I was very excited about my Day 4 in Tahiti because it was Friday, and it was the day that I was going on the ferry to Moorea and stay there for the night. Moorea is where the good snorkeling spots were and I was anxious to see what the island was all about. But there was another issue that came up that put a nag in my trip.
“Why do I feel like there’s a ton of tear water in my eye?”
That’s what I asked myself in the early morning hours in which I randomly awoke. It felt like there was a pool of tear water in my eye and I didn’t feel like I was able to open it very wide. I was tired so I didn’t bother to get up and check it so I eventually drifted back to sleep.
I woke up again around 6 in the morning and my right eye was irritated and very teary. I got up and went to take a look at it. It was pretty red and looked like my eyelids were a little swollen at the ends. Yep. As much as I was in denial about it, it seemed I came down with some case of pink eye. Wonderful right? Go on vacation in Tahiti and then get pink eye. Well, it was what it was. I walked down next door to the pharmacy to get some sort of eye drop to clear up my eye. I was looking around in the store and I was not sure what I was looking at entirely because all the labels were in French. One of the ladies working at the store noticed me looking around, she asked me for English or French. I answered “English” and I asked her about eye drops. As soon as I said that she noticed my right eye and then called me to the counter where she pulled up different solutions and offered them to me. Even in the moment of pink eye, my economical mindset was simply just thinking about the most cost-effective eye dropper. I ended up picking one that was good for clearing up bacteria because after reading about the different types of pink eye on my phone back at the hostel, I believed mine was more bacteria/allergy-based. She was able to tell me the instructions on how to use it which I appreciated as the label was on the little dropper bottle was in French.
I went back to my hostel, put the 2 drops in my eye, waited about an hour or so for my eye to feel better, and then I decided to go upstairs to breakfast. There were a few people up there including the girl from Bora Bora. I didn’t want to call attention to my eye so I kept my head down and didn’t talk much. I ate my French bread, drank my coffee and then she got up to go. But before she left, she offered me a small sample size eye drop after noticing my eye. I tried to tell her I already had drops but she kindly insisted on giving them to me, so I accepted. I thanked her a couple of times as I was once again struck by the hospitality of the people in French Polynesia. So on top of using my own dropper and then her drops, within a half-hour after breakfast, I felt my eye get better and clear up a little bit. So then I went back to my room, there was another young woman in my room and we said “Bonjour” to each other. I was minding my own business for a little bit, was headed out the door to go get some water from upstairs and then she asked me, where I was from. I told her Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in America. Side note - I must say that it felt good to tell people that because I’m very positive that I would probably be the only person from Pittsburgh whom people in Tahiti would ever meet. Anyhow, she told me she was a native Tahitian from Faa’a (another city on Tahiti where the international airport is located). She and I ended up talking for a little while. She knew some English, so we were able to get fairly engaged with each other. She was very down to earth as she talked about her family in Tahiti and how she had family in Chicago in America. I finally told her about how I was going to Moorea later and then she introduced herself to me as Laihanna. Then she gave me a brochure with the ferry departure times to and from Moorea. I had made another friend and experienced great Tahitian hospitality again.
So after filling my one water bottle up with more water from upstairs, I realized how well it worked out that I was able to do that from a budgetary standpoint. I was told by my friend, Alfred on the plane ride from San Francisco that the tap water in Papeete was clean so I could drink it. The tap water outside the city was not the best for drinking but in the city it was fine. I spent most of the week filling up the same bottle I got from the airport when I arrived Tuesday evening, didn’t get sick so all was well. It was close to lunchtime, so I went back into my room to pack a few clothes, snorkeling mask and toiletries in my carry-on to get my ferry ride. Laihanna was there and before I left, she stopped me and told me she had a couple more things to give me. First, she asked about my eye and I told her it was ok and I was already taking drops for it. Then she gave me bug repellent and bronze-tan oil. I joked with her saying, “So what I am hearing is that you’re tired of my whiteness?”. She laughed and just insisted that I take it. I thanked her a bunch of times and then I left and she gave me a hug and cheek kisses.
I was able to walk to the ferry in the harbor which was also really close to my hostel. I’m so thankful as I look back on it how I was able to stay in such a convenient location where almost everything essential was within walking distance. I arrived in at the ferry station, not really sure where I was supposed to check in at. I eventually found a family that was walking up the steps to the building and I followed them quietly. I had gotten there fairly early so I sat for a minute before I asked a worker where I can get my ticket for the ferry. He directed me to the booth, I ordered my ticket and then left my bag with the guys on the ground who were responsible for the luggage and walked back up to the point where I gave them my ticket to get into the passenger area. The big ship Aremiti 6 had pulled into the harbor, unloaded its passengers and then we were able to board. I boarded the ship and sat down next to a window inside so I could get a good view of the ocean. By this time, the initial relief from the eye drops began to wear off, and not only did my eye start irritating me again, but I also began to feel a little sleepy like I was actually getting sick. I was wearing my aviators the whole time too to hide my eye from people, and why not? Who doesn’t look cool with a pair of classic aviators on?
Aremiti 6 finally departed, and I just kept looking out at the ocean, amazed at how blue the Pacific really is. Slowly but surely we crept closer to Moorea. Like Tahiti, Moorea also had very tall mountains with lots of jungles. After about 45 minutes, we landed on the island. Now for the fun part of getting off the ship, picking up my luggage and getting a taxi to take me to my lodge, I was staying at. I got off, managed to locate my bag and then waited along the curb for a taxi. A woman came walking up and asked me if I was waiting for a taxi. I responded, yes so she escorted me to her cab, loaded my bag into the trunk and I got in. I showed her where I was going and she gave me the password to her hotspot. The ride to my lodge from the port where Aremiti 6 landed was about 20 minutes long so I had plenty to see along the way for picture taking, which I did so. The ride around Moorea was breathtaking as the main road went around the island the coast, giving one a view of the beaches, clear water on one side of the road and then mountains on the other side.
Finally, my cab, after one left turn off the main road onto a dirt path about a few hundred feet up, had reached the lodge I was staying. It was called the PainaPaopao Backpacker and let me tell you, it was different than Mahana Hostel back in Papeete. As you see in the pictures above, it was quite rustic. A country-ish tropical island feel. Slept under a mosquito net and had a gecko chilling on the ceiling of the cabin I was in. Also, there were chickens nearby on farms surrounding the lodge. For me it was a much more authentic experience. And better yet (thrifty travelers take note), it was only $33 for the night there! Meanwhile, I got settled in my room and laid down on my bed for a little while before I decided to head out to the nearest beach to snorkel. I wanted to snorkel closer to when the sunset would come over the corner of the island.
About 4pm or so, I headed out. The only problem was that I wasn’t really sure where the nearest beach was. But I turned right onto the main road of Moorea and began walking. After about a mile or so, I finally realized that I wasn’t very close to a beach, so I decided to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. All wasn’t lost as I got some great pictures of the mountains and coastline of the island. I could tell it was getting darker so I was really hoping I would find a beach soon. By that point, I walked past the road that led to my lodge and further up the road was the luxurious Hilton at Moorea. This is the resort that had the straw huts over the clear water, that many people associate Tahiti/French Polynesia with. I walked up the parking lot and said, “Can’t a man dream about staying here?”. The rooms at the Hilton can be anywhere between $770-$1000 a night, hence why I didn’t stay there. So after I got done fantasizing about being in one of them straw huts, I got back on the main road and started walking further.
Alas! I saw a beach with some trees called, Public Beach Ta'ahiamanu. So I hopped the fence separating it from the main road, walked around to find a good spot to put my stuff down along the beach and snorkel. I had made it just in time before the sun went down over the island. I got on my gear and went for some time in the clear water. I did see a couple of small fish and some plant life along the bottom. I didn’t go out too far because I was by myself and it was getting dark, but it sure felt good to say that I snorkeled in Moorea with the sunset. Not many people were on the beach either so it was relaxing. I got out of the water, got my stuff, walked around among the palm trees for a bit and then headed back to my lodge. “I seriously can’t believe I made it out here! Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to take this trip!”, I kept saying to myself. I was just struck in awe of the fact that I was among the palm trees in the middle of October, 6000 miles away from home on a tropical island paradise.
It was a beautiful escape from my pink eye during that moment. Now I just had to make it back the lodge. So after about 2 kilometers (about 1.25 miles), it turns out Public Beach Ta'ahiamanu was making a left turn off the road from my lodge, not a right turn. By the time I arrived back, it was pretty dark. I actually needed to pull out my phone’s flashlight to figure out where the cabin for my room was. I took a shower, went into my room, looked through my pictures, read a book and the Bible and got ready for bed. It was around just 8:30 pm but I just wanted to wake up feeling better from the nagging Mr. Conjunctivitis did to me, now that the adrenaline was wearing off. There it was. I successfully traveled to another island in French Polynesia, got settled in on farm-like cabin, snorkeled at sunset and walked about 4 miles total, and all of that with pink eye. I’d say that I did well. Now to just get some sleep and wake up with a better eye. Day 4 in Tahiti was done.