 USD bottle of wine!  The waiter double checked with me luckily and I changed to something a bit more reasonable.  We had a great final dinner!  Headed back thru Raitea for our evening flight back to Papeete, then a layover for the our overnight flight back to LAX.  Landed in the morning at LAX, then caught the next flight back to Jacksonville.