It had been a few days since the wedding and we would be flying to Tahiti. Our wedding was in Prince Edward Island, Canada, so that’s where our journey would begin. The first flight was at 6:15 A.M. That flight would take us to Toronto. From there, we would fly to Los Angeles before taking the final leg to Pape’ete. This would be the furthest either of us had ever been from home, and the first vacation we had ever been on together. It was a new journey and we just couldn’t wait to be there.
In Transit
For the first two legs of our journey, we would be flying with Air Canada. For the last leg of the day, we would fly with Air Tahiti Nui.
The first flight was fairly uneventful. The Charlottetown airport is pretty small and very quiet. Two runways. There usually isn’t much air traffic congestion, and things usually go as planned.
We arrived in Toronto safely. The sun still hadn’t come up. Our bags were checked through to Los Angeles. All we had to do was go through customs, and then settle at our gate. We had plenty of time.
Memorable Encounter
Occasionally, when I travel, I see people who look familiar but I can’t remember where I know them from. This happened again in the customs line in Toronto. I was in the queue and I saw somebody that looked familiar. Very friendly looking gent. I looked at him and he kind of nodded like we knew each other. I said hey, he said hey. Then, I noticed he seemed to have a lot of instruments travelling with him on his cart. As I happened to look down at the instruments, I saw a piece of duct tape with a name written on it. Alan Thomas Doyle. It was Alan Doyle from Great Big Sea. I listened to so much Great big Sea growing up. I’m not one to bother celebrities when I see them out in public, so I didn’t.
Continuing On
Eventually, we found our gate and settled in. As I mentioned in my previous post, Revisiting the Plan, I had been travelling for work. I had accumulated status with Air Canada, and had enough eUpgrade credits to upgrade our Toronto to Los Angeles segment of the flight to business class. I usually fall asleep before the plane even lifts off the ground, but my wife appreciated the extra comforts and and the small meal. We landed in Los Angeles, collected our bags, and headed over to the proper terminal for our flight to Tahiti. The Los Angeles airport is great, and getting from terminal to terminal is really straightforward, so we just walked. Also, it’s nice and it’s hot. I kind of love that kind of climate.
Air Tahiti Nui
There really aren’t enough good things to say about Air Tahiti Nui. We had just gotten off an Air Canada flighty, flying business class. Flying economy with Air Tahiti Nui was a giant step up in terms of service and comfort – and I had a middle seat. They had the regular comforts of a national airline. They had TVs, they had stuff you could buy, etc. There were video games built into the back of the seat. You could even play a trivia game against other people on the plane. So, I spent a good portion of the flight trying not to finish in last place in this trivia tournament. We were also given two meals on the just over 8 hour flight. With desserts and everything!
Winding Down
We were pretty excited when we touched down in Tahiti at around 10:00 PM local time. Nothing bad happened throughout the trip. We had a great time flying to Tahiti. We then gathered our bags and went through customs. Polynesians really know how to welcome their visitors. After we cleared customs, we went into what would be the airport lobby. Here, there were people playing ukulele and every visitor is being given a lei made of Tiare. It was a very welcoming experience. As we found out on our trip, the friendliness of Polynesians knows no bounds.
What Next?
Join me in my next post to find out what we did after we arrived in Tahiti. Until then…
Keep Dreaming!
Originally from Atlantic Canada, where the beaches are always close, and the weather is occasionally warm enough to enjoy them. Moved to Ontario, Canada, where I now live with my wife and 3 children. I work in IT. I play guitar, I lift weights, and I’m an Open Water Diver.
I love the ocean and hope it can be enjoyed by all future generations. I’m looking forward to living somewhere much closer to the beach, where the weather is always warm. Somewhere with palm trees and tropical fruit growing in my back yard. Somewhere that I can scuba or surf with my family when I’m not working.