Polynesian Adventure, Day 3

February 29 & March 1st:  Sunny, with thin scattered clouds, 85 degrees for a high, 81 for the low.

EP, PT and ET spent most of Leap Day prepping for the flights.  We took a Lyft from home to the Portland airport with our 8 pieces of luggage.  We quickly completed the check in and security processes and  retired to the Delta Sky Lounge to await boarding.  

We flew from PDX to LAX arriving after sunset - view from airplane as it descended into the LA basin.

Our next leg was an overnight flight to Papeete, Tahiti.  The rest of our party gathered in an International  Lounge in LAX's Terminal B.  CP arrived from Boston, MA, nearly 4 hours before the Portland contingent, followed in less than hour by BS, SS, and LS.  We all enjoyed sampling the various snacks provided before boarding around 11 pm.  We were offered dinner, most declined, and then slept on the "lie-flat" seats.  Business class flying is the only way to go, particularly for long haul trips.  I watched the movie Oppenheimer  before sleeping.  We enjoyed an early morning breakfast just before arriving in Tahiti. about 6:30 am local time (8:30 by PST).

LS sleeping

We arrived in Papeete at sunrise on March 1, in warm, humid air.

Papeete Terminal

 

Our Air France plane

After passing through passport control and retrieving luggage, we obtained our Hertz rental, a large Peugeot van with plenty of room for ourselves and the luggage.  The drive to the port was during morning rush hour, taking a good 30 minutes or more, on crowded streets.  Other drivers were polite and it was uneventful.  The motorcycles and scooters pass all of the 4-wheeled vehicles by traveling on the median strip or between lanes.

Peugeot Boxer, large enough for 7 people and all of the luggage.  

After some waiting in the hot and humid terminal, we loaded up for a drive into town to catch a ferry from the island of Tahiti to Moorea.

We bought roundtrip tickets for the car, 6 adults and 1 child on one of three ferries going over to Moorea.  We waited about an hour before boarding.  Some of us walked into town to the market.  The ferry ride was nearly an hour in gently rolling sea.  We arrived on Moorea and had an easy drive around the coast road to Villa Tereva Nui.  We met Stefanie, who walked us around the various rooms and describe rather briskly all of the features and precautions.  I not sure I caught or remembered them all.

We all changed into swimming gear and immediately went into the "almost too warm" water.  But if felt great.  We have several hundred of level sand in the "lagoon" in front of the house.  It was slightly windy and there is a strong current so we have to work a little bit to stay in place.

View from the house to the water.

SS and LS testing the water.

Front of the villa.

View inland from villa.

Again

The entry.

Again.

Inside.

Kitchen.

Great room.

Part of the Deck.

After lounging, Brent went to bring back a lunch of cold salads.  We continued to vegetate until finally going out for grocery supplies - two trips.  For our final adventure of the day, we walked a few hundred yards from the villa to a very nice and accommodating dinner.  We all barely made it through eating before crashing.  It was a short evening.

March 2nd:  Great sleeping overnight and fully rested to continue our lounging.  Sunny and warm.  The gang roused at different times, so we had breakfast in shifts on the veranda - juice, cereal, and baguette.  We then took turns wading into the water.  The sea is much calmer, which makes it very easy to spot fish.  There is a generous supply of fish in many colors and sizes, along with sea cucumbers and some live coral.  We can see waves breaking over the boundary reef, maybe a quarter mile off shore, and a few small islands.