Back To Papeete

When we first arrived in Raiatea, Tama told me that he and Herehia would need to return to Papeete on Wednesday because he had to work. But they couldn't get me on a plane until Friday. However, on our last hike up Tapioi Mountain, Tama was wearing his sandals, as he always does. In fact, I think he'd prefer to remain forever shoeless. At the start of the trail are some pipes sticking up out of the ground. They are there to stop the animals from coming down the mountain and wondering into town. With age, these pipes have now rusted. It had recently rained and Tama slipped in the mud, cutting his heel on one of these rusted pipes. So we went back to the house for him to put lemon on the cut. I couldn't watch.
However, we were all pretty concerned because of the rust. So Tama went to see a doctor on the island who gave him some anti-biotics. When he informed Air Tahiti of this, they told him that he would not be able to fly a plane for 10 days because of the medication. So he changed their ticket so we could fly back together.

The first day we'd arrived in Raiatea we were all talking together and suddenly Juliette gasped and ran out of the room. I asked Herehia what was wrong and she told me, "Her show is on." Every night, Juliette watches a Brazilian soap opera that is translated into French. It starts at 5:30 -which was also the time we had to leave for the airport on Friday. As we headed toward the car, she simply yelled her goodbye from the other room.
By the time we boarded the plane it was sunset and a storm was coming in. Once again, Tama surprised me by asking the pilot if I could sit in the cockpit. Halfway into the flight the flight attendant escorted me to the front. This time it was dark outside and the instruments were lit up. The storm clouds were to our left, with lightning flashing occasionally, and it was completely clear to our right.
We approached Tahiti and it was amazing to see it's largest city, Papeete, all lit up at night. We veered to our right and then to our left and then I noticed all the lights surrounding the runway. It was beautiful. I told Tama that now that I've seen it a couple times, maybe I could land the plane next time. Or maybe it's better to just sit back and enjoy my coffee. I'll supervise.