December 12, 2000

December 12, 2000

I have always dreamed of going to Tahiti. The exotic nature of these islands for me came from watching the “Mutiny on the Bounty” movies, especially the last one with Mel Gibson. Two of our best vacations have been to Hawaii. Tahiti is supposed to be like Hawaii before it became popular and commercialized. While perusing an AARP magazine sent to our house for Aimee’s mom, we noticed an advertisement for an affordable 10-day cruise to Tahiti. We jumped at it. What a great way to see a bunch of expensive exotic islands!

Our charter flight to Tahiti originates in LAX. The cruise line recommended arriving in LA a day early. The experienced traveler that I am, ignored it, and arranged a flight that morning. When a snowstorm hit Chicago last night, I was worried. If we get delayed how are we going to catch up with the ship? Fortunately Chicago is very experienced clearing snowstorms and our flight out of O’Hare leaves right on time. Our 8-hour flight landed at the Faa’a airport in the capital city of Papeete, on the main island of Tahiti. Tahiti is just one of the Society Islands in French Polynesia and lies directly south of Hawaii in the southern hemisphere. The Society Islands are owned and governed by France.

The Renaissance cruise line very efficiently picks us up at the terminal and gets us aboard the ship. It turns out they are boarding the ship R3 in waves over three days. We are the first to arrive. If we had gotten delayed we would have been fine. We have a couple days free to explore the island of Tahiti before the ships departs. Those who arrive later get their free days in Tahiti at the end of the cruise.