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So, I guess you're wanting to know the REST of the story... Well... Where to begin. If I remember correctly, last night was spent falling asleep to the sound of Finnegan trying to control his hormones & not succeeding in the least. I managed to sleep about 6 hrs when Mom2 came in & woke me up. Valentina was nicely cuddled up beside me, enjoying each other's warmth. I quickly showered, did my shot & downed some pills. Poor Valentina had to be put in her carrier, as Finnegan was relentless! He managed to jump on top of the mesh carrier, knock her off the toilet seat & leave her stuck between the tub & toilet! Oh dear! I will say she did manage to find her voice! I've never heard her growl before, but I guess we all have our breaking point! Poor baby!
Madelaine & Pam drove me to the airport. Conditions were grim. It was very icy & visibility was poor. I was very happy I wasn't driving!!! I managed to weigh my luggage & take out about 12 lbs of 'stuff'. I sent Madelaine home with my winter boots, jacket & **sniff, sniff** Valentina. I can't believe I'm going to go this long without her!
Anyhow, I hugged the girls goodbye & sent them on their way. They had some shopping left to do & I didn't want to keep them at $6 per half an hour for parking! I checked in & thought I would wander around for awhile. Thinking I was pretty clever, I managed to chuff the 12 lbs back into my suitcases before I dropped them off at Customs. Cheeky, I know! However, not well thought through, as I had to claim my luggage in LAX & re-check it for the Tahiti flight. Whoopsie! Oh well.
The flight to LAX was fine. Another great WestJet flight. I think I slept the entire way! I didn't even last through the oxygen mask presentation & I was out! I collected my luggage & helped a young man, who was enroute for Fiji, find his terminal, which ended up being the same as mine.
I rocked up to the counter for Air Tahiti & there were only about 2 people in line. Fantastic! Hmm. That's where the DRAMA began. When I handed the handsome chap my passport, he asked me when I was leaving Tahiti. I explained I was joining a ship with my husband & I would eventually end up in Fort Lauderdale in January. He explained to me that he couldn't give me a boarding pass unless I had proof that I was leaving Tahiti. Come to think of it, living in a hammock under a coconut tree for the next 5 years in Tahiti didn't sound so bad... :o) So. I phone 1-800-PRINCESS to see if they can email/fax the airline some proof that I will actually be on the cruise. I hadn't received anything from Jaco, but that wasn't a big deal, as the ship's security generally has my name on the list & away I go. Not so this time! Princess had one fellow working on Sunday who didn't really know what to do. He didn't know how to fax or email out of the office. Very helpful! He did manage to give me my booking numbers for the 2 cruises I would be onboard. He then passed me on to the crew emergency number. She was even less helpful. I'm not a crew member & I need to call the crew office ON THE SHIP (!) if I need more information. Not that simple! The next suggestion by the lovely Air Tahiti chap was to buy a return ticket.
Okay, here's my plan. Go online & access my bookings, email the page to the airline & I'm done. Maybe I'll just go ahead & book the return ticket from Fort Lauderdale while I was at it. So that's what I did. But Princess wouldn't give me access to my booking! And, when I got back to the counter, the flight wasn't good enough. Yes, I'm going home, but when am I leaving Tahiti! Yeesh! The guys are intense!!! After much sweating & worrying - I've got 20 mins until take off & I'm not even through security yet - I finally manage to access my booking & get them the information they wanted.
Away I run through security, which is a whole other blog post in itself, & manage to catch the tail end of the passengers filing onto the plane. I apologize to the Shiatsu Massage Therapist I sat next to about my odour & he just laughed. (Probably gagged when I looked the other way!) The Air Tahiti guy said it was definitely a corn smell. Hey, corn is better than garlic or bad breath! Or clams!!!
Very happy to be on the plane, I nestled in & enjoyed the 8.5 hr flight to Tahiti. Let's just say that is was about -20 + wind chill when I left Calgary. There was snow on the ramp to the plane! When I landed in Tahiti at 2300 it was 27!!! Bring it on! The first few photos I took are actually foggy on the lens thanks to the wonderful, warm humidity. I love it! Give me sweaty & muggy any day! They gave us tiare flowers on the plane & upon our arrival. They smell divine! I took a photo of the one on the plane. It's not quite blossomed yet, but the fragrance is amazing!
The hotel is also very nice! Very funky & quite posh. Again... Luckiest person I know! Must've been all those 4, 5, 6 & 7 leaf clovers I found when I was younger! I've won the travel lotto, I tell ya! I can't wait to go out & explore tomorrow. I will join the ship at 1900-ish & finally see my Baby again! Whoo hoo!!! He phoned to make sure I was alright & I shared my day's dilemmas with him. He's getting to know my travel habits quite well! :o)
So here I am in Tahiti! I bid you a good night's rest! Keep warm & if you're snuggling my Valentina tonight, give her an extra kiss from Mama...
Love & hugs from sandy shores,
ps - Computer about to die of low battery & I brought wrong charger for Tahiti... Just checked Weather Network... Calgary -26, Papeete +25. I'm sleeping. I'm dreaming. It's real. I'm warm! Life is good! :o)
Yuck. Brr.
In the nick of time!
Bienvenue a Tahiti!
Ukelele's at 2300! Love it!
The Sofitel in Papeete! (Happy Dance Location!)
1 comments:
Tahiti sounds great already..nothing else like ukelele's welcoming you at 11pm! Reading about how warm it is there makes it seem even colder here. Safe travels. Janis
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