Day Four Hundred and Forty

The Unforgiving Rays

After a week in sunny Moorea, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that maybe our skin had become slightly accustomed to the intense rays. Right? So, we decided to forgo sunscreen for just 10 minutes while we played catch on the beach, and once the old arms were worn out, we hopped in the pool and submerged ourselves completely. We might have stayed like this for 20 more minutes before retiring to the shaded beach chairs. 2 hours later, we discovered the terribly terribly poor decision we’d made. The sun here doesn’t care about your skin. And in 10 minutes, it will scorch you.

So hand-in-hand, we walked our lobster skin back to the bungalow and swore to each other that we’d never do that again. Without the sun to entertain us and suffering the brutal effects that accompany burned flesh, we sat outside in the shelter of the shade and read. And read. And read. Even Adam! I finished Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling…the hubby finished an even better book: Saturday Nothing by our sweet friend Josh Martin. It’s the first book Adam has finished in quite some time…so it MUST have been tremendous (and having read it myself, I would be the first to agree)! Hey Josh, how’d you like Moorea? Cuz it certainly liked you!

With a completely drained supply of aloe vera, we needed desperately to stock up. (Lesson learned: bring TWO containers of aloe next time).  Thankfully, that little store at the top of the hill is close and the walk is shaded by a decent amount of shrubbery. So, we donned our caps, our long sleeves, and walking shoes and headed for the green goo. This is what the inside of the little Albert Store looks like.

We’re seriously red. Whoops. But that aloe never felt so good.

Although burned and wishing to do anything else, we had an annoying obligation to pack, as it was our last night in Moorea. In the midst of the whirlwind of cleaning, this is what we turned our beautiful and peaceful bungalow into. A disaster. I again did laundry in the bathtub and rinsed the soap off in the shower. Adam strung a line for me outside to hang the clothes on…turns out the rope we brought for floating came in handy in more way than one!

Adam and I are going to miss this paradise. We had an unbelievable time and soaked in every ounce of peaceful rest we could. Our honeymoon was everything we needed to reconnect, relax, and reflet on our first year of marriage together. It was incredibly beautiful and the two of us loved learning more and more about each other in this most special setting. Even if that did include a night at a foreign hospital.