20 hours of sitting uncomfortably in slightly too small seats in a giant metal cylinder hurtling through the clouds at several hundred mph and the end is near! Orlando to Denver to Los Angeles to Rarotonga. The first leg primarily consisted of me dodging the breath of the “gentleman” in the adjacent seat. It was like someone was holding a fan behind a soiled baby’s diaper while aiming for my beak. The flights are a seesaw ride between downright boredom and outright fear as we hit air pockets and turbulence. We finally begin our descent and as we pop through the clouds we can see a green speck with an intense turquoise surrounding ring in the vast Pacific. We are met with frangipani and gardenia leis and champagne on our way to Sea Change Villas in Titikaveka. The driver tells us that our accommodation is all the way on the other side of the island- 20 minutes. Our villa is set back in a tropical garden with a view of the translucent lagoon in the front and a private pool and view of the mountains out the back. My nostrils have finally recovered.