Anniversary Trip to Tahiti and Moorea 2023 - Pt3 2023/01/12

We're coming up to the end of our amazing Moorea vacation, just Theresa and me. There's a few more things we've got going on before we leave though. Let's go have some fun. 

Breakfast was always rich and delicious, but I'm not used to eating so much food this early in the day. And somehow they have magic hashbrowns because even multiple minutes after coming out from the kitchen, they stayed crispy. 

Let's go for a walk! There's something I wanted to see 10 years ago that we never did stop for. 

To get there, we're going to have to walk. There's just one main road that goes around Moorea. Last time we had folding bikes and recalled massive trucks coming super close to us. Walking will mean we're a little bit further from the danger. 

Though we might encounter a stray dog or two. 

We do see a few other cute animals though. Like a mother hen and her peeping chicks. 

Any time we come to French Polynesia, we are on the lookout for one particular juice. Rotui! And not just any Rotui juice. They have a pineapple juice that is not from concentrate that is the best we've had anywhere! 

And guess where it's made? Right here on Moorea! And it's just a 1.5 mile walk from the hotel! 

Making our way up a back road to get to it. 

And the bottom dropped out of the clouds just as we were arriving. 

Here we are! 

Safe under the awning of the building. 

Because it is really coming down hard out there!

At the shop, they have many of the juices they made here, along with other tropical souvenirs and spirits. 

All those tasty juices on the back wall. 

But here is the production facility where all the juice is squeezed, bottled, and shipped out! 

Just up these stairs to get to the lobby and the 2nd floor so we can look down on the production. 

Lots of the products that they end up making here. 

Some of their fruits.

Including what we're really after, the Queen Tahiti Pineapple! 

With a map of the production floor...

And a hairnet, we were off! 

Up close are the mixing tanks. Just behind them is the rotating washer, cutting table, and crusher for the pineapple line! The Papaya, Guava, and Grapefruit lines are behind them.  

This handy guide shows us the function of each piece of equipment, even though no one is working over here. 

The Syrup Room where extra flavor are added. 

Cool! 

On the other side is where all the juices get packaged. Bottles get filled and travel to the other side of the room. 

They go through the chiller and then get packaged. Ready for us to drink!

Awesome! Fun place to see! 

Back at the gift shop, and now a little bit drier, we can bring some juices back to the hotel with us! 

I'm showing 4 different flavors we bought, but not the quantities... I think we had 4 fresh pineapple juices... How many can I drink in 36 hours? 

If you're ever in a store, look for the green carton Rotui Painapo juice! It's the best! 

Thanks Rotui! 

Love the little pineapples growing just outside the production facility. 

Walking back on this rainy and cloudy day back to our room. 

With some ice, now let's try this banana juice!

It's a little thinner than some, but it's still tasty. I like the banana and vanilla flavor. 

The next day is sadly our last day on Moorea. And surprise, it's a rainy one! 

I wandered over to the front desk after breakfast to see about getting late checkout. We can't stay in the same room, but we can move to the over-water bungalow just a couple over! That works for us! 

And so we spent our day like we have most days here. 

Laying out on the desk, reading books and watching the water. 

Every day they've been stocking our fridge, and every day I've made sure to clean it out. At the end of our stay, I've collected so much island beer! I found another couple one vacation who are here for a while longer and they were happy to take our bounty. 

At 3pm, we were walking with all our luggage back to the front desk. 

And by 3:15pm the taxi we'd requested was there to pick us up. 

Off to the ferry! 

Where we purchased tickets. 

Queued up to board. 

And had a bumpy ride from Moorea back to Tahiti. 

Goodbye Moorea! It's been a lot of fun! Definitely our favorite tropical vacation! 

Once we arrived at the ferry terminal, a taxi then took us to our next destination. No, not the airport. 

The flight times in and out of Tahiti are seem to be set up so that you have to stay an extra day on the main island. Flights leaving Tahiti go out super early in the morning, before any ferries or local planes start arriving. 

So T has booked us a night at the Hilton Tahiti! 

Always welcomed at these hotels with a tasty juice beverage. 

And amazing smelling flower leis. 

Getting to the room by 5:30pm. The rooms here are quite a bit bigger, probably to make up for the lack of beautiful beaches. We walked into a full kitchen with a full-size fridge! 

Dining table and a living room! 

Leading to the main bedroom. 

With a walk-in closet. 

Giant bed. 

An awesome bathroom. 

And because we're on the first floor, our balcony leads to the grounds. 

Who is hungry for dinner? Let's go walking. Walking through the hotel and following a large walkway over the road...

We found ourselves at a mall. With a full-sized grocery store! 

Always fun to see the "American" section of the grocery store. 

Hmm, we haven't had much chocolate on this vacation. Mostly fruity candy since it doesn't melt. 

What do we need to bring home? 

Ha! Frozen donuts ice cream. That's interesting. 

Oof. A $33 bag of Hershey's Kisses. 

Theresa checking the bread to see if it's still warm. 

Among other things I found to bring home for a taste test, I also found a juice they didn't have at the Rotui factory that I was really hoping to see. A pineapple and coconut mix! It didn't meet my expectations though, and wasn't as good as the pineapple juice. Always too thin with those "from concentrate" juices. 

But we had our own little feast for dinner. Yum!

Our night was spent wandering around the grounds and beautiful pools. But it's going to be an early bedtime for us. 

Remember what I said about those early morning flights leaving Tahiti? At 5:45am we were out the door with all our stuff. 

And by 6am, a taxi was taxi us to the airport. 

Breakfast? I've eaten at this airport McDonalds a few times! 

Love the signage. 

It's not the best, but I always get a Croque McDo.

It's like the inside bun of a Big Mac on both sides, with 1 slice of ham and 1 slice of cheese, melted. 

At 7am, the line for security opened up. 

And by 7:45am we were through. 

8am and time to board our flight. 

Goodbye Tahiti! 

Off to Los Angeles we go! 

Where we got all our luggage and made it through customs by 7pm local time. 

And we're not quite ready to go back to Colorado yet. There's only late flights and we weren't sure if we'd get delayed anywhere. We're staying the night! The best place we found to eat was still at the airport! Earl of Sandwich! We got something just as they were closing. 

And instead of a taxi, we walked ourselves over to the Hyatt Place LAX. 

The next morning was another early one. 7am to walk over to the airport. 

On a plane and off to Denver! 

And who was waiting for us when we got there? Rich, Chi, my Dad, and the kids! 

Thanks for watching the kids while we've been off enjoying ourselves! 

Love you all! 

Safe travels!

Welcome back!