Day 94 Bora Bora

Day 94 Bora Bora, Tahiti

Bright turquoise water, lazing the day away, protected lagoon edged by fine white sandy beaches, trade winds, beautiful island gem….

Set a 6am wake-up call, ate our continental breakfast on the balcony, we were ready and waiting in Jarmers at 7am with the rest of our tour group to be on the first tender into Bora Bora. Once there we walked the entire strip of shops by 8am! (not many). We waited with the rest of the group to meet the Lagoon Snorkelling Guide for the 9am appointment only to be disappointed to hear an exceptional high tide and strong winds caused all water activities on the island to be cancelled. Bummer; but we took the local bus to the famous Matira Beach to see if we could have a day swimming in the protected waters instead. A few brave (or foolish) people tried to swim but the waves and current (rip) were too dangerous to stay in the water for long. We had heard when we returned to the ship, someone had drowned today swimming in the waters.

We watched the surfers for over an hour then decided to catch a Le Truck to the Sofitel Coralia Marara Resort and pay the money to enjoy the hotel's facilities for the day. We swam in the horizon pool and appreciated the surroundings. The high tide flooded the beach and front bungalows overlooking the lagoon bringing a lot of natural debris with it. The water splashed up over the decking of the pool and the jetty going out to the little hut at the end. The decking around the pool started to break-up whilst we were there and the staff had to go out in a boat to retrieve the loose boards floating away in the lagoon.

This place is remote; we sailed 5 days from Hawaii to get here. I don't know how many connections someone would need to take to fly here, but it is the epitome of the Pacific Dream, Bora Bora is a Garden of Eden, so beautiful it is hard to believe the reef-fringed islands and translucent aqua lagoons exist. No wonder it is favourite honeymoon destination.

Both Papeete and Bora Bora had its generic dogs which seem to have the same parents. Locals seem to regard them with a casual nonchalance however the dogs appear to be good natured. I would have patted a couple of these friendly beings but they looked pretty mangy and goodness knows what parasites they harboured. It is common for the islanders to have fowls as pets, wandering free around the houses. Some of the roosters have the colourful red, orange and brown feathers. We were told they ate the many centipedes which live on the islands.