Tahiti

20.5. This morning we are heading back to Tahiti and the last part of our Polynesia trip begins. Mita gives us another flower garland as a farewell gift. Traditionally, it would be a shell necklace, as we are now leaving the island by water. She accompanies us to the airport, welcoming new guests. At the pier, with ease, as if it were a handbag, she slings my backpack over her shoulder and carries it to the check-in counter - I am grateful to her, this superwoman.

Upon arriving in Tahiti, we wait for Melanie. She is the daughter of an acquaintance of my father and he has given us her contact information. She offered to pick us up and we are excited for the exchange. While waiting, we try once again to organize a scooter or a rental car for the days here. Unfortunately, so far we have not been able to find anything within our budget.

Melanie drives a huge Land Rover with a seating arrangement - the car looks like a carriage from the pioneer era. We sit in the back with her son Taimoana and his school friend. In the front are Mihivei and the 3-week-old Temeio. Here we go! Shopping, lunch together, driving Taimoana to basketball - we have landed in the midst of the lively everyday life of a dedicated mom. At the same time, it is impressive how Melanie manages everything with such calmness, actively helps us with the car rental search, and keeps the young crew in good spirits.

She drives us to our accommodation at Pic Vert, high above Papeete. We will have to manage the next few days with hitchhiking and walking... ça y est, we will adapt.

Marc, the co-owner of this villa, welcomes us and shows us the property. The veranda is breathtaking with an incomparable view of Moorea. Marc seems to be a "colorful" person from Papeete - he tells us that he is a chef and has successfully run a restaurant and bar. His kitchen, which we are allowed to use, looks like a professional restaurant kitchen - we are looking forward to cooking here! His friend, also named Marc, who is currently getting his life - and the life of his family - in Tahiti on track, is also here for the next few days.

Both seem very nice and we toast to the beauty of the island. In the evening, we cook for ourselves and invite Marc to join us for dinner.

21.5. We decide to visit the market in Papeete and walk down the steep hill from Pic Vert. Once again, we have incredibly good luck and are in the right place at the right time: the first car picks us up right away! Arnaud and Hélène emigrated to Tahiti over 20 years ago. While talking to them, they can hardly believe that we don't have a car for the next few days and spontaneously use their contacts. One phone call and an hour later, we can pick up our rental car!? Arnaud even pays the deposit for the car and they will also help us with the return and drive the car back to the airport for us. We are absolutely blown away by so much help, simply unbelievable!

Since it is already afternoon, we skip the island tour for tomorrow and visit a museum. The art exhibition is nice, but most of the buildings are under construction and closed, too bad. On the way back, we check all the dive centers again for a special night dive that we want to do. At the last dive center, we find out that it is a high-end product that is far beyond our financial means... so it won't work.

Marc and Marc are sitting on the terrace, celebrating the fact that Owner-Marc has the place to himself. His wife will only return tomorrow. This allows the two of them to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, which is reflected in the eccentric mood of Marc... he becomes rude and hurtful in his remarks, especially towards Roman. We don't find it funny anymore and try to avoid him as much as possible.

22.5. Right after breakfast, we start our island tour. We drive to the Presqu'Île and all the way to Teahupoo - the venue for the 2024 surfing Olympics. From a distance, we watch the huge world-famous wave turn and twist, explode and calm down again. An impressive spectacle. We really like the return drive along the island's east coast: this side is much calmer and untouched, beautiful.

23.5. We are on time at the tattoo studio and are looking forward to our session! In the end, we wait for about an hour until it's our turn. Our two tattoo artists draw directly on the skin and at least at the beginning, we can have a say in the shapes before they spend about an hour designing the motifs. Then it's time for the actual tattooing, which takes between one and two hours. We are very satisfied with the result! The price is also okay. We buy fabric and pineapples before going to a bakery for some food. The mocha cake is excellent!

After a short chillout at the accommodation, we head to Melanie's family. They live in the suburbs of Papeete and have a multi-generational property with three houses. Life mainly takes place in the wooden open-air kitchen and reminds us of Robinson Crusoe. There is poisson cru au lait de coco, tapioca, and uru. The five children are all very nice and also speak a little bit of Swiss German. The grandfather is sitting at the table as well, taking care of the youngest one.

Before we go home, we eat Swiss chocolate and sing some songs. Perhaps we will see Mohana, the oldest daughter, this summer in Switzerland, as she is doing an exchange year at the Gymnasium Burgdorf.

24.5. We fill our last full day in Polynesia with packing, getting an antigen test, reading, and cooking.