
4-December–Moorea, French Polynesia
This is the last of my vacation posts. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. 🙂 Dominique Tehei, the Marina Supervisor and Dive Master (and friend) on the Paul Gauguin (the ship I was on), took all the underwater pictures. It was an amazing trip and just what I needed to revitalize myself.

Dominique and Jean-Michel
I’m in the back by Randy, the guy in the blue shirt.
I went on a total of 17 dives during my vacation. Prior to this trip, I only had 7 open-water dives. My skills improved greatly, my buoyancy issues are resolved, and I’m more comfortable underwater.


Prior to leaving for vacation I knew I wanted to get 2 tattoos. Tattoos are a big part of Polynesian culture and there is a special place in my heart for the South Pacific. I also wanted something to symbolize and mark what I went through this past year. So after my last dive, I went to Taniera Tattoo.

I explained my background and why I wanted the tattoos and Taniera drew the tattoos. These were my first tattoos and I was surprised how unpainful they were. They healed quickly and I am immensely satisfied and happy with both.
4-December, Papeete, Tahiti
That night we sailed into the bustling city of Papeete. It’s the most built up and commercialized island of French Polynesia. For dinner that night I went to the docks to Les Roulottes.

If you’ve seen Anthony Bourdain’s French Polynesia episode, he visits it. Every night food trucks set up shop and stay open until the wee hours of the morning. It’s Tahitian street-food at it’s best. I look forward to buying and eating poisson cru (Tahitian raw fish salad) every year. The fish is so fresh.

After dinner and drinks, my friends and I went dancing at Morrison’s and stayed until closing. We went back to the ship as the sun was rising. I saw the Southern Cross for the first time! It was a very fun night and a great way to spend my last day in the South Pacific.
