We finally left Mo'orea after two nights. We tried hitching to the port, but eventually got a bus which stopped at a working ATM on the other side of the island. The catamaran took us back to Pape'ete, where we spent ages being mis-directed but eventually hailed 'le truck' and made it to the airport, to be greeted by the ubiquitous flying ants. We sat and waited on the - by now, all too familiar - wooden benches and listened to the Polynesian muzak (with renditions of Elvis and Dire Straits) blaring out of the giftshop ($50 for a cruddy fridge magnet anyone?). I got talking to a sunburnt French busker, who had strong views on rugby and liked German trance music. The good thing about Tahiti is that I got to speak French again.

As we waited and waited and then waited some more for our 2.35 flight (the plane comes from Auckland and stops in Fiji and Rarotonga), I reflected on Tahiti. I've been lucky to see some fabulous places on my trip and I try not to get blase, but I honestly think Tahiti is overrated. It's pretty and the climate is nice, but nothing can justify the prices. The pictures of Bora Bora look good, but I'd rather go to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. It seems that they rely on reputation here, one established by explorers and Bounty mutineers, then perpetuated by Paul Gaugin and others.

I had a long and frequently incoherent (on her part - and on second thoughts, probably mine too) conversation with a woman from Hawaii, who was in Tahiti for her mother's funeral. She had flown from Honolulu, stopping for 6 hours in LA, the day before, and hadn't slept for four days. She now faced the same journey in reverse, poor thing. I had to help her with the lock on her suitcase, as she said that her vision was blurred from crying and lack of sleep. Bizarrely, her case was filled with about 20 boxes of "Vache Qui Rit" cream cheese. She told me that I should go to Hawaii and that it was much better than Tahiti, although one of her reasons for this was that there are McDonalds in Hawaii. I can't say that I would ever consider going to a place because it has fast food chains, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and put it down to sleep deprivation.

The check-in was interminable thanks to all the security checks before entering "Fortress America." We were advised on the aeroplane not to congregate in groups near the toilets and had to undergo fingerprinting and mug-shots before being allowed into the country. I had a quick sleep in the comfortable settees in the departure lounge (why not in arrivals, where we had spent the best part of two nights?!) and boarded the plane.