Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Tahiti continued...

Tahiti post continued...

Day 5 & 6: Rangiroa and Fakarava 

I did my second dive of the trip in Fakarava.  Branson had a cold which makes it really difficult to dive because of pressure and things.  So the boys decided to hang out and Jess and I went out to dive together.  The coral was unreal and we were able to see sharks in the deep blue.  


Rangiroa is such a quiet, unpopulated place.  B and I strolled around the island and saw a few houses here and there and that's about it.  Crazy to think that people actually spend their whole lives there.
The locals favorite thing to do is ride the wake from the tenders that take us to and from the cruise ship. Branson wanted to ride with them so bad.
Fresh coconuts. Yummm!
Jess and I waving bye to the boys...


Day 7: Taha'a

This was my second favorite destination.  We spent the day on a motu where we swam in the crystal clear water, snorkeled, kayaked, and had the most delicious BBQ. Best lobster i've ever had!

(I don't know why the sky looks so bright in all these...once I upload the pictures the colors get super contrasty.)


Day 8: Moorea


We got to swim with sharks and rays which was one of the coolest things ever.  They come up right to you.  Garretts camera settings were off so the pictures aren't the best quality, but they make me laugh so hard.  We were a little hesitant at first, but they really are harmless creatures (Tahitian sharks, anyway.)


Since the Gee's have been to Tahiti five times already, they buried a hidden treasure on Moorea.  Every time they go back they write a little note and put it in the bottle.  We got to add to it and will hopefully get to go back one day and read what every one wrote.  Mine was a note to my hubs and Parker of course...

We also did our last dive on the second day in Moorea.  This was the best dive yet! I got to see a sea turtle and swam with some huge lemon sharks.  It was such an awesome experience.


The last day was spent back in Papeete at the same hotel.  We didn't want to leave but we were SO excited to get back to our little boy.  It was so, so hard being away from him, especially since I hadn't been away from him for more than a couple hours before this trip.  B and I had the best time together though and Parker loved the attention he got from all of our family.  

We had the most amazing trip we could have imagined!  Future vacations have a lot to live up to...
Tahiti...you have our hearts.


Last but not least, here is an awesome video that Garrett put together of our trip...


Sunday, December 15, 2013

Tahiti: Part I


Branson and I have some awesome friends, the Gee's, who invited us to go on a 
10-day cruise through French Polynesia.  
Thanks to their talents and amazing hook ups, 
we were able to go and spend almost two weeks in paradise.  
It was truly that...PARADISE!  

Day 1: Papeete

Our journey began from Utah where we road tripped down to LA....
^Adios freezing cold weather!

Since we got to LA before schedule, we met up with Garrett's sister Gabes.  After sitting in a car for 10 hours, we decided to do some hot yoga.  Why not!? It was such an awesome workout.  
These LA folks aren't messing around...
Anyways, after yoga we went to a restaurant called A Frame. WOW! This place was SO good.
After a fun night in LA we headed to the airport where we took a red eye to Papeete, Tahiti.
 
When we arrived we had a day room ready for us at the Intercon....
We hung out at the hotel and kayaked out to a dock in the middle of the ocean.  

We boarded the ship around 3 p.m. and thats when the endless eating began...
We explored the ship and relaxed the rest of the night.
 


Day 2: Huahine

We went to a beach on Huahine where we snorkeled, jumped off more docks, and enjoyed the sun.

 Day 3: Bora Bora

We spent two days in Bora Bora.  It's a good thing because it was my absolute favorite of all the islands.  The water is absolutely breathtaking. The island itself is so lush and green. 
Ahh I miss it so much.

The first day in Bora Bora we went out to a motu and did some more snorkeling, played bocce ball, and then did our first scuba dive!  This was more of a beginner dive considering B and I had never actually dove in the ocean, or salt water for that matter.  The reef was beautiful and we saw tons of fish.  We also saw an eel. Scary!


The second day in Bora Bora we rented bikes and road around to the opposite side of the island-the most gorgeous place on the planet, in my opinion.
I think i'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

(The coloring got weird on some of these photos when uploading, not sure why. Grr.)

[Considering we have thousands of pictures from this trip, I am splitting it up into a few different posts.
More to come!]