10.11.09

10.11.09

We’ll. I’m back. I’m writing this to you from my apartment in San Francisco. It’s classic San Francisco weather today: foggy with a temperature in the mid 50’s. This city seems so cold and gray after all that tropical heat and sunshine. It’s weird wearing clothes instead of a thin tank top and shorts and I still haven' t shaken the habit of greeting and thanking people in French. Bonjour! Merci!

I was terrified to weigh myself after gorging on French food for two weeks. I’ve only gained 5 pounds, even though I feel like I’ve gained 15. I shuddered when I saw the baguette rack in the supermarket yesterday afternoon and just thinking about chicken makes me retch. I didn’t talk about this much in any of my blogs, but I had to eat a lot of meat while I was in French Polynesia. I’m normally a vegetarian who eats simple healthy foods, but that’s basically impossible in FP. The food there is all very rich and vegetarianism doesn’t seem to be part of their vocabulary- every lunch and dinner meal is a million calories and includes meat. I’m not dogmatic about my vegetarianism and have a personal policy that when I’m traveling in a foreign country I go with the flow and eat what the natives eat. If you are a vegetarian who thinks eating animal flesh is absolutely unthinkable , cross French Polynesia off your list right now. Forget about it. You’ll starve to death.

You may have noticed that the date on my blogs never matched up with the date I posted them. That’s because I only had internet access at one place in French Polynesia. I composed the blogs in Word and then posted them posthumously. However, this one you’re reading right now was really composed on the morning of the 11^th since I’m back in internet land! I suggest you keep checking this blog in the coming week as I am planning on posting photos and videos of our trip.

I’m going to give you some final thoughts about our trip before I launch into what happened during our last day in Tahiti Nui. I worry that since my last few entries were a tad negative that you have the impression that we didn’t enjoy our trip there. Not true at all. We both had an incredibly fun time and loved French Polynesia. The problem is that the trip was a bit too long- we were there for 17 days! We figured out the magic number for an international trip is 12 days. Just enough time to get a flavor for the place, but not so long that it gets old. I’d tell anyone who is considering going to not stay there for more than 2 weeks and just visit the islands of Tahiti Nui, Moorea, and most of all Bora Bora. The smaller islands of Huahine and Raiatea aren’t worth it. Anything you want to see and do is available and much easier on the larger islands. We found ourselves doing a lot of thumb twiddling and experiencing a lot of language barrier related awkwardness on the smaller islands.

So…our last days in Tahiti Nui. Last I wrote, we had just arrived at Le Royal Tahitian in Papeete. The following day we decided to walk the several miles to downtown. It was an extremely hot and sunny day and I felt like I was going to fall over since there wasn’t any shade on the road. Getting into town was a relief since there was more shade under the buildings. Papeete is a very grimey town with busy streets packed with cars and people. We spent the afternoon poking around stores, sitting in cafes people watching, and visiting the blissfully air conditioned Robert Wan pearl museum. There were some pretty interesting dioramas and amazing giant pearl jewelry for sale that cost millions of dollars. Robert Wan possesses the largest, most perfect pearl in the world. I stared at that baby for quite awhile.

We had dinner in the downtown Papeete plaza where about 30 roulottes (moving food vans) gather every night around 6 pm. The roulottes serve French food like steak avec frites (steak & fries,) poisson cru (raw fish in lime juice and coconut milk,) crepes, and lots of Chinese food. We took some pictures and a video of the scene – it was really neat. I wish they had something like that in San Francisco but with food like Indian, Middle Eastern, and Mexican.

On our last day in Tahiti, we checked out of our hotel and rented a car from some place the hotel receptionist called up. A Tahitian man picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the car place. On the ride there he asked us if we were Americans and where we were from. When he found out we lived in California he got very excited. He told us he loved American music, especially the Red Hot Chili Peppers since he surfed and they had a beach vibe. He also loved Metallica and NOFX. Then he mentioned he loved American video games and movies and how Americans loved challenge and action. He said French movies- no good- they’re always making love.

The car we rented was a total piece of crap! It was “Chery” model Chinese car. I think it was supposed to be a “Chevy” knock off. Halfway around Tahiti Nui, we stopped at a gas station and realized we couldn’t shift the car gear into park OR reverse. We made it a point not to stop anywhere we had to reverse. To park the car, we put it in neutral and used the emergency brake. I couldn’t open my passenger door, Mike had to let me out from outside. I was totally freaked out- it was a total death trap! Mike nicknamed it “Time” since it could only go forward- never backwards. I was relieved to get out of that thing and into line at the airport.

The flight home to LAX was relatively uneventful. We both slept as well as one could sleep sitting upright. Our flight from from LAX to SFO was delayed because of (surprise) fog. We’re both still recovering from jet lag and haven’t even unpacked yet.

Stay tuned for videos and pictures this week!

10.7.09

10.7.09

We’re currently at Le Royal Tahitian in Papeete, Tahiti Nui. It feels GREAT to be back in a city. Papeete has a population of 29,000 people so it’s not even that big, but after being on those tiny empty islands it feels downright gritty and urban. Papeete feels a bit more city-ish than an American town with the same population since it has a busy downtown district with a touch of neon.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my time on the far flung desolate islands immensely…but when it comes down to it I’m a city girl. The middle of nowhere is a great place to visit for no more than 2 weeks but I don’t want to live there.

Late yesterday afternoon our French hotel host Olivier gave us a ride to the Raiatea airport. We had a conversation about the Bush administration. Michael tried to make it clear that only half the country voted that Neanderthal into office. It’s times like that we wish our French was better so we could explain in detail what a mess those 8 years were for our country (and how we’re suffering now because of the damage those people did) and how not all Americans are awful. Sigh.

Anyways…so Le Royal Tahitian. It was hard to find a place for us to stay in Tahiti that wasn’t either a total roach infested dump or an expensive luxurious resort. Yes, I would love to indulge in more luxury but we can’t afford it. The reviews I read of Le Royal Tahitian on Trip Advisor were mixed but it seemed like our best option so I booked it.

On our taxi drive to the hotel I had a sinking feeling- what if it was depressing as Pension Ahitea? I was already in a low mood from being trapped on Raiatea for so long. As we pulled into the drive I brightened up a little knowing that the hotel was still in an urban area. When we pulled up to our reception I breathed a sigh of relief when the jolly Tahitian front desk lady said “Welcome Haven!” and I noticed how tidy, nicely decorated, and clean everything was. Walking to our hotel buildings, I was pleased by the pretty landscaping.

Actually, I really like this place. It was originally built sometime in the ‘60’s and hasn’t been remodeled since but it’s been kept up very nicely. It definitely has a tiki theme to it. I have some friends who love the old ‘60’s tiki style and they would go crazy over this hotel. The main complaint I read in the reviews was that it looked “dated” but in my opinion the retro look is cool. I feel like I’m on a Mad Men set. I think we’re going to enjoy our next few days here.

Since I like making lists on this blog, I thought I’d keep it up. Here are some things I’m going to miss about French Polynesia:

-The profusion of fresh flowers everywhere. I’ve worn a tiare gardenia or hibiscus in my hair almost every day. They’re growing all over the place and make the air smell terrific. You just walk a few feet and pluck a bloom off a tree or the ground and stick it behind your ear. The Tahitians decorate everything with the fresh flowers. The scent of gardenias will always remind me of this beautiful island nation.

-Poisson cru. When I read about this dish of lemon juice marinated raw fish in coconut milk, it didn’t sound very good to me. But once I tried it I loved it and have eaten it quite a bit since I’ve been here. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it back in SF, and even if I do I doubt it will be as delicious.

-The ubiquity of tropical drinks. I’m not really a drinker, but I’ve had at least one alcoholic tropical cocktail every day since I’ve been here- they are so good! They use fresh juice and decorate the glasses with flowers and fruit and I only need one to mellow out.

-The ability to plop into warm ocean water pretty much anywhere and at any time for a swim and a snorkel. Going back home to the murky cold waters of the Pacific surrounding San Francisco is going to be a disappointment. The one time I went in up to my chest at Ocean Beach, my lower extremities went numb from the cold. And did I mention how awesome the saltwater makes my hair look?

-The friendly Tahitians. They are always saying hello and good evening and smiling, even total strangers for no reason at all. San Francisco city people rarely smile, and forget about saying hello and making eye contact. Tahitian strangers even say “bon appétit!!” when walking past us when we’re eating. (Tangent: I will not miss the awkward French cheek kissing thing the French people do here. I think I freaked out more than a few French people with my stiff response to their cheek kissing thing. If I had my druthers, everyone in the world would greet one another with a Japanese style bow. Friendly and respectful, but not too invasive of my personal space and no gross hand touching like our American handshakes.)

10.6.09

Day 5 on this godforsaken island.

Our plane doesn't leave for Tahiti Nui until 5 pm so we're stuck at the lodge until 4 when our taxi picks us up. We had to check out of our room at noon so now we're just loitering around the lobby, inhaling French people cigarette smoke. Disgusting. Perhaps I'll order an alcoholic tropical drink? I'm 25% done with the horrendous suburban housewife novel. We could play cards but it's much too windy.

Our place in Tahiti Nui isn't anything fancy. Another perfunctory place to lay our heads. Tomorrow we're planning on messing around in Papeete. Maybe I'll find some sort of knick knack souvenir.

2 more days.

10.5.09

Alright…I’m not going to lie. We’ve reached the point of our trip where we are REALLY bored. We’re still in Raiatea and we seemed to have exhausted everything there is to do on this island. The highlight of our days have been eating, which we are doing too much of. I did try and book a land excursion to the waterfalls and archaeological sites, but they were either booked or the guides were doing water excursions. There are no beaches here and the snorkeling options are very poor. I’d kayak to that motu I can see from our dock, but the water is still unpleasantly choppy. There are no movie theaters on this island, no bookstores selling English literature of any kind, the board games are all in French, you need to hire a guide (who are all busy) for any hiking into the jungle-like conditions of the inner regions of the island, and all the TV channels are in French. When we were in Japan we were fascinated by the television shows since they were so bizarre but the same can’t be said for French programming. It’s incredibly dull.

I’ve checked off everything I’ve wanted to do so far:

- Snorkel.

- Shop for pareo, pearls, vanilla, and shell jewelry.

- Ray and shark feedings.

- Bicycle around an island.

- Eat local specialties such as poisson cru.

- See a dance spectacular.

- Visit an archaeological site.

-Kayak.

- Visit a motu and have a traditional Polynesian feast.

- Drink tropical drinks.

- Visit a vanilla and pearl farm.

- Blog lots and lots.

-Get a tan. (We both have painful sunburns.)

We both can’t wait to get off this island. We’re going crazy with boredom. This is my first tropical paradise vacation and probably my last for quite awhile. We’re the kind of travelers who love lots of activities, and French Polynesia is basically all about relaxing. 4 more days of this. I don’t know how much more relaxation we can possibly take!@# Next trip we’re taking is going to be to a giant city.

I don’t know why anyone would want to move here. We really miss movie theaters, bookstores, interesting neighborhood walks (nothing but bug infested jungle here,) and food like Mission burritos and Middle Eastern platters of hummus and babaganoush.

Yesterday we didn’t do much of anything. We spent the morning reading our books and the afternoon driving in a loop around the island. I have read everything of ours there is to read, but I did find a trashy English language novel in our hotel lobby about suburban housewives. I don’t want to read it but I am desperate for something to read.

Since I currently have all the time in the world, I’ll continue to blog. Things I’ve noticed about this place:

· They serve French bread with EVERYTHING. Every meal, not matter what it is, they plunk down a bowl of French bread. And for breakfast? They eat juice, coffee, and FRENCH BREAD. I can’t wait to eat some cereal or oatmeal. I don’t care if I never see one of those long baguette thingies ever again.

· The food options are extremely limited. Basically all they eat here is fish covered in vanilla sauce, beef, and chicken. French food. And don’t forget lots of tropical fruit. If you are lucky you will get to eat pizza or Chinese and even then it seems kinda Frenchy.

· You can’t drink the water unless you want to get sick.

· They sell two kinds of beer here: Hinano and Heineken.

· There are maybe 2 radio stations and both play a blend of dance-y music like reggaeton and American hip hop. T-Pain and Sean Kingston are VERY popular here. They crank the dance music in the supermarkets where I’ve seen stock boys singing “Somebody call 911, shorty fire burnin’ on the dancefloor.”

· There are roosters and stray dogs everywhere, even in absolute middle of nowhere we’ve seen them tooling around on the side of the road. The roosters totally suck. They crow nonstop and are very irritating in the morning. I think they are the reason why everyone on these islands wake up at the crack of dawn and nod off around 9 pm. The dogs like to nap in the road or chase your car. I have yet to see canine roadkill.

· There are lots of hermit crabs that live on the side of the road that get smooshed by the cars.

· There are very cute little chameleon-like lizards (geckos?) that make chirping noises at night.

· There is absolutely no night life on any of the islands.

· The Tahitians don’t really smoke but almost all the French people do. It’s been a hard thing for us Californians to accept. Where we come from, smokers are basically the devil. I’m shocked to see the French people lighting up all over at all times.

· They don’t think they recycle here and the concept of being green hasn’t caught on here yet. I can’t imagine the amount of fossil fuel that’s burned transporting goods to the island.

· Almost all the Tahitian women wear their hair the same way. Very long and in a bun with a flower tucked on one side of their ear, depending on their marital status. And yes, the men wear hair flowers too.

· All the islands seem to be in a perpetual state of construction. Every little town seems to have at least one construction site that seems to have been suspended halfway through completion.

· They really are on island time here. Everything seems to take forever or doesn’t happen at all.

· Everyone says hello and smiles at you here. It’s taken some getting used to for me, since I’m used to living in a giant city where nobody makes eye contact with you.

· The tourist make-up is predominantly French people. I’ve seen a few other American couples at the airports on the smaller islands. Only at the major resort of Sofitel did I see more international travelers. I thought I’d see more Japanese and German people like I do back home but I haven’t.

· I haven’t seen a lot of modern technology like cell phones and the internet here.

10.3.09

10.3.09

Today we took a boat excursion around Raiatea and the nearby island of Taha’a. We were picked up from our hotel dock early in the morning by a Tahitian couple named Teva and Flo. There were 3 other couples on the trip – 2 French and 1 Tahitian.

Although the weather was beautiful, the ocean was very choppy and it was rough going on our little speed boat. Lots of rough bouncing up and down on the waves and splashes soaking our clothes. On our way to the vanilla farm we boated through a large group of dolphins. It was neat to see them up so close.

The vanilla farm on Taha’a ran by a Danish ex-pat and his Tahitian wife. The tour was very interesting. Did you know vanilla is a type of orchid? All the vanilla plants had to be hand pollinated by the farmer. When they were finally harvested after 9 months, each individual bean must be massaged. Vanilla farming seems like a very long and exhausting process, but the results are terrific. We bought some vanilla beans, and vanilla honey and soap made by the farmer himself.

The next stop on the tour was a tiny motu (island) for snorkeling. I laid on the white sand and let the waves wash over me most of the time we were there. The brief snorkeling I did wasn’t very good since the waves were so high and the water so cloudy.

Lunch was a traditional Polynesian feast served on a different motu. I’m not entirely sure I know the name of everything I ate. I can tell you some of it was breadfruit, taro, banana, poisson cru, and rice.

Following lunch we paid a visit to what I would consider an oceanic petting zoo. Nets were suspended off several docks. Inside the nets were different types of sharks and rays, a sea turtle, a blowfish, and some very large translucent fish called our guide called “caron.” (I’m not sure if this is the correct spelling or not.)

The guide scooped the blowfish up onto the dock and made him puff up. When the fish de-puffed he made a very funny gas sound. To demonstrate the blowfish’s sharp teeth, the guide inserted a piece of coral into the blowfish’s mouth, which the fish easily chomped into two pieces. We have a very interesting video of this demonstration that I will post later.

Next, we did some ray and shark feeding. At this point in the trip I have had so much experience with rays and sharks that I wasn’t afraid of them at all. Feeding a ray a piece of fish was an odd feeling. Their mouths just kinda gummed at my hand. The guide showed me how to pet a shark laying under the dock. His skin felt like sandpaper. Mike had a chance to pick up a very cute sea turtle.

The visit to the pearl farm was kind of unpleasant. The boat ride there was very violent and we got totally soaked. By now the sky had filled with storm clouds and the sea was rougher than ever. Pearl farms are basically shacks in the middle of the ocean. Getting into the shack, you have to climb on the precarious and thin boards the farmers tie the oysters too. The winds were very high and I was terrified that I was going to fall off. Inside the pearl shack, we watched a farmer remove pearls from the oysters and insert new grafts. The demonstration was in French so we weren’t entirely sure what was going on.

At the end of the tour, our guide Teva told us the sea was much to rough for us to boat back to our hotel so he would drive us back in his car. He took us to his house and helped us dry off. His wife gave me a dry pareo to wrap up in and offered us tea and a shower. Such nice people. I know I’ve said it before in this blog, but the warmth and friendliness of the Tahitian people has really impressed us on this trip. They are always smiling and saying hello everywhere we go.

Getting back to the hotel into some dry warm clothes was such a welcome relief. We checked our dinner options and decided to go for a Chinese joint in the tiny town of Uturoa. There is a small population of Chinese people on Raiatea so there are a few Chinese eateries. The Polynesian take on sweet and sour chicken was very pineapple-y and good.

10.2.09

10.2.09

I think we’ve reached the part of the trip where we’re ready to go home and we’ve still got 6 days left. This happens on pretty much every vacation I’ve ever been on. I think vacations have two purposes: they give me a break from my routine back home, and at the same time make me miss and appreciate what I have back home.

I don’t know if I should fully go into what I am tired of in particular because I’d probably sound like a jerk. I’ll just say it has to do with certain people we’ve encountered on this trip and the way they have treated us. I am proud to be an American. My husband and I are both nice, patient, open minded people who always treat others with respect. Maybe these certain people have treated us a certain way because we’re Americans, or maybe they’re just living up to their stereotype of being citizens of the rudest nation on Earth.

Anyways, right now I’m relaxing with a Hinano beer (the only beer made in Tahiti) in our room at the Raiatea Lodge on the island of Raiatea. Not many tourists visit this island so we’re really feeling out of place now. There’s not much to do here so I imagine I’ll be doing a lots of laying around here and drinking Hinano over the course of the next 4 days. I guess I could go snorkel but I’m pretty burned out on it after Bora Bora.

Our lodge is in a remote area close to the ocean. There’s a pier we can hop off of to go snorkeling. There’s a few kayaks we could use and a restaurant downstairs that serves the typical French fare. The owner is renting us her car for the next four days. This afternoon we drove to the tiny village of Uturoa to stock up on food and poke around. It’s apparently the second largest city in the islands but it’s tiny. I think we were the only non-Tahitians there.

Which reminds me, I wanted to discuss the necessity of renting a car in French Polynesia. The public transit on the islands is nonexistent, the taxis are prohibitively expensive, most places are too far to bicycle or walk to (not to mention the bugs will gobble you alive,) so you absolutely have to rent a car if you want to go anywhere besides your hotel. You could stay at your hotel and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner but I guarantee you will get bored of the food and the same scenery real fast. All the islands have one road that loops around it. That’s it.

We left Bora Bora this morning. I was very sad to say goodbye to that place. It was so beautiful and the Tahitian staff of the Sofitel were so nice to us. It was a very American friendly hotel so we felt quite socially comfortable. This trip has taught me that although I like to think that I want to be in a non-touristy remote area off the beaten path, I generally enjoy myself more when I’m staying in luxurious lodgings full of other people similar to me. I feel so lame admitting that. (rolls eyes)

When we woke up, the winds and waves were very high. I was almost certain our flight to Raiatea would be delayed. The breakfast buffet at the Sofitel is quite pricey and they serve a lot of food. Neither of us wanted to deal with it this morning, so we cobbled together a breakfast of peanut butter, biscotte (a sort of dried toast they sell here,) tomato juice from the mini bar, and a piece of chocolate cake from a roulotte. I ate an orange, he didn’t. I suspect this was what caused the problem. Shortly after we’d finished our breakfast, I began to feel severely nauseous and my intestines began to cramp up. I kept having to run to the bathroom. I was worried I’d caught the same bug Mike had. This terrible feeling continued until we reached the airport. The tiny airport was relatively empty while we waited for our plane, so I found a bench and layed down. When I got back to the bathroom, a man had seated himself on the end of the bench. I curled up on the other side, trying not to throw up. He kept scooting closer and closer to me, hacking and clearing his throat. I said pardon, since I knew he spoke French (I had heard him talking to his wife on the boat to the airport.) Then for some reason he kept shoving me down the bench and said in English how I shouldn’t lay on the bench. I told him I was sick and he told me to lay on the floor. I looked around and saw the airport was full of empty seats. I suspect he had something personal against me since I’m an American. I was so angry so I just kept laying there in silence. When I saw another bench nearby clear of people, I moved over there. Michael was already there since he didn’t want to deal with the awful nasty man. I couldn’t believe the incredible rudeness. What a truly terrible and sad individual to target me like that. I should have thrown up all over his polyester pants. Jackass.

10.1.09

10.1.09

This morning I finally accomplished my goal of seeing a shark in the waters of French Polynesia. We went on a shark and ray feeding excursion sponsored by the hotel. Our guide was a very funny Tahitian man who gave us a tour of Bora Bora while playing his ukulele and singing songs.

I was a little scared by the shark feeding, but I was also very excited. The guide stood in the water and fed a swarm of sharks chunks of tuna. He told us to float near the boat and watch the sharks through our snorkel masks. I was hesitant to get into the water but I just had to see those sharks. I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be when I looked underwater and saw a huge cluster of them mere feet from me. The Japanese couple, Chinese couple, and Italian woman were too afraid to come in to the water. The guide said “Japanese, you get in now. Chinese, no be afraid!” The Canadians joked to me that they were gonna give the sharks a Canadian appetizer.

The ray feeding was fun too. After my experience with these guys earlier in the trip, I didn’t have an ounce of fear. Still, when several of them brushed their wet mushroom feeling skin up against my body it was a bit disarming. The guide tried to get me to feed the rays a chunk of tuna, but after I saw how 3 of them at a time will basically suction cupped themselves to your body to get the food I wasn’t interested.

This afternoon we took the advice of the Canadians and kayaked to a particular spot near the Sofitel. It was great snorkeling and we made some fun films of ourselves swimming through the coral gardens. Just as a storm was beginning to roll in, we had to go pick up my new pearl earrings from our Japanese jeweler at the Sofitel reception desk.

We had another interesting dinner at the hotel restaurant. The theme was BBQ but it seemed like a mish mosh of all kinds of cuisine. Everything from sushi roll style burritos, to rice pilaf in interesting little test tubes, to escargot still squirming in their shells. During dinner an elderly Frenchman in a red silk shirt got up and serenaded a couple with “La Boheme.” It was the sort of night I’ll never forget.

After one of our trips to the buffet, we encountered our canine friend from the night before. It was the oddest thing. He was just sitting next to our table as though he was waiting for us. The wait staff tried to shoo him away but he wouldn’t budge, even though high winds and rain were whipping at him. Eventually the storm got so bad we had to move our table inside. When we came back outside to take the boat back to our bungalow on the motu, he was waiting for us. He followed us through the bar all the way up the dock. He probably would have hopped on the boat with us if a security staff member hadn’t shooed him away.

9.29.09 part 2

Basically Bora Bora is paradise on earth. It’s the most famous of all the French Polynesian islands and with good reason. It’s the most beautiful and has the swankiest accommodations. This was where we really splurged on our hotel accommodations at the Sofitel Motu.

When we stepped off the plane, a Sofitel representative greeted us by placed fragrant gardenia garlands around our neck. I knew immediately I was going to love this place. Since our hotel was on a motu (island,) we had to be transported there via boat. When the boat pulled up to the Sofitel dock a Tahitian man in a pareo blew a shell to announce our arrival. When we were personally shown to our bungalow (the most luxurious one the hotel had to offer) my jaw dropped. I was extremely pleased I was going to be staying here for the next three nights. The bungalow is situated over a shockingly blue crystal clear lagoon, so if we want to swim we just jump off our own private stairwell into the warm water. From our plush bed we have a gorgeous view of the emerald mountains on the Bora Bora mainland. The bungalow is decorated in a very chic modern yet Tahitian style. Lizards scurry up the wall and there’s a cute little glass window in the floor to watch the fish swimming in the ocean below. It’s better than TV. I saw a baby shark swim by, but mostly it’s these interesting little needle shaped fish that can change their colors and patterns. I snorkeled beneath our bungalow to get a closer look at them change from solid blue to striped black and white within a few seconds. I love this place- Bora Bora is magical!

9.29.09

9.29.09

We just had the craziest travel experience. We were evacuated for a tsunami!

This morning didn’t start out very well at all. Mike woke up feeling terrible with a stomach bug. We’ve been drinking bottled water, but we rinsed our toothbrushes in the sink a few times.

When we checked out, we had trouble with our credit cards. We have more than enough money in the bank, so we had the receptionist call the credit card company and discovered the telephone lines were out. In typical Tahitian fashion, she very cavalierly said it was probably because of the tsunami. Tsunami? Um, what? She then told us that there was an earthquake in Samoa and a tsunami was more than likely headed our way. The whole town of Fare was shut down, including the airport we were supposed to fly out of. What?!

Confused and worried, we gave the receptionist our credit card information and got into the airport taxi with all the other hotel boarders bound for Bora Bora. There was a lot of frantic French being bandied about by the driver and passengers. When we got to the airport, a worried looking man in an official looking uniform said something to us in French. We were all packed back into the taxi and the driver began driving around the village of Fare. Keep in mind that we had no idea what was going on because neither of us spoke French. I wondered- was this normal in Tahiti? Was I going to die? Was it going to be like that video I saw of the tsunami in Sri Lanka? Am I going to have to climb a tree? Do I need to ration my bottled water supply? Now that I had finally married the man of my dreams, was he going to be washed away from me in a tsunami in Tahiti?

Finally one of the French lady passengers spoke up and began to tell us what was going on in English. Their was apparently a 2 foot tsunami headed our way around noon. We were going to be evacuated to higher ground.

The driver pulled over at a road going up a steep mountain. We were handed our luggage and the French people began to lug their suitcases up the mountain road. Nobody told us what was going on in English so I just followed the French people. I was extremely nervous and walked as fast as I could up that mountain, while my husband stayed behind and helped the older American couple walk up the road. I really regret leaving him behind, but I wasn’t thinking straight. I was so terrified.

When I finally got to the top, I saw a cluster of Tahitians gathered around a radio tower laughing and smiling. They didn’t seem to care at all that all their homes might possibly be washed away. Tahitians don’t ever seem stressed out or worried. I should take a lesson from them.

I sat on a partially shaded rock and stared at the ocean looking for signs of a big wave. Michael appeared and seemed very calm about the whole situation. The Tahitians were receiving mixed messages about the tsunami. A phone call from a girlfriend on Tahiti Nui saying that the television is reporting 2 waves headed our way – a 4 foot followed by a 6 foot. A phone call from a friend in Taha’a saying everything is all clear and not to worry. All of this news was delivered by the French lady.

Eventually everyone started packing up and leaving. We were loaded back into the taxi and dropped off at the airport. I still felt nervous about the wave but I was relieved to get off that hot mountain and on my way to Bora Bora. Huahine was beautiful, but I was over it for various reasons and felt ready to move on.

Our flight to Bora Bora was delayed by a few hours but didn’t mind. We lazed about the airport and read our books. Michael thanked the French lady for keepng us informed of the events and she said it was no problem, and she realized that French people can be incredibly rude to American tourists and apologized for it. No comment.

So that’s our tsunami story. Crazy eh?

9.28.09

9.28.09

More rain, another cancelled excursion. The light sprinkling and overcast skies are nothing compared to the San Francisco fog and Wisconsin snow back in the states, but whatever. We got very antsy to leave our bungalow and decided we had to rent a car and get out and explore.

We were first in line at the rental car desk this morning. We drove into Fare for breakfast at Chez Guynette. The restaurant was situated on the busiest street in town- basically a dock, maybe 4 stores, ladies selling fruit, and a couple roulottes.

Then we took a boat to the island’s lone pearl farm. It’s basically an over-the-water hut in the middle of a lagoon surrounded by pearl growing oysters suspended in the water. I bought a fish hook shell necklace carved by the village policeman. There’s not much crime in Huahine so I guess he has to keep himself busy somehow!

After that we checked out the sacred blue eyed eels alongside some French tourists. When we were driving back to Fare for lunch through a totally rural area, we saw them again and they flagged us down and asked us for a ride. Apparently the woman who ran the pension they were staying at dropped them off to see the eels and basically abandoned them in the middle of nowhere. How awful!

When dinner time rolled around, we both agreed we’d had it with the French food and made it our goal to obtain pizza. The guidebooks suggested a place outside Fare. When we found the pizza place, it was basically a shack on the side of the road next to some guy’s house. We milled around in the rain until it was ready and then drove to eat it under the covered bridge next to the Fare marina. Who would have guessed that roadside shack chevre and gruyere pizza could be so delicious?

9.27.09

9.27.09

Sigh. It rained again today. The excursion we booked was cancelled. We spent most of the day lazing around our bungalow. We took a walk in the rain to Pension Maurii about a mile away for lunch since we were tired of taking all our meals at Relais Mahana. Since the island is so empty and we were in a remote region, our food options are extremely limited.

Initially it was very awkward at the Pension Maurii restaurant. The waitress only spoke French and seemed very irritated by us. She didn’t smile at all at us, but I saw her smiling and laughing with all the French speaking people. I felt like everyone was staring at us. The menu was only in French so we had to puzzle through what we wanted to order. I had a very strong desire to leave since I felt so uncomfortable and unwanted but I decided I had to fight through it. This is what I came to Tahiti for, right? To step outside my comfort zone and experience something new. I ordered a beer and curried chicken with bananas and taro root. At least I know poulet is chicken, and curry, banana, and taro is the same as it is in English. I also ordered a big beer to settle my nerves. My dish ended up being exquisite and worth all the social discomfort. It sounded like such an odd combination of ingredients but it worked.

9.26.09

9.26.09

Our last morning in Moorea was sunny and beautiful. We caught the Aremiti 5 ferry to Papeete. It was a much faster boat than the first one we took. The wind was very powerful and almost whipped off my sunglasses while I was looking for signs of whales or dolphins in the ocean. I stood up to get a better look, but had to sit back down immediately because the boat was rocking violently back and forth on the choppy water. It made me slightly nauseous and I was very glad when we docked in Papeete.

From Papeete we took a cab to the airport. We arrived 4 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart to Huahine. At the tiny airport, we regretted not staying in Papeete longer to look around at the sights and shops. The airport has a few souvenir shops, a snack bar, and a McDonald’s. We took a picture of the McDonald’s menu since it offered some very different items than the ones back home. A “Croque McDo” (hot ham and cheese sandwich) and “Rouleau Gourmand” (chicken and ranch sauce sandwich) were just a few of the curious offerings.

The plane we took to Huahine was tiny and jet propelled. I had imagined it to be old and rickety, but it wasn’t at all. It was a smooth riding modern affair. During our 45 minute ride to Huahine I saw Marlon Brando’s private island.

The Huahine airport was even smaller than the Papeete airport. It was basically a house. The bamboo interior was decorated with fresh hibiscus flowers and woven palm tree fronds (at least I think they’re palm trees?) Even the bathroom sinks and toilets were decorated! Since I’ve been in Huahine I’ve noticed this fresh flower decorating is everywhere. People not only wear flowers in their hair, they also put them on furniture, beds, drinks, food, signs, and cars. You name it, they adorn it with flowers.

A Tahitian woman picked us up at the airport to take us to our bungalow at Relais Mahana. Huahine doesn’t have any public transit and there is basically one taxi for the whole island.

Our bungalow at Relais Mahana is wonderful. It has a thatch roof, bamboo walls, tiki decorations, and an open air shower. It’s situated right on the beach, so we just have to walk a few feet to snorkel in some of the best coral gardens on the island. At night the sound of the waves crashing on the shore lull us to sleep.

9.25.09

9.25.09

Last I wrote, we were waiting for a storm to pass so we could go on a quad excursion. Well, the rain didn’t stop until the evening. We had to cancel our afternoon quad excursion and went and looked at pearls instead.

Since we’ve been here, it’s rained a lot. The rainy season isn’t supposed to start until November, so this is unusual. I guess it’s been this way the past few years though- rainy during the dry season, and dry during rainy season. Apparently the size of the beaches have changed too. Our Aqua Blue guide attributed the changes to global warming. It’s a depressing thought.

I thought we could still snorkel while it’s raining, but it turns out that rain turns the water cloudy and makes it hard to see anything. All of the excursions we’ve booked except for one has been cancelled due to the bad weather. The rain has definitely made our honeymoon less than perfect, but we’re trying to remain positive. We could have missed a flight and been stuck on an island, we could have caught a bug from drinking the water (we’ve been sticking to bottled,) we could have lost our luggage, we could have had our money and passports stolen. At first I was really angry that the rain was keeping us from enjoying this paradise that we spent so much time and money to get to, but now I’ve just accepted it. At least we’re stuck in a cute bungalow with good books to read.

I’m getting off track and need to get back to telling you what we’ve been up to.

So…pearl shopping. Before we got to Tahiti, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted pearls or not. I’m not a fancy jewelry type lady but I do love beautiful objects…and Tahitian black pearls are VERY beautiful. Once I learned a thing or two about what you should look for in a quality pearl and visited a few shops, I developed pearl lust. They come in so many colors and they are fascinating to look at. I really have my heart set on a pair of dark green earrings. I have looked at many pearls since we’ve been here but none of them have spoken to me yet. Unfortunately Tahitian black pearls are very expensive so I have to find the perfect pair that I am absolutely sure are worth their price.

After pearl shopping, we went to Tiki Village to have a traditional Tahitian dinner feast and watch a Polynesian dance show. I had read in our guidebooks that the feast wasn’t very good and the books were right. There was a lot of food and almost all of it was terrible. I ended up piling 3 plates full of fruit because it was the only thing that tasted good to me.

I hope I don’t sound like I’m complaining about food too much in this blog. The reason why I’m being so picky is because it’s all so incredibly pricey. A typical dinner in the islands costs about $25 US dollars. After spending that much money, I expect to highly enjoy what I’m eating. More often than not, we’ve been underwhelmed. Maybe I just don’t like French food all that much.

But enough about money. The dance show more than made up for the lousy food. The beautifully costumed male and female dancers told stories with the traditional Polynesian dances. There were dances about black pearls, courtship and marriage, tribal leaders, and battle. My favorite dances involved fire. I wish we could have taken pictures but our camera battery ran out!

At least I got a good video of the part of the show where men (including Mike) were grabbed from the audience and taught a dance routine in front of the audience. He looked so cute up there. I had to go up and dance with a group of women too. I felt like a giant dork, but when I looked up into the auditorium and saw Michael smiling and laughing, making a fool of myself was worth it.

9.24.09

9.24.09

Today we drove up to Mount Belvedere and visiting the agricultural school and juice factory. On top of Mount Belvedere we could see both Opunohu bay and Cook’s bay and the various former volcanic peaks. It was a bit tough driving up there and made us wish we had rented something like a Jeep instead. I was a bit disappointed by the agricultural school. I was hoping to see various plants growing and interesting livestock. But, the pamplemousse (grapefruit) sorbet I had was still quite delicious and refreshing in the sweltering heat. The juice factory was just a store. I had hoped for a tour, but no dice. However, the various alcoholic juice samples the jolly Tahitian ladies at the store poured for us were nice.

After that, we browsed a few stores. I purchased a hand painted pareo. A pareo is a traditional garment Tahitian men and women wear. Pareos are great for wrapping around yourself after a dip in the ocean. I drooled over the gorgeous black pearl jewelry I saw, but all salivation stopped after I saw the price tags. I can’t afford a $2,ooo pair of earrings. FROWN.

We spent the afternoon on a delightful excursion called Aqua Blue. You know those old fashioned crazy round bubble dive helmets people used to wear back in the day? There’s a couple of Frenchmen named Vincent and Geoff here who will take you out on a boat, put the helmet on you and hook it up to an oxygen hose, and take you on an underwater tour. When they anchored the boat, I could see giant sting rays swimming in the pristine aqua blue water. I got a bit nervous but then I remembered the cute and friendly little rays who brushed up against me for a pet at the Monterey Bay aquarium back home. Our guides spoke very fondly of the sting rays and instructed us on how to pet them and not to worry at all if their tails brush up against us.

I decided to get into the water first. I was scared but I knew I had to do it. It was very odd having this heavy oxygen fed helmet placed on top of me. Vincent reassuringly guided me into the water until I reached the ocean floor. I waited there and watched Michael come in next. I relaxed immediately and didn’t feel scared at all when I saw a giant ray gracefully glide toward me. We spent the next 40 minutes feeding the rays and beautiful tropical fish. I got to touch the silky rays’ bodies many times and decided I liked them very much. I kept an eye out for sharks, but none swam by. I felt a little relief and a little disappointment about that. Just like the eel, sharks frighten me but I’m also totally fascinated by them and want to see one. The sharks here aren’t dangerous anyways.

Watching our guides in their diving suits made me envious of their freedom. Divers are able to spend a long period of time underwater, investigating as long as they want. Right then and there I decided I would make it one of my goals to get my diver’s license in 2010.

We had dinner at this charming place called Aito Restaurant. Our table was right over the ocean. We both had mai tais…again with that incredible fresh local juice. We tried poisson cru for our appetizer. It’s a famous local dish of raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and carrots. It was AMAZING and deservedly famous. For dinner I had mahi mahi in Tahitian vanilla sauce, another signature local dish. It was quite delicious. When I vacation somewhere, I try to sample all the local dishes.

9.23.09

9.23.09

Today we woke up and caught the Aremiti Ferry to Moorea. As we approached the island I was shocked by the incredible blueness of the water and the beautiful jagged emerald mountains. I saw dolphins jump out of the ocean and twirl in the air and a whale breach the waves, blowing up a jet of water and flipping his tail. One of my dreams of seeing a whale in the wild finally came true that morning! Everything was so beautiful, it barely seemed real. And this was just the beginning.

Some say Moorea is shaped like a heart, some say it’s shaped like a turtle. It’s 37 miles around and not many people live here. The main industries are tourism and the juice factory. There are wild dogs and roosters everywhere. The roosters crow nonstop and are quite annoying in the morning!

When we docked in Moorea we walked to our rental car shack. (It really was a shack.) I thought we were going to be driving a tiny old Peugot but instead we were handed the keys to a modern Ford Fiesta. We loaded up the bags and headed towards Fare Arana. We had a hard time finding it since the sign is rather hidden.

Fare Arana is situated on a hillside so we have a lovely view of the coral reef and the Pacific Ocean. Our bungalow is absolutely darling. Since Fare Arana is run by a very sweet French lady named Fabienne, it looks rather French but also has Tahitian touches like bamboo walls and Gaugain prints framed with seashells. Upstairs is where we sleep. Downstairs is the bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and porch. A very cute and chatty kitty lives on the porch and keeps us company while we snack on “le toast” and Nutella or read our guide books and plan what we’d like to do next. We’ve named her Le Kitty. When I say “Hello Le Kitty!” she meows back. I could definitely live here.

We began our first day driving around the island checking things out and trying to find food. My one complaint about any vacation is the food problem, especially in a foreign country. Hunger sneaks up on us and before we know it we’re both weak from the gnawing hunger pains and we have headaches from dehydration. We get quite crabby with one another. It doesn’t help that our bodies are on a different time zone so hunger strikes at very inconvenient times. This is when the language barrier and our shyness becomes very annoying.

Anyways, we eventually found the main supermarket and bought a small bag of items like nuts, bread, peanut butter, and many bottles of water. Apparently the water is safe to drink on Moorea, but we don’t want to chance it. It’s definitely not safe to drink the water on the other islands. We brought lots of Pepto in case something bad happens!

We spent the afternoon swimming on the beach where all the locals go. It was my first time snorkeling. At first I didn’t see any guys in the water and was a bit disappointed. But once I put on my mask and tube and stuck my head underwater I realized there were guys swimming around, I just didn’t see them before since they had white bodies and black markings that blended into the ocean floor. It was hard for me to get used to the breathing tube and I accidentally swallowed a lot of salt water and I was worried my mask was leaking and getting too foggy. I just need to learn to quit it with the nose breathing. Not an easy thing for me to do, but I’ll learn.

There weren’t that many coral reefs around the beach so there were hardly any guys to be seen. When I saw my first coral reef I was quite surprised. I wasn’t able to swim over it since the water was too shallow and I didn’t want to go near it and accidentally touch it. You are not supposed to touch any living coral since human contact can kill the fragile ecosystem.

I just floated there for awhile and observed from a distance until I saw a scary head peeking out from underneath the coral! I screamed and stood up and said “Honey, there’s a barracuda down there!” Michael took a look and said, “no hon, it’s just an eel. He’s more scared of us than you are of him.” Eels are pretty creepy regardless. I have seen them in aquariums so I know how long they can be and this guy’s head was pretty big. They can chomp with their fangs if they don’t like you. But still, even though he scared me I kept sticking my head back down underwater to get a peek at him. He was very interesting. The water was pretty choppy and I noticed it kept drawing me towards the reef and the scary eel guy, so eventually I swam as far away from him as I could.

Thinking about how scared that eel made me, I began to wonder if I could handle more snorkeling. How was I going to feel when I finally saw a shark?

That night we went out for dinner at a place called Le Mayflower. Since this is a French speaking country, many things are named “le” something or other. I think that’s funny. Le Mayflower was apparently named thus to draw Americans, and since we’re American we thought we’d give it a go. The food was good. We both had mango coconut tropical fruit drinks garnished with gardenias. Since there is so much fruit on these islands, the juice was fresh. I had their famous lobster ravioli dish that I thought was merely good. I much preferred Michael’s mahi mahi dish.

Most of the restaurants here are French and serve seafood. There’s a smattering of pizza places here and there. We have yet to try anything from the “roulottes” mobile food trucks. Just like those terrific taco trucks back home in the Mission, they serve up delicious cheap food.

Jetlag hit both of us like a ten ton bag of bricks around 8 pm. It felt like being drunk, we were both so tired and delirious. I guess it’s not that bad to have jetlag here since the islands basically shut down after dark and neither of us are nightclub people anyways. All the good stuff we want to do happens during the day time, and when we wake up bright and early we have plenty of time to have fun.

9.22.09

9.22.09

Air Tahiti Nui is a very cute airline. The planes are decorated in shades of blue and their logo is a white gardenia. When we first got on the plane, they were playing Tahitian music and the employees handed out flowers for everyone to wear in their hair. I had read in the guidebooks that where you wore your flower sent a message. The right side means you’re single, left side means you’re taken, both side means you’re taken but open to something new, and both sides backwards means follow me and find out!

I read in the airline magazine that the airline employee uniforms were designed by Balenciaga. That explained why they were so stylish. When we first boarded they were all wearing very chic suits, but after a few hours the women changed into floral dresses and the men into floral shirts.

We landed in Faa’a airport and immediately I was struck by how small and provincial it was. The only airline that uses the airport is the one we rode in on, Air Tahiti Nui. Suddenly the small empty airport was swarmed by American and European tourists. Smiling Tahitian ladies in traditional dress were handing out hair flowers and putting leis on people. A band of Tahitian men greeted us with traditional island music. It wasn’t at all like when we landed in Japan and we were the lone Americans in a sea of Japanese people, totally confused in the giant anonymous airport, unable to read anything.

I was worried that we may have a lot of difficulty navigating our way through a French speaking country, but so far it hasn’t been that bad. Many people speak English, and I guess I know a lot more French than I thought I did. Hand signals help a lot, and a smile will always put you in someone’s good graces. However, we’ve only been on the two islands with the most English speaking people. I suspect we may run into some problems as we visit the smaller, less touristy islands.

The airport doesn’t really have many walls or windows, so it was open to the elements. It was very hot and humid. While we were waiting in line for our passport inspection, I started getting bitten and felt weird centipede like bugs crawling up legs and falling down my shirt. A giant cockroach on the floor started scuttling towards me. Welcome to the tropics.

A man greeted us with a sign that said LANGHOUT HAVERN. He handed us off to a driver that took us to our pension located in residential area in Papeete. The neighborhood was dark and dirty, the buildings were shabby, and our room at the depressing Pension Ahitea basically consisted of a small hard mattress, but we didn’t care at that point. We were exhausted and just needed a cheap and safe place to sleep for the night. For most tourists that come to Tahiti, Papeete is just the place you land in, sleep for the night, and immediately depart from the following morning.

Wedding

Wow, am I tired. I could fall asleep right now. This wedding stuff is HARD WORK.

We're at home in San Francisco for a few brief hours before we have to head back to the airport. I still have to pack my clothes for the honeymoon but I'm too exhausted to do anything other than lay on the couch. Must...muster up energy to pack.

Sigh.

Mom was giving me guff about not posting any updates, but I was so busy with the wedding. I just didn't have the time. Sorry Mom. I'm sure this no time and no energy problem will be rectified once we reach Tahiti, mkay?

Soooooo...the wedding. Betcha wanna know how it went, right? It was (almost) perfect- and I am not just saying that because it was our wedding. Out of all the weddings I've been to in my life, I honestly think our wedding was the best. Michael said the same thing. The only thing that was bad about it was that certain people weren't there. That's all I am going to say about that.

When I think about the ceremony now, it seems like a beautiful dream. I will never forget the look on Michael's face when I appeared in the doorway to the garden patio where the ceremony was being held. The lilting notes of the harp seemed louder, the flowers seemed much more fragrant, the colors brighter and more intense, and I was overcome with emotion. This was it. My best friend and the love of my life was going to marry me. A fairytale come true.

I still can't stop smiling!

People have been clamoring for pictures. Folks, I'm gonna be honest with you. It may take me awhile to upload them. Trust me, they will come eventually.

Until then, keep checking this blog. I just need to get to Tahiti and then I can finally collapse on the beach and get some sleep!

Party weekend

At this time next week I'll be a married woman! Ponder that one.

We flew into Milwaukee on Thursday evening. Michael spent the weekend with his male friends on a bachelor party camping trip at Governor Dodge State Park. I spent the weekend in Wauwatosa with my ladies enjoying my bridal shower and bachelorette party. Guess who had the crazier weekend? Yep.

The bridal shower was beautiful. My sister-in-law Amanda, sister Jessica, and mom Susan put so much hard work into it. The food was delicious, the decorations were pretty, the games were fun (except for that embarassing quiz about me,) and I received so many wonderful gifts from my family and friends. It was picture perfect. I will post pictures of it when I get the chance.

I feel so lucky to be gaining such a sweet sister-in-law. And I honestly can't say anyone I know has a Mom and sister as awesome as mine. And my friends? They are the coolest, smartest, funniest, and most beautiful women I know.

I won't say anything about the bachelorette party though. Ha!

Before we left for Wisconsin, I packed as much as I possibly could for the honeymoon. We're leaving for Tahiti pretty much immediately after the wedding. The plan is to fly back to San Francisco the day after the reception, rest for a few hours, and then hop a plane to Los Angeles early Tuesday morning to a connecting flight to Tahiti. I am sure we'll be the walking dead when we land in SF on Monday so I tried to make the suitcase situation as painless as possible. All we have to do is switch out our wedding week clothes with our tropical honeymoon clothes.

6 more days until we marry...

packing list

-many a bottle of sunscreen lotion

-aloe vera gel

-bug spray strong enough for tropical biters

-big floppy hat

-first aid kit with indigestion medication, ibuprofen, Band Aids, etc.

-glam sunglasses

-aqua shoes (don't want the tootsies to get cut on coral)

-snorkel mask

-snorkel breathing tube thingy

-2 practical sporty swimsuits

-1 sexy bikini

-flip flops

-2 shorts

-2 sleeveless tank tops

-1 sundress

-1 sweater

-1 pair of pants

-1 pair of trainers

-2 pairs of socks

-various dainties

-2 tshirts

-flash light (some of the islands have no electricity)

-camera

-underwater camera case

-electrical adaptor (for the islands with electricity)

-baby laptop for travel blogging (who knows if I'll find an internet connection)

-alarm clock (probably won't use at all)

-identification documents

-credit cards

-sedative(s) to prevent freaking the f*ck out when flying 8.5 hours over the Pacific Ocean

-books: both travel guide and fiction

-Nintendo DS

-iPod loaded up with jams to drown out babies screaming on plane

-husband

-sense of adventure

DIY

Planning this trip hasn't been the easiest. We used a variety of resources to determine which islands to visit, how to get to them, and where to stay once we got there. Using a travel agent to book hotels would have saved us a lot of time and headaches, but we would have missed out on good deals, hidden gems, and interesting facts gleaned from hours of online and book research.

I learned during planning my Japan trip that it's best to buy a variety of travel guides to get a variety of view points. My favorites are published by Rough Guide -which always gives the unvarnished truth, Lonely Planet - for the younger, hipper traveler, and Fodor's and Frommer's - both rather stodgy and seemingly targeted at older and more uptight people who are less tolerant of "character" as I call it, but worth a read anyways. My favorite Tahiti guide book by far is written by an American now living in Tahiti named Jan Price. She's lived there for some time now, so she's got real insider knowledge versus some travel writer who spends only a few days or weeks on this islands.

Besides travel books, Tripadvisor.com has been absolutely indispensable. Real travelers just like you and me post their reviews of destinations, hotels, restaurants, and more. I've avoided renting rooms in pensions the books recommend because fellow travelers have posted nightmarish stories of flying cockroaches. However, I recommend you take each review with a grain of salt. Some of the people on the site are much more high maintenance than me and have different ideas of what is and isn't acceptable.

After many hours spent researching, a travel itinerary plan began to form. We (well...uh...more Michael since I was concentrating on the wedding ceremony and reception) began contacting hotels and pensions to book rooms. In addition, he had to work out plane schedules and book tickets. They only leave at certain times and on certain days so it's not an easy thing to coordinate. If you miss your flight, you may be stuck on an island for a few days and miss your hotel reservation. And...the islands aren't like the USA. They are much more laissez faire about time. Sometimes the planes don't fly at all because the pilot "doesn't feel like it" or they come late because Tahiti is on something jokingly referred to as "island time." And now we just found out the ferry we're supposed to take from Tahiti Nui to Moorea cancelled their services for the week we're going to be there and we have to scramble to find an alternative plan! Yikes.

The Michael and Haven travel blog tradition continues with Hello Tahiti!

Welcome to Hello Tahiti!, a blog documenting our honeymoon trip to The Society Islands, or Tahiti as it's more commonly known. In the past I blogged about our trip to Japan and our cross-country move from Milwaukee to San Francisco. Our family and friends highly enjoyed reading my previous blogs so I thought I'd keep up the tradition.

Unfortunately I can't be on vacation forever and I've found that reading an old travel blog is the next best thing I can do to relive cherished vacation memories.I love documenting our travel experiences as they happen and find that they help me remember the subtle details forgotten after the trip ends. It's not easy to fully capture into words and photographs all the sights, sounds, and feelings experienced during travel, but I do the best I can.

Mike and I share a love of travel and have made it one of our marriage goals is to visit the 7 continents together. Initially we were planning on honeymooning in Morocco in the continent of Africa. But, after some research we both decided it wasn't the best place for a honeymoon. The main problem was our trip was going to coincide with Ramadan. Much like Christmas in the USA, the whole country of Morocco pretty much shuts down. Banks and restaurants are closed, public transit is jam packed with travelers, and hotels are booked solid with out of town relatives visiting their families. Besides these inconveniences, Morocco has some qualities that don't make it the most romantic place in the world. Alcohol is not allowed and a "proper" woman should have her arms, legs, and hair covered even if she is Western. Now, neither us of are big drinkers and I'm usually a pretty modest dresser... but it would be nice to enjoy a glass or two of champagne while wearing a knee length skirt and sleeveless shirt on our honeymoon, right?

So we decided to go somewhere else, specifically a tropical paradise. Personally, I've never experienced an extended beach vacation and I've always wanted to. On almost all of my vacations I've been bundled up in a jacket, pounding miles of concrete in my New Balances, taking in urban cultural sights like skyscrapers and bullet trains. Once those two words "tropical paradise" were mentioned, I immediately began picturing myself laying on pink sand in nothing but a bikini, wearing a pair of those ridiculous oversized sunglasses, sipping something fruity out of a coconut. I pictured Michael out snorkeling in the crystal clear blue water, waving to me and smiling, calling me to come see the giant manta rays and rainbow hued fish.

Eventually we decided on The Society Islands of Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Huahine, and Raiatea. These names sounded so exotic and distant to us. Look at a world map - these islands are situated way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far away from anything and anywhere. It's crazy! Since they're so remote it hasn't been the easiest trip to plan, but I know it's going to be so worth it once we get there. We are both so excited!

Stay tuned...