Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to receive an invitation from the tourism board to board a flight from . Los Angeles Returning to one of my favorite places in the world. islands of Tahiti. This collection of more than 180 islands is as magical in person as you’d expect from the many photos of crystal clear waters, abundant marine wildlife, and beautiful sunny days in the Pacific Ocean advertised online. To show you more snaps from my adventures, I’m sharing my Tahiti photo diary.
Tahiti’s black sand beach. It is located in Papeete on the main island of Tahiti, but is often overlooked by tourists. For long-distance trips, we recommend staying 1-2 nights, but since there’s so much more to Tahiti than Papeete, try to limit your stay to just 1-2 days.
On the first day, we set off into the rainforest to look for waterfalls. I was minimally dressed but maximally tanned, making for a very sweaty, coconut-scented trip into the mountains. I never wore these shoes again during my trip.
Hike to the waterfall! My friend Abe Kislevitz took this photo. He is gifted with skills such as using an old-fashioned DSLR camera and is a (certified) drone pilot.
Next destination is Moorea. Actually, this photo was taken when I first visited Tahiti with a group of bloggers three years ago. I don’t really like “blogger trips” because they’re too forced and often involve doing activities that I don’t enjoy (if this wasn’t my job, I’d rather just pay for it myself and experience the place). However, I had a lot of fun quad biking into the rainy mountains, and I made some lifelong friends on this trip.
Pineapple and unnecessary caption. you’re welcome.
This is also a photo from my first trip to Tahiti, but I had to include it for a laugh. Years ago, I used to wear nice dresses and stylish clothes no matter where I was (I mean, now I’m riding my quad bike up a mountain, and wearing a dress on this occasion is probably the stupidest thing to do). Now I’ve left behind some nice photos (and the dress). Nothing beats reality.
I make them coconut.
For those who don’t already know, Tahiti is under French rule, so French is the official language. To demonstrate this, I added “le” before coconut and went on to write a long explanation as to why. Really dry humor.
Jurassic Park or Tahiti? I don’t understand.
I play the drums with the boys. JK, I didn’t play drums. But I learned Tahitian dance.
Interacting with the locals of Moorea. This island is so laid back and the people are so friendly that I feel like I could live here (for the rest of my life?). This is also a photo from my first visit.
Let’s return to the present! This was one of the first things I saw when I got off the ferry from Papeete to Moorea. It takes only 45 minutes.
We visited an oyster farm and learned the behind the scenes of the business. After all, everything is very complicated.
Abe is a boy.
Abe is still a boy.
He was in his element throughout this trip. He doesn’t show in the photo, but he rowed me out of my room and onto this little man-made island. And they say chivalry is dead!
We were picked up from our hotel on Moorea Island and spent the day sightseeing on a private boat. The boat owner was kind enough to show us around and it was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. Not in the photo. A romantic lunch reminiscent of a “Bachelor” type setup, snorkeling with fish, and peeing in the ocean for the first time.
Le Honeymoon Suite. Just kidding.
It was my first time snorkeling in a coral garden, floating downstream along the current. It was one of m’life’s most epic underwater experiences simply due to the fact that there were so many fish. We tried to get this shot about 40 times and I’m still amazed that Abe didn’t get short on me. I kept bumping into coral and other objects and ended up scraping half my body, which was a bad idea.
Probably my favorite photo we took, but we only saw one fish.
While I was sunbathing, Mr. Abe was flying his drone. This is a common occurrence on this trip.
This was our first morning waking up in Moorea and I was so happy because I had been seriously talking to Mr. Abe about this island as my favorite place in Tahiti. The universe supported me with that.
Walking around the resort on a private island is a dream.
What looks like a photo of a cute couple is actually just a blogger showing Abe how to take pictures of her feet (mostly while lying on her back during a sit-up). 
Flying in a seaplane through a flash storm is, if I may say so myself, both an amazing and terrifying experience.
Probably my two favorite things in life. It’s a good companion to wine.
Mr. Abe rowed me towards the aforementioned artificial island. He then paddled back to shore to take this photo and finally paddled back to pick me up. Moral of the story: I should have worn a bathing suit.
The most carbohydrate-laden breakfast I’ve ever seen. This breakfast must have been the day before we arrived by canoe and decided to go vegan. Six months later, I’m still riding the V train! 
He insisted on paddling our glass kayak by himself. What a gentleman.
This was taken during one of my favorite moments of the trip as I rode my bike around Moorea Island, from daylight to sunset to darkness of night.
Bungalow.
The weather suddenly changed that day and it was pouring rain before we left the resort. We wanted to stay inside and watch Moana (we had started watching it the night before and passed out), but in the end the skies cleared and we were both so glad we went on this catamaran as it was the most magical way to end the week.
I still can’t believe I went in! Sharks and rays make me a little nervous, to say the least. I am grateful for the people and experiences that pushed me outside of my comfort zone.
A photo taken with Mr. Abe’s stylish GoPro.
Roadside vegetables.
Details of the “How to take photos for bloggers” series. He secretly loved it.
It ends with another of my favorite moments. It’s time to lie under the Milky Way and get a lesson on all things astro. follow me Instagram For more adventures!