We had a lazy start to our second July 25th. Confusing stuff. We raided the breakfast buffet, which astute readers will know is due to Nicole’s Hilton Honors Diamond status. We rented a car because taxis are evidently expensive in these parts. I was able to get the Peugeot for about $40 per day, which is about the same as a round trip taxi to the Hilton, which is only a mile or two from the airport.
But since we had the rental, we decided to put it to some good use and drove about 35 minutes around the island’s northern shore to the Fa’aruma’i Waterfalls. There was a closer waterfall, but the front desk seemed to think it was closed due to rains. We weren’t sure if this information was accurate because when we asked about waterfalls a minute earlier, she was directing us to a Carrefour (a french supermarket). It’s just as well because the ones that were closer required getting a permit from the Papeete city hall. This didn’t sound super appealing as I presume the process would not be efficient.
As we drove, it rained fairly steadily all the way up to the waterfall itself. It was an easy trek from the parking lot that only took a couple of minutes. The rain eventually let up and allowed us to to take pictures without getting soaked. Tiny little black gnats moved in to fill the void. They didn’t seem to bite or anything, but they were quite annoying and would often fly into my eyes or nose…and then die.
With that being said, if one could ignore the bugs, Fa’aruma’i offered up some very nice vistas amidst its lush surroundings. After viewing it all from below, we took another path up into the surrounding hills to an overlook of other cascades. That’s where I met the mosquitoes. They eventually forced my retreat, but I am glad we ventured out of the confines of the Hilton to see a bit of the “real” Tahiti.
After driving back to the Hilton, we sat out by the pool for a spell. The sun was fleeting, but despite a rather ominous sky, it didn’t actually rain until we headed back to our rooms. We eventually reconvened for the Hilton’s cheapest dinner which was bar food by the pool. I had a fish burger which instantly attracted a local cat. Meow, I didn’t care for that very much. This was our last dinner together presuming that “Greg” was able to get on his standby flight to San Francisco. Spoiler alert: he got on.
After dropping “Greg” off at the airport, I got some petrol and returned to the Hilton to pack for our flight tomorrow on Air France. Although brief, our stop in Tahiti broke up the trip nicely. Despite having been to French Polynesia in the past, I had never technically been outside the airport on Tahiti itself, so it was nice to see something new. Our flight departs at an early, yet somewhat reasonable hour of 7:40am. This is the only flight back to the U.S. that isn’t a redeye, so that was the appeal. It does, however, require that we get seats on standby, so wish us luck.
passports & pepto bismol 