Today we leave paradise. We see many Polynesians with tattoos. It made me wonder if there is social and cultural pressure to get a tattoo. Ironically, it is Day 393 of our trip, and our room number is 393 … time to go home. This means that our year of travel has come to an end … although we had a COVID break for a few years. This is the bookend to a...
We left Moorea by ferry to Papeete, Tahiti. Baggage retrieval is interesting. They roll out the cart. We all gather around. You locate your bags and if your bag is on the bottom, it is best to wait. Wow! What a view from the reception area of our hotel! The Tahiti Intercontinental Resort and Spa is our last resort. We traveled to our room along with our baggage...
My passion is to be with my tribe for fellowship on Sunday mornings, but it wasn’t meant to be today. The only two shuttles from Moorea to Tahiti are in the afternoon. Our shuttle came to pick us up at noon. Our driver had been to church on another part of Moorea before picking us up. She said that her church overlooks Cook’s Bay, and they can see the...
When I opened my eyes, this is what I saw. We decided that we would spare no expense on this second honeymoon. We planned to start our day with breakfast that was to be delivered to our bungalow by canoe. Well, that is a must. However, we learned that it had been suspended due to construction in their pool area which blocked a section of the beach. Ok, then...
This morning when we left for breakfast, we opened the door and there were birds everwhere. It was like a scene out of Hitchcock’s The Birds. Rob and I thought that we would spend some time on the deck. On second thought, maybe not. The birds beat us to it. Today we traveled by boat to snorkel at the motu where we will have lunch. Jacques is our guide and Ari...
It is very humid here. Every man is wearing floral island shirts. Rob is not. Everyone is wearing sandals. We are wearing hiking boots. Our clothing is dark. Everyone else is wearing light colors: khaki and linen. BUT, I have a bikini in my bag and Rob has a Speedo in his bag so we are sure to fit in eventually!! We took a 30-minute ferry from Tahiti to Moorea. In...
These last days of February are confusing as it is leap year AND we are crossing the International date line. Rob worked very hard to calculate our travel. He either got it right or we will have no hotel room or two hotel rooms. Either way, it will be an adventure. In Auckland, we slept late, shopped, and ate Mexican food. We watched the Jack Jumpers which is the...
We spent the night at a hotel near the Hobart Airport and did laundry. We had no more clean clothes and our feet and knees hurt. We miss the fun but are happy for the break. We were so tired that Rob forgot to put soap in the washing machine!!! We had breakfast, and Rob got a croissant. He was wondering what to put on it. I suggested the Australian oddity of Vegemite...
We said goodbye to over half of our mates. The rest of us will explore sites around Hobart. Tasmanian Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary houses native wildlife. Bonorong is an Aboriginal word that means native companion. They rehabilitate animals and release them back to the wild unless they are unable to do so or are non-native. They get 17,000 calls per year. They have a...
We have an early start today so we went to a vigil at St. Joseph Catholic Church last night at 6:30pm. The oldest Catholic Church in Hobart (1841) was across the street from our hotel. A vigil is a church service on the eve of a festival or holy day as an occasion of religious observance. A Christmas Eve service is by definition a vigil. I loved that all was quiet in...
