Sunday, January 19

Our flight was at 9am this morning. We drove down to Ian’s house, and he gave us a ride to the airport.

This leg of the flight was uneventful, and we arrived at LAX with time to spare. We boarded the Air Tahiti flight around 3:30 and were in the air for about two hours when Mark noticed that we seemed to have turned direction. It was apparently done very slowly because we didn’t feel the turn. Shortly after that, our pilot announced that they were having technical difficulties, and we needed to return to LA.

When we landed, we saw fire trucks and cruisers lined all along the runway. Now I was afraid! I grabbed Mark’s hand and held on tight. I wanted to be sure we were together if anything happened. Fortunately, there was no need for an emergency exit.

The plane had hit a bird on takeoff, and it had gone into one of the engines. We waited while they determined whether they could make repairs or would need to bring in another plane. It turned out to be an easy fix, and we were able to reboard about two hours later.

Monday, January 20

We landed in Tahiti about 5am their time (9am central), and, since we had already reserved a room, we took advantage of the opportunity to shower and nap for a couple of hours.

The shuttle took us to the ship at noon, and we could start relaxing. It’s a mid-size cruise ship, with mostly old people on board. Why are we here??? Our room is on the port side, the last room aft, with a nice balcony. We’re very pleased with it.

My phone does not work here, and Mark’s is hit and miss. If anyone needs to reach us for an emergency, call the ship at 1-877-266-1016. You will be asked for a credit card to bill the call at $9.50/minute.

On our hotel grounds – Intercontinental in Tahiti

Island of Tahiti from on board ship