Allow the bruising to commence…

I arrived in Tahiti around 4:30 this morning after three flights and almost a solid 24 hours of travel. Last year when I made the journey to join Dosia in Nuku Hiva it took me four flights and a two hour alterain vehicle ride up and down a mountain. So when I boarded the flight for Tahiti last night in LA and knew that this was it and Drew would be waiting at the end, it made this trip feel like a cinch compared to last September.

This go round the only anticipation I felt was that of wanting to just see Drew, hug him, give him a kiss, and hold his hand like all the other couples I’ve been watching for the past month back in the states. Drew’s mom and sister even commented prior to me leaving the airport yesterday that I was MUCH calmer than last year. That’s because traveling out of the country for the first time, and doing so all by myself…the anticipation was ridiculous. I had flown several times before but not to that extent. Changing my bags over in LA was quite an experience. I’m a southern girl. In LA an “excuse me” can often be mistaken for getting an attitude with someone. I was completely out of my element. This time around, I breezed through there as if I might have actually known what I was doing! I returned to the same grill where I sat waiting for my flight last year and had myself a couple of Miller Lites. It’s gonna be a LONG time before I get anything other than a Hinano or Heineken again.

Getting off that plane and seeing my boy there smiling and waiting was so awesome. Ummm…skinny, mini over here has lost a ton of weight. He always does that when he leaves the country and is by himself for a while. Not to mention I could not look more ridiculous walking next to him as he has been kissed many times by the sun and I appear to have lost touch with it for quite some time!  As long as that’s all he was kissed by while we were apart then I can deal with it : )

So here we are back on the boat together again! Drew began to unpack my things earlier to give me a chance to get a nap in but I found myself getting up to explain why I needed four bottles of leave in conditioner and ten of the exact same tank tops. They are totally not the same…they are all a different color. It’s great to be back, great to be next to him again. We hit up a local, what seems to be always packed and popular, eatery called Oasis in downtown Papeete for a grilled fish sandwich. We came across them last year, fell in love, and today it was just as good as I remembered. Highly recommended to anyone who might find themselves downtown in Tahiti’s capital one day.

We haven’t quite mapped out our complete journey yet. All I know is I’ve been on the boat for approximately eleven hours and have already formed three nice bruises on my legs and we haven’t even left the dock. Thus….is boat life! All you can do is hope that you tan well enough to cover up the evidence that no matter how much experience you have, the boat always has the upperhand…