Entering Paradise Lost

After five days at sea this sight was welcomed today…Bora Bora

Slowly we headed closer to the island (s). Today we will explore the coast of Bora Bora, tomorrow we head to Moorea,and the next day Tahiti. French Polynesia

At its best..just looking at the island in the distance makes you realize how, after sailing for days, the crew of the Bounty would think they had made it to paradise and didn’t want to leave. As we get closer and closer the blue of the water intensive then turns a beautiful aqua turquoise   

 

Our day started with a tender ride to port. After seeing the barrier reef and the rocky formations above the water,I can only imagine what’s under! 

The tour we are going on today is a cruse around the island of Bora Bora

And we have liquid sunshine for our tour. ( this is taken while on the tender heading into port)

No matter, Ive told people that since we are from Tucson, we dance in the rain and will embrace it!

Our rigger for the cruise

Our captain

Smiling on the boat! Then the rain came back and we stayed smiling..

The boats all pulled up in a ring around this guide who was making sure we all saw the sting ray. This area of the lagoon is frequented by the rays. We also saw black tip sharks in the water. This variety of shark is not really interested in biting humans. 

Aqua blue water we are siting inside the caldera of a long extinct volcano that forms the lagoon. Because the water is shallow, there were various colors of beautiful shades of turquoise blues. 

Look at the water! And the three bedroom thatched hut!

These are the huts perched over the water that all the travel brochures show. These belong to the Conrad brand.. an upper level of Hilton hotels.  These rooms were quoted to us anywhere from 800 to 1600 per night, with the three bedroom one that President Obama stayed in at 8000 per night.  Think Ill have to skip this romantic spot for this year!

The blues of the water were just breathtaking and the colors will stay with me forever.

The more it rained, the less clothes the guide wore… (this picture is for all my lady friends) He also played a ukulele and sang us a lovely song..oh and he could steer the boat with his foot! This guy had talent!!

After a fast hour and a half, we headed back to dock and decided to walk around the town. Bora Bora only has 10,000 people on the islands and very little services. We managed to head into the only grocery store and looked around to see what kind of products they carried. The hit item was loaves of French bread .. the people were carrying five at a time under their arms to check out.. you could see the French influence! 

The only road on the island. It circles the island but does not go into the interior.

The only Catholic Church on the island. It was Sunday but we were to late to get inside. 

Look close and see the land crab hiding in the roses around the church! It scurried along as we tried to get a better picture. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables for sale along the road

The Anglican Church

Bora Bora continues to be a sleepy little beach town in a beautiful place.  Everyone we met were kind and friendly. They depend mostly on tourism and very little else for their economy.  We were happy we got to visit and can see why  Bora Bora is considered the most beautiful place in the world. Even on a rainy day!!!