Letters from the South Pacific • July 27, 2021
Even before the trip to Tahiti began, the COVID pandemic decided to add some drama to our trip. And all despite massive amounts of preparation on Stephen’s part. He’d done all the prep. work (we thought), including getting a COVID test 48 hours prior to departure. We selected the one that all the paperwork we’d received said was required to enter Tahiti. And so we left our hotel in Los Angeles early, intent on having a low stress check-in and overnight flight.
Everything was fine until we arrived at the Air Tahiti Nui gate to check in. While the agent was going through our paperwork, I noted that the young couple to our right was having trouble. They were being told they needed another test.
At about that same time, our agent informed us that the test we had taken was also not one that was acceptable. We argued back (in a nice way), and showed her the paperwork we’d received telling us which test to get. She spoke to her supervisor, but in the end, they told us we needed a different test. Argh. We, along with the other couple, had to get from the international terminal, to the LA bus, which took us to the place where you could get a taxi or uber or lyft, then took a taxi to the closest urgent care (Reliant) that offered immediate COVID tests of the kind Air Tahiti would accept. 
And all less than four hours before our flight. There, we were joined by yet more passengers in the sam boat as us, including one charming fellow on his way to Australia. We got our tests, waited for the results, got them, then called a lyft to take us back to the airport…at about the time another person who had taken the test got a positive result. 
Despite all the precautions, electronic viral killers, etc., they had to literally clear the place. Thankfully, we were already outside. The reverse trip was easier. Our lyft driver took us, in addition to the other couple, newlyweds from New Jersey, directly back to the international concourse, and we made our flight with time to spare.