Tales from the South Pacific
Fri-Sat, May 20-21 - Moorea
Ok, this entry is a little out of sequence... but all this traveling makes us feel like we are on The Amazing Race. I guess it is all this airport stuff and heading off to an exotic location and catching shuttles, etc. And you don't get that same feeling when you are catching a 50 minute flight between Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Being a natural eavesdropper, my scanning out of the "teams" began in the waiting area at LAX. We had the middle-aged married couple in tropical shirts who were clearly the French Polynesia experts and were being sought out for their advice from other inquiring couples. There was another gay couple (yeah!) ... my gaydar buzzed louder than an emergency door being accidently opened (sidenote: how many employees does it take to shut off an alarm in under 5 minutes time? More than 4 apparently.) There are the honeymooners and another pair I dub "tough couple" -- not the stereotypical pair that you would expect to be on a flight to the South Pacific.
We are all obviously on the same flight... but the "race" begins as we head through the passport check and customs. We seem to be Team #1... but the other gay guys pull closer as the "Europeans only" security line opens to accept Americans.
But then it is off to Papeete's Terminal 2 for the 10 minute flight to Moorea -- we laugh at the site of the "terminal" since it is nothing more than a large hut and about the combined size of our living room and kitchen. But all the couple catch up here... but there are 2 flights to Moorea! We make it on board with the first one with "tough couple." Gay guys are left with their their beers at the makeshift bar.
We find their are two shuttle services at the Moorea airport... but despite having a lead we are told that we will have to wait for the other flight to arrive (actually the same plane going back to Papeete, Tahiti and then turning around and coming back here) before we are shuttled to our hotel. Team Tropical Shirts and Team Gay Guys 2 catch up... Team GG2 is on our shuttle, the Tropicals and Toughies are on the other shuttle.
The other shuttle leaves before ours... but not too far behind. But our driver catches up and decides to pass the other shuttle! I silently cheer to myself... "Rapido, rapido... we are in a Race and competicion!" Yes, the 8-hour flight has obviously deluded me into thinking Phil Koegan is waiting for us at the hotel.
Not everyone is at our same hotel though... we "lose" the Tropicals... but keep crossing paths with the other two "teams" over the next day or so... my competitive TAR spirit though is still intact... Team Gay Guys are at the concierge desk before us... darn!! We're at the beach before the Toughies...yeah!!
So while we will probably never get to be on TAR -- it was fun fantasizing about it just for a bit.
Additional note: Now that the trip is over, I really have a great respect for the teams that do run the Race... it was exhausting doing "our leg." I can't imagine multiplying that over and over again... especially all that security/passport screening that we never see... plus all the language barriers (no wonder they are yelling for someone to speak English...haha!) We didn't have much problems, but iiiick! Also, waiting around (particularly at the airports) is enough to drain the life out of you too! I can see why the Teams bond so strongly with each other...in a sea of strangers, it was always nice to see a familiar face!
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