11-03-14 to 11-03-21 Tahiti and Mo'Orea



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Susan's Blog
After a lengthy trip from Korea to Mo'Orea...1.5 hr taxi ride, wait for a plane, 2 hr flight, lengthy wait in Tokyo for a flight we weren't sure would go (3 days after the tsunami), 11 hr flight, short taxi ride to the ferry, longish wait, 1/2 hour ferry ride, 1 hr bus ride...it was nice to relax and watch the sunset on the beach outside our hut, although Susan wasn't thrilled with the sharks circling just off the beach. I always thought the fin sticking out of the water was just a stereotype.
The brochures promised beautiful topless polynesian women, all we got were topless eldery euro-hippies. Sure the human body is a natural and wonderful thing, but I think a 65 yr old woman in a g-string and see though t-shirt in the communal kitchen is pushing it.
Spending your anniversary in Tahiti sounds romantic, but sometimes the reality doesn't quite live up to it, particularly if you are spending it in a hostel dorm. The sexy sexy decor helped a little. The old weird guy living above the bathroom didn't. Travelling on a budget on one of the world's most expensive islands has its drawbacks. Even after renting a car and moving to a nicer place outside the city, Tahiti really doesn't live up to its reputation.
Our first day of seeing the sites (you can read Susan's journal for details of our bus/hitch-hiking misadventure), and I was surprised that the guidew book didn't mention the Tahitian equivalent of a white trash viliage you have to pass through to get to the waterfall hikes. For me it was one of the highlights.
On the weekends as far as the eye could seee, the ocean was filled with surfers and boogyboarders. It was a bit of an odd sight, since they are not typically a petite people. I have a supermodel there. On the other hand, the tattoos on display were spectacular. I tried to get a picture of a particularly good one, but the man turned around right before I could take the picture. Several seconds of awkward eye contact followed once he realized I was trying to take a picture of his naked torso.
The blowhole was pretty impressive but it took awhile to find it. Totally my fault, it was completely different from the blowhole I had seen in San Francisco on Castro.
Drove to the far end of Tahiti-iti to see what everything had described as one of the best surfing spots in the world...unfortunately nothing mentioned that it is way out to sea and you need to boat out to see it. The vague dot on a hazy line on the horizon was kind of anti-climatic.