Tahiti

Arriving by ferry, we squeezed ourselves and our large backpacks into the cramped bus to pick up our rental car (for once, not a Renault Kwid) at the airport. Our accommodation offered us space, a washing machine, and unfortunately, a few cockroaches (luckily mostly outside).

We packed our days full of activities: hiking, waterfalls, viewpoints, and exploring the island. One of two highlights was Tahiti Iti (meaning Little Tahiti), which is directly adjacent to Tahiti Nui (Greater Tahiti). Small, tranquil, and dominated by surfers, it's also a venue for the World Surf League. Unfortunately, we just missed watching the finals. However, the atmosphere of the place and a (once again) breathtakingly beautiful sunset more than made up for it.

In Tahiti, we had one of the highlights of the entire trip: a whale watching tour. It's currently one of the best times to see humpback whales, which migrate to the islands once a year. So, we had to get up very early (whales are apparently early risers too), board the boat, and head out of the lagoon in search of these gigantic marine animals. Since whale watching is strictly limited for conservation reasons, we had booked the tour weeks in advance. In a small group, we spent four hours on the water, and we were rewarded. We spotted several whales, some even breached, and twice we tried to get even closer by swimming and snorkeling (boats have to keep their distance). On one occasion, we glimpsed a mother and calf a few meters away before they shyly disappeared beneath us. An absolute highlight that I will certainly never forget.

Then came the saddest part: the goodbyes. The three of us began the long, long journey home. At midnight, we flew to LA, then continued on to Frankfurt, and finally took the train to Berlin. After many, many hours of travel, I simply collapsed into bed.

I'm currently suffering from jet lag in Beeskow, planning my next steps and preparing for self-employment. From here, I'll head to Berlin to meet up with many friends, and then on to Saxon Switzerland for some hiking in preparation for my next big trip: the Camino de Santiago.

We had just come from several small and partly remote islands when Tahiti hit us with its bustle. On Tahiti, real Polynesian life happens outside of tourism: highways, apartment buildings, traffic jams, shopping centers, and a whole variety of restaurants with often curious opening hours (including a 2‑hour lunch break and closing time at 5 pm).

Arriving by ferry, we squeezed ourselves and our big backpacks into the narrow bus to pick up our rental car (for once not a Renault Kwid) at the airport. Our accommodation offered space, a washing machine, and unfortunately also a few cockroaches (luckily mostly outside).

We packed our days full of activities: hiking, waterfalls, viewpoints, exploring the island. One of the two highlights: Tahiti Iti (“Little Tahiti”), which is directly connected to Tahiti Nui (“Big Tahiti”). Small, quiet, and ruled by surfers, it's also a venue of the World Surf League. Unfortunately, we just missed watching the final. But the atmosphere of the place and yet another breathtakingly beautiful sunset made up for it quite well.

On Tahiti we also had one of the highlights of the entire trip: a whale‑watching tour. Right now is one of the best times to see humpback whales, which come to the islands once a year. So it meant getting up very early (apparently whales are early risers), hopping on the boat, and heading out of the lagoon in search of the gigantic sea creatures. Because whale watching is strictly limited for protection reasons, we had booked the tour weeks in advance. With a small group we spent four hours on the water — and we were rewarded. We found several whales, some even jumped out of the water, and twice we tried to get closer by swimming and snorkeling (boats must keep their distance). Once, we could make out a mother with her baby just a few meters in front of us before the two shyly disappeared beneath us. An absolute highlight I will certainly never forget.

Then came the saddest part: saying goodbye. The three of us began the long, long journey home. The flight to LA left at midnight, then onward to Frankfurt, and finally by train to Berlin. After many, many hours on the road, I just crashed into bed.

Right now I'm jet‑lagged in Beeskow, planning my next steps and preparing for the topic of self‑employment. From here I'll head back to Berlin to meet many friends and then continue on to Saxony to get some hiking in — as preparation for my next big trip: the Camino de Santiago.