Last night, we left Moorea around 5:00 pm and sailed the twelve or so miles back to Papeete. I was on the top deck having a bloody mary. The sun was starting to set as we approached Tahiti so I went to the cabin to get my camera. I always try to get sunset pictures! Sometimes they’re great, sometimes not so much. This sunset, on the very last night, was the most beautiful of the entire two-month trip. 
Possibly one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. As usual, the sun was setting behind Moorea (duh!) but this time was more spectacular than normal. It was almost as if the sky was on fire! I realize that sounds a little bizarre but it’s the only way I can describe it. And not just the sunset; the cloud formations were amazing as well. I just counted and I have twenty-nine pictures of the sunset and clouds last night. It was a wonderful ending to the cruise.The rest of the trip won’t be so wonderful. Now I have to get back to Virginia!
We docked at about seven last night. Some passengers disembarked immediately and headed for the airport to catch flights home. I hadn’t realized that leaving early was an option but probably wouldn’t have done anything differently even if I had known. In the beginning, I was too enthused to have thought about leaving earlier than absolutely necessary. By the end, I was ready to go! We stayed on the ship for one final night, essentially using it as a floating hotel. Luggage had to be placed outside the room before going to bed so I packed for the last time, making sure to leave one clean shirt, one sweater and a jacket at the top of the suitcase. This morning, we were allowed to remain on board until around noon, since we had purchased a transfer package. All others had to be off the ship by nine, as I recall. One last lunch then we began the disembarkation process. Transfer packages included a “day room” at the Radisson Hotel in addition to transfers to the hotel and airport. A tour was included for those who wanted it. I was definitely not in that group; I had seen enough of Papeete. I was taken directly to the hotel and given my room. It wasn’t as nice as the Intercontinental but I really didn’t care. It was better than sitting at the airport for twelve hours! I wandered around a little bit but mostly just relaxed in the room. It was going to be a long day and night.
We were picked up at around 6:30 pm for the trip to the airport. I had a 10:00 pm flight to Los Angeles, where I was spending one night before continuing home to Richmond. It was just too much to do in a single day. We arrived at the airport, claimed our luggage and got in the line for check-in. Along with a few hundred others! There are two flights, leaving an hour and a half apart. So there were probably six hundred people checking in at about the same time. The line looped back and forth maybe seven or eight times, with Tahitian immigration agents checking passports just before reaching the ticket counter. Although there was some grumbling, people kept a pretty good sense of humor about the entire process. We had several hours and, after all, what could you do about it? Although slow, the line moved pretty steadily and eventually I had my boarding pass. Nothing to do now but wait.
There were several more souvenir shops outside the terminal building. Gotta get those last few dollars before the tourists get away! There was the obligatory black pearl jewelry shop, duty free liquor shop and several tee shirt, caps, knick-knack places. I had bought all the souvenirs I needed so I just window-shopped for a little bit before sitting down for one last cigarette. Then I went through security and into the terminal. Eventually, the flight was called and we made the same long walk to the plane that I had made two weeks earlier. We boarded, settled in for the nine-hour flight and soon were on the way to Los Angeles, one step closer to home.
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