And We're Back!!!

We spent the day trying to settle back into our lives here in Tacoma. We flew into Seattle last night amid a terrific thunderstorm, complete with lightning and heavy rain. Our dear friend, Kaisa braved the roads to pick us up at SeaTac. Thank you so much. We had so much luggage that using an Uber or other form of transportation would have been impossible. 

Tahiti was really special. In many ways it reminded us of Mexico. Very nice people, lots of poverty, and a bit of a language barrier. I found myself answering in Spanish reflexively. We rented e-bikes one day to ride around Moorea Island. What a great idea that was. The island basically had one road around the perimeter with a bike lane pretty much the entire way. The scenery was beautiful beaches and ocean on one side and super steep mountains and terrain on the other. Every curve revealed more stunning vistas. We kept stopping to look and take pictures. When we looked at the time after stopping for lunch, we realized we would have to move it, if we were going to get around the island. E assist bikes are great. We flew around 2/3 of the island and made it back to the ferry just in time. 

Speaking of ferries. The ride across the short passage was rocking and rolling. I was doing okay, keeping my eyes on the horizon, deeply breathing, then a baby threw up right next to us. That was it. I had to work my way outside to the deck, holding onto seats the whole way. I stood with the wind blowing in my face and made it into the harbor without losing my stomach. Phew!! We went to a pharmacy on the island to get some seasick meds for the ride home. Good thing too, since the water was still very bumpy on the way back. Check out this video. 

Ferry Crossing

The next day we booked a tour for the island of Tahiti. The guide spoke excellent English and we learned a bit of Tahitian history and culture. Like many island nations, Tahiti is a former colony of a European country. Tahiti gained her independence in 1984, but still maintains close ties to France. It is amazing to me how resilient the native population is to colonization. They tried to destroy their language and culture, but it is still surviving and thriving. There is National Pride there, despite a lot of poverty. We respect that and hope that people who visit will support them. 

Replica of a Tiki, Goddess of Fertility. The original is most likely in a museum after recovering it from burial under a church. All Tikis were either destroyed or buried under churches. The language and culture was illegal. Our guide was taught the Tahitian language by his grandparents. His parents do not speak it because it was illegal to teach them. 

This is a small replica of a Marae, a place of worship. It is built in the original location, but it is a fraction of the size. The stones were original stones recovered from the area and yes, you guessed it, from churches that had been built by the destruction of theses places. 

Marty showing some of the Jurassic Park like vegetation

 

Highest waterfall in Tahiti.

I want to end with what I can only call a small miracle. While in Tahiti, Marty noticed that his wedding ring was missing. It has always been just a little bit big on his finger, but with the warm weather, he thought his fingers would be a little bigger. He had no idea when it could have dropped off. He was sick about it. I was sad too, but really was trying to encourage him that we could replace it. (Exact replacement would have been impossible. We got this through a small company and this ring is no longer made) A day or two passed and Marty suggested that we contact Anna in Auckland and Paula in Gisborne to see if it could be in one of their houses. He had this vague memory of something dropping on the floor while wrestling with our packing and bags. I texted them both. A short time later, I got this:

Imagine our relief. I was surprised at the rush of emotion I felt. I guess it really did matter to me. It is only a ring, but it is also one of a matching set. I have one like it. It represents our partnership over 24 years. We could have put another ring on his finger, but I'm not sure I would have felt the same emotional attachment to it. All I can say is "Thank you to Anna for looking and to Marty's higher power for prompting his brain to remember that specific memory. 

So concludes our epic trip down under. Here are a few outakes.