Tahiti Day 2

Day 2 we had to wake up quite early at 5am for a 5:30am pickup to bring us to the airport. We flew from Tahiti to Mo'orea, or "Yellow Lizard," where we will spend the next three nights.

Once we arrived at our next hotel we had some time to kill until we could check in so we went on a snorkeling excursion on one of the island lagoons. We went with a large group of people on a boat and after touring around a couple of the bays made our way to the snorkeling spot.

As soon as we started slowing down we could see the black tip reef sharks circling the boat!  The passengers on the boat then emptied into the shark infested waters where we could get up close and personal with the sharks and the stingrays. We were able to touch the stingrays, reaching almost 4 ft wide while they swam underneath us!

We spent a good hour at this one spot and then made our way over to a motu, or smaller island where they cooked us up some phenomenal food; fresh tuna (uncooked), rice, chicken and plenty of beverages for all to enjoy!

2.5 hours on this island and we finally headed back to the hotel. Once we got back we enjoyed some down time and got room service before we were in bed by 8:30pm.  We were absolutely exhausted and needed the extra sleep so we could be rested up for an exciting day 3!

Paynefest 2016 Moves to Tahiti

Paynefest continues post-wedding, which was epic by the way, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  We have taken the party to Tahiti! We flew in late Monday and spent the first half of Tuesday in the back of a pickup truck driving through the middle of the island. It was an incredible way to see Tahiti having only one day there before moving on. The mountains are filled with waterfalls and vegetation, a stark contrast to the barren hills of California. We were even able to get in the river for a bit to relax before we headed back to the hotel.

When we got back to the hotel we decided it was time to get in the water.  We walked right off the beach behind the hotel and snorkeled for a solid hour. I was very impressed at the immense diversity of fishes and inverts that are hidden so close the unsuspecting guests sunbathing just a couple hundred feet away. 

Once we were done we showered up, changed and went to the fancy hotel restaurant for dinner. I had tartare while Katie played it safe with the steak.  It was a fabulous way to end our first day!