We end our story in Tahiti, since we actually had a few “minor” plan changes.
We arrived in Tahiti in a mild state of shock. It was huge and we definitely weren’t expecting the size we discovered. Papeete was bustling and loud, everyone was honking and shouting in a mix of Polynesian and French. Tahiti was very abrupt, no apologies or delays. We were buddying with Ibis, so we arrived a couple hours after them. Of course, Jasper was quick to message me and ask if we were here yet. We were quick to find food, this time at the food trucks that were infamous in Papeete. It was ok, but very expensive for just some Chinese food.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, rode mopeds! So it was very noisy… They would go speeding past the marina with volumes to rival the Blue Angels. The second noisiest thing were the teenagers. They would boldly stroll along the malecón carrying boom boxes and speakers and phones and anything to play their loud, bass-rattling music.
Now, I’d normal take no issue with modern music accept that this wasn’t good music. It was loud, lacking in beat, rap kind of deal. So I’d glare as the groups of 4-80 kids walked past, each with their own speaker.
Food was amazing though. We ate happily every night, chowing down and quickly turning into rollypollies. I spent a long time hanging out with Lilly and Grace, and we even met a kid our age-ish. Jack, on a sail boat, was 15 and glad to finally meet kids over the age of 10, us too were glad to meet him since our group needed more people. He also had his siblings, Isla, Lucy and Noah.
I had to leave for Australia after a few weeks, since it was Nana’s birthday and we wanted to see her. Dad stayed with the kittties and the boat, Mum and I left for Melbourne. It was freezing cold there, and I loved it.
When we got back, we had a new plan: we were moving back to Seattle. Australian government had proven that trying to take the cats with us to Australia was going to be impossible, to the point where it would have been more humane – and cheaper – to set them free on the island. But, since the cats are our family, that was a no.