Bora Bora

Wed. Nov. 11

We found heaven on earth...Bora Bora was spectacular. The sun was shining and the lagoon was 5 different shades of blue and green. We wish our pics of Moorea could have been in sunshine as it was much more dramatic in topography than Bora Bora, but the lagoon in Moorea isn't as grand as the one in Bora Bora.

Our catamaran tour was in the afternoon and provided optimum lighting for our pics. We tendered ashore about 10:30 am to do some shopping and browsing and were on the sailboat by 12:15. There were about 30 people onboard and three crew (very young) who catered to our every need. When we anchored for an hour to swim and snorkel, they helped us on and off the boat, told us where we could stand and where the water was 6 feet. Joe used a life jacket as he felt more secure in water where he he could not touch. The coral below us was scarce and in clumps so you could easily see it when walking on the bottom. The crew kept checking on the swimmers in jackets and assisted the people to get back to and in the boat. They served rum drinks and fresh pineapple, bananas and fresh coconut. They also entertained us with song and the ukelele. Just an awesome experience.
When we returned to the ship, we went back to the cabin with sandwiches and sat looking at Mt. Otemanu from our balcony. The ship moored in the most picturesque part of Bora Bora. We also had front row seats in Moorea's harbor.
We stayed on the balcony as the ship sailed out of the harbor and got some of our best pics as we departed. Thank goodness for gigabytes as I would have never had enough film. I just clicked and clicked. As we cleared the inlet, we were greeted by a bunch of dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the ship. We got it on video. What an ending to a wonderful visit.