Jon and I were thrilled to be able to have a full day layover in Tahiti. We were landing at around 1 am and leaving the following day at 7 am. Having limited time I researched exactly what I wanted to do for our one day on the island. A breakfast in town, a 3-hour hike through the lush jungle to a waterfall, followed by some beach time and finishing the day eating dinner at the famous food trucks.
The day started out wrong when we woke up late and had no idea how to get back to town. When we inquired from another young girl who was a long-term guest at the AirB&B we were told that it was a long hot walk and we would be sweating before we got to the end of the street. She said that the owner could take us on a tour to a waterfall and bring us to a beach for about $50. For some reason I can’t explain other than it was the easiest option, we opted to go on the tour with the owner even though it was not what I wanted to do and it was way over our budget.
We headed out finally around 10 am and spent the first hour doing errands around town for the owner and the other guest. We finally headed out to the waterfall. We got there and it was literally a waterfall 5 minutes off the side of the road with no hike. We scoped out another one about a 5-minute walk in that the other two women said was “impossible” to get to. After they took us to a black sand beach that had no food. By this point I was starving as we had only had a piece of bread. I basically forced the women to take us to a grocery store before dropping us off.
The waterfalls we went to visit.
Loaded up with supplies they dropped us off at the beach before they headed to a friends house. We inquired what time they would pick us up and they said that they were not sure how long they would be and that we could hitchhike back home. By this point I was fuming about the whole day and I was not hiding my annoyance so they agreed to come back to get us 3 hours later.
Swimming on the black sand beach.
On the way home I inquired about the food trucks. Instead of showing us where they were located they said, well how will you get home. I responded that we would walk or take a cab. They said it would be impossible to take a cab home because the cab would not be able to find where the house was. Um, how were we going to hitchhike home from the beach if a cab cannot even find the house. By this point the day was lost for me and all I wanted was to go home. Jon grabbed a whole roasted chicken (enough to feed the whole house which the women were very excited about) and I grabbed a few beers.
Two beers in I realized my lesson of the day was to stick to my guns if I wanted to do something even if someone else tries to make it sound impossible and that the easiest road is not always the best one. By the way Jon thinks it is absolutely hilarious that I was upset while on a tropical island at a beach. I guess that puts it into perspective.
On a side note, the room and house were absolutely beautiful. We had a private room with ocean views and a shared based for about $45 a night. The owner, though not the best tour guide, was very sweet and I would highly recommend staying here, with your own wheels of course.
Views from the outdoor area.
Journey with Christina 