French Polynesia Day 4 - Tahiti to Moore'a
August 21, 2025
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We packed our stuff up, left Puna'auai, and headed to the ferry terminal in Papeete. Once we got the car onto the ferry we were on our way to the Island of Moore'a, about an hour or so trip by ferry.
We drove from the ferry in Vai'are clockwise around the island to our hotel at Moore'a Sunset Beach on the northwest part of the island.
O...
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French Polynesia Day 3 - Tahiti - Arahurahu Marae, Maruavana’a waterfall, and Papehue Beach
August 20, 2025
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We headed from the condo in Puna’auia south towards the Arahurahu Marae, an ancient cultural and religious site of the original Polynesians (Ma'ohi), before the arrival of the Europeans. Very Cool.
We continued down the coast and stopped at some cool caves (Grottes de Mara’a)
And we had a quick picnic/snack on the water, because t...
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French Polynesia Day 2 - North Tahiti, Faarumai and Pointe Venus
August 19, 2025
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We woke up to the sounds of the ocean at our Airbnb in Puna'auia. Jay and I had a quick catch on the beach before we headed out. (Yes, we brought our baseball gloves).
We headed out to the Faarumai waterfalls, a 40 minute drive along the northern part of the island. We stopped a few times along the way to admire the coastline.
Arriving at Faa...
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French Polynesia Day 1 - Papeete and Pointe de Venus
August 18, 2025
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After a 9 hour red-eye from Seattle, we landed in Papeete, Tahiti about 4am local time.
After picking up the rental car we drove straight to our Airbnb in Puna'auia (poo-na-way-uh) for a couple hours of sleep. Then we headed back to Papeete for lunch and exploration. We walked around the center of town and explored the Marché (City Market) where...
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Day 13 - Heading home
August 27, 2021
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Our last day in Iceland. We spent the morning packing up our things and getting ready for the airport and the flight. We made one last stop at Brauð & Co for Icelandic pastries (my favorite was the vinarbraud), and stopped to check out the amazing architecture of the Reykjavik Symphony Hall,
before driving to drop off the rental car and head to...
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Day 12 - Snaefellsnes Peninsula
August 26, 2021
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After a stormy night, we woke up to some glorious weather at Kirkjufell Guesthouse, with a view of several waterfalls from the window.
After packing up and self-administering rapid COVID tests (required for plane travel the following day), we began our day of exploring the Snaefellsnes Peninsula by heading towards the nearby Kirkjufell mountain...
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Day 11 - Northwest Iceland
August 25, 2021
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We took it easy in Northwest Iceland, pretty much just driving and soaking in the scenery as we drove southwest. The Icelandic horses are everywhere in this region, roaming wide swaths of (their owner's) land, We stopped on a remote dirt road and watched this group of horses frolick (and mate) and graze for a while.
We went out to this remote ch...
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Day 10 - Goðafoss and Tröllaskagi in Northwest Iceland
August 24, 2021
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Woke up at Guesthouse Stong,
ate breakfast,
and headed East on the Ring Road. We stopped at the beautiful Goðafoss, a U-shaped waterfall of the Skjálfandafljót river.
By this time the kids were getting pretty tired of waterfalls.
They had to wait while I flew my drone around.
We continued east through the city of Akurey...
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Day 9 - Lake Mývatn and Northern Iceland
August 23, 2021
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We stayed at a small cottage at Guesthouse Stong near Lake Mývatn.
We headed north to the town of Husavik, a small fishing town well known for whale watching.
We were hoping to see some humpbacks, blue whales, and orcas, but struck out. It turned out to be a pricey boat ride, albeit with beautiful coastal scenery.
We saw some bottlenose wh...
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Day 8 - Fjords and Studlagil Canyon
August 22, 2021
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We woke up in Breiðdalsvík in the east fjords, and set off on an insanely scenic drive along the coast of the fjords.
As usual, lots of beauty off the side of the road:
We made an early stop at a unique place called Petra's Stone Collection--thousands of people visit this home every year to see the rock collection garnered from the Iceland...
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Day 7 - Glaciers and Icebergs (Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Diamond Beach)
August 21, 2021
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We woke up at Guesthouse Gerdi with a beautiful view of the ocean.
We slightly backtracked to visit the Diamond Beach and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. Jökulsárlón is a large glacial lake at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier (a tongue of the massive Vatnajökull glacier). It has steadily developed into a lake over the last few decades as t...
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Day 6 p.2 - A grand canyon (Fjaðrárgljúfur)
August 20, 2021
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After lunch (probably hot dogs at a gas station), we headed to the beautiful, ancient, massive, Fjaðrárgljúfur river canyon, near the small town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The canyon is up to 100 m deep and 2 km long, with the river Fjaðrá running through it. The hike along the rim of the canyon was amazing, with each view changing as you turned a cor...
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Day 6 p.1 - Volcanic Beaches (Dyrholaey and Reynisfjara)
August 20, 2021
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We woke up in Vik and headed to the nearby black sand beaches of Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara. Dyrhólaey (which literally means "the hill island with the door hole"), includes beautiful grass and moss covered volcanic rock formations over black sand beaches. It was windy/chilly.
We kept ourselves warm hiking a picturesque trail along the cliffs....
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Day 5 - More Waterfalls
August 19, 2021
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The abundance of waterfalls in Iceland was truly astonishing. Simply driving form point A to point B may reveal dozens of waterfalls seen along the cliffs from the road. Two of the more famous waterfalls in South Iceland are off the ring road between Hvollsvollur and Vik, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss.
Seljalandsfoss is a 60 m tall waterfall off of...
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Day 4 - The Golden Circle (Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss)
August 18, 2021
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Woke up and headed out to do the Golden Circle, a popular group of attractions east of Reykjavik. At least half the enjoyment of visiting places in Iceland is the drive there. It's hard not to pull off the road to take a picture.
Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is the site on which the original Icelandic general assembly (Alþing) was established around 9...
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