Part three: Papeete, Tahiti

After walking a mile for diet soda, I must explain. If we thought Sydney was expensive and difficult, we had seen nothing yet. First, the dominant language in French Polynesia was---you guessed it, French. That mixed with the language of the native people made life fun. Second, a Coke was $4 and the exchange rate for their francs was not in our favor as it had been in Sydney. Third, there were minimums on amounts charged on credit cards. The six bottles I lugged back barely qualified. I think the minimum was 2500 Francs, about $28 American. Our room had twin beds, an arrangement we don't prefer. We showered and then gathered in the men's room for rum, Coke and a pizza. The ladies were hungry and ordered them at $18.00 each. They were large but that is still expensive. We went to bed at 7:30 and watched "Seabiscuit" in French. There were not even English sub titles. I didn't see much of it because I kept drifting in and out. We were both exhausted as were the others.
Monday the van driver came to take us to the ferry to Moorea. He apologized profusely for having overslept the morning before. He took us to the dock to catch the ferry and we (the men) rode over. I was feeling a bit woozy so I tried to stare at the deck instead of the horizon. That is what seems to make me seasick. We arrived and took an old school bus to the other side of the island where the Intercontinental Hotel was located. The island was covered with exotic plants, as was Oahu and Papeete. The road was bumpy and the bus uncomfortable but not so much different from some we have experienced in our travels around the U.S. The hotel was even more beautiful than the one on Papeete where we stayed. There was an area where the guests could play with tame dolphins. We saw some half over the water bungalows that cost over $1000 per night. We were again treated to lunch including even cocktails. We thought this was a mistake by the waitress who brought the menu. Regardless, the tour guides received permission, and we enjoyed them. We also enjoyed our lunches including a fine dessert. We took the ferry back where we met Evelyn and Louise who had spent the day in Papeete shopping. They bought some placements, and blouse material. We spent the remainder of the day swimming in the fresh water pool and came to our room where John and Aaron cut the pineapple I had bought at the wharf in Moorea. It was just superb but messy. We went to bed trying to get a head start on what was a long day on Tuesday.
We got up and packed since we had to check out of our rooms by 11:00 A.M. We all took our things to John's room for the day. We had lunch in the hotel restaurant and spent the rest of the day swimming and lounging around the fresh water pool. We once again marveled at the beauty of God's creation in this place. The caveat is that there is really little to do on Tahiti unless one enjoys swimming, snorkeling and lying on the beach. It is an island paradise though. We worked at finishing the diet Cokes and were successful. We had finished the rum the night before but the guys wanted to finish their cigars and watch the sunset. We had dinner in the restaurant and layed around until 11:30 PM when we left for the airport. We were checked very closely by security who took candy and other food items from us. They also took a fingernail file from me that had passed at least four other security checks. We had to lay around the airport until our flight left at 2;45 AM Wednesday. We boarded the airplane and had a snack and then all went to sleep. Not for long, however, as the flight attendant came and wakened us with breakfast as we headed to LAX.