And let the dream begin

We are here!!!!!!

Already been swimming, snorkeling, and grocery shopping.  Heaven doesn't begin to describe this place.  You'll see some pictures in the blog taken today.

To back up a bit, waiting in LAX for 7 hours wasn't quite as bad as I thought.  It actually went by pretty fast.  Dinner, game of cards, standing in line, standing in line, sitting at the gate... then we were off at 11:40 p.m. last night.  Air Tahiti Nui uses airbuses and quite comfortable - blanket, pillow, 2 meals, and a goodie bag (included ear plugs - didn't figure out why until I realized there were at least 4 babies on our flight and quite a few kids).

Anyway, landed in Papeete, Tahiti - pouring rain, but HUMID.  Customs took about 45 minutes, then got some cash, then our luggage, then a taxi to the ferry to Moorea.  Made it with ten minutes to spare!  Super friendly people here!

Oh yeah, and I hadn't changed on the plane so still wearing long pants, t-shirt, and running shoes!  J fell asleep on the ferry - probably a good thing as there were some pretty good swells and the ferry was rolling about.  Apparently Saturday morning is one of the busiest ferry times as all the folks from Tahiti come to Moorea to enjoy the beaches.

We quickly found our driver and were on our way!

We also then found out they would have the villa ready by noon and omg we were so grateful - we were exhausted, sweaty, and did I mention exhausted??!  So we did a loop of the island and got our groceries.  And you want to talk about friendly, we didn't have a 100 XPF coin for the shopping cart so some guy just loaded the coin in and gave us a cart!!

Moorea island is stunning.  I can't say I was impressed by Tahiti, but we only did drive from the airport to the ferry - it was a bit run down, so am very glad we're on Moorea :)  It's not like Hawaii - there aren't a lot of blatant resorts and wealth - kind of have to take a chance on roadside stands and cafes - just don't know what you'll find!

Oh and it took a bit to actually get on the internet - first off, the power converter we had didn't work... and then couldn't connect to wi-fi.  Both problems solved now, so I'm going to stop now and get back into the water!

May or may not get pictures posted up as the internet here is very very slow!

Back now from another snorkel adventure - almost went over the reef!  Still a bit chicken!  But did see quite a few fish :)  Sun is setting right now (6:33 p.m.).  Had a great dinner with champagne Denis (owner of Robinson's Cove villas), left for us :)  Feeling very mellow.  Probably be asleep before 8 p.m.!!!
Oh and the weather turned out great - went up to about 29 degrees with sunshine.  Brief rainstorm just after our last snorkel of the day and now clear skies.  Can't wait for the stars!!

Let the 19 hours begin...

Never in my life have I travelled 19 hours to go anywhere.  6 hours have passed and I'm tired!  Mind you, did leave at 10:30 a.m. this morning and now almost 7 p.m.  Flight to Papeete, Tahiti doesn't leave until 11:40 p.m.  Then it's 8.5 hours until we land.  Then another couple hours until we arrive on Moorea.

Flight from YVR to LAX was uneventful.  Saw Mt Saint Helens and took a couple pictures from the plane.  I remember I was living in Creston, BC at the time it erupted and the next day everything was covered in ash.

Anyway, this might be the last Internet access until Saturday sometime, so thought I'd post up something.  Boring, perhaps, but shows I'm alive.  But super tired!