Polynesian Adventure, Day 21

March 20, Wednesday -- Sunny and clear all day.  Clouds over the high country and over the island of Moorea, but hot where we are on the coasts.

The morning was spent driving south along the west coast to the isthmus between the larger part of Tahiti (Tahiti Nui) and the connected, smaller circle of land known as Tahiti Iti.  Just after leaving the resort we stopped at a great little bakery for breakfast treats and coffee.  Since there were no tables at the bakery, we drove a little bit farther to a beachside park with picnic tables.  School children here had a swimming class before being bussed to school -- not bad for a curriculum.  

We drove on and stopped just before the isthmus to tour a pretty water garden -- Vaipahi Springs Garden - where we saw a variety of plants and trees.

Dotleaf Water Lily.

Unknown flower but quite showy.

The small waterfall at the garden.

Beehive Ginger plant.

Ditto.

Papyrus Sedge.

Sacred Lotus Plant.

Sacred Lotus blossom.

Anthuriums.

Lobster Claw Heliconia.

We drove on across the isthmus to the end of the road on the west side of Tahiti Iti.  The road ends partway along the coast at a surfing venue (where the Paris Olympics surfing competition will be held in August; some amount of construction was underway).  At the turn-around point, we asked about the closest beach and were directed back about halfway to the isthmus.  We parked just off the road and waded/swam from the ten foot wide beach just adjacent to the road.  SS, BS and LS snorkeled while the rest of us waded and sat on the beach.  There were a variety of small fish in the shallow water.  The fish in the photograph below (unknown) has a curious habit of sticking its nose into the sand, ingesting a quantity of sand, and then expelling the sand out the gills.  This behavior is observable and I tried to capture it in a photo, but the sun was too bright and my sunglasses precluded me from being able to snap the picture at the precise moment.

We drove back to the resort, which took quite awhile because of slow, congested traffic.  The afternoon was spent at the pool.

Just before dinner we had a "memorial" photo taken, with us dressed in white.

PT, ET, EP, CP, LS, BS, & SS.

Our last dinner was at Blue Bananas, which was a surprising find.  Google did not show great reviews for it, but we all agreed that the dinner was very fine.  EP's tuna curry was great; my wahoo (a fish) in butter sauce was likewise good; and the others three pizzas were much appreciated.

LS, with SS, reading at the dinner table.  LS has been a fine traveler and has put up with us at the dinner table well.

The Blue Bananas sign.

And so our last full day on Tahiti has come to an end.  Everyone is packing and getting prepped to depart for the airport tomorrow by mid-afternoon.  The resort is allowing us a late checkout by giving us a single room in which to shower, change clothes and store luggage.  LS will also be able to have something of a nap before leaving for the airport.  This extra perk was due to the fact BS and SS's first room had a malfunctioning air conditioner, which was unable to be corrected with many visits by the maintenance crews.  Two days ago, they, along with CP, got switched to a room next to us.