An excerpt from the Princess Patter:
For many there are few places, if any, in the world whose natural beautyf surpasses Bora Bora. Here nature painted a perfect masterpiece of deep green volcanic peaks edged by a ribbon of reef and magnificent whie-sandy beaches. A small island, Toopua and the islet Toopua Iti proudly stands guard nearby. All of this majesty rises from a spectacular lagoon of jewel-kike hues ranging from deep amethyst to light turquoise. Life here centres around the three main villages: Vaitape, Anau and Faanui. Music and dance are an integral part of this life, and the children are taught traditional Tahitian dance from primary school on. Stone fishing is another island specialty, although this ancient custom is now performed more as a ritual than to actually catch fish.
bacon, eggs & toast
After breakfast, I took the tender to the shore of...BORA BORA. Yes, that’s right. I stepped foot on the island that I’ve always seen in travel shows and prematurely decided that it would one day be my honeymoon destination, should that day ever arrive. It really was not what I expected, but I could see that I was only seeing a small portion of its beauty during my brief visit.
With Brad 1 and Brad 2 with me, we set out to look for some bikes to hire to ride around the island but we couldn’t find any. We walked in the direction that we were shown to try to rent some from a hotel, but after walking for about half an hour with no hotel in sight, we turned around and headed back to the port. Sadly, not before Brad 2 spotted the disgusting sight below.
*Not for those with weak stomachs*
Back at the port, we ran into Noel and Fleurette and together we took a taxi to the Hotel Novotel to see if we could get bikes there. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, there wasn’t much time left since Noel, Fleurette and I had to be back at the port for our tour at 1pm. So we just spent what little time we had at the beach amongst the hotel’s guests. Just taking in the view and feeling envious of the wealthy Europeans who were lounging around.
For our tour, we were taken by boat out into the ocean and travelled across the water to where a few other boats were anchored.
We had to step across to these boats for our Aqua Safari Helmet Tour. We weren’t sure what to expect for this. All we knew was that we were walking along the bottom of the ocean wearing nothing but a helmet to breathe. I was keen to do this tour since it sounded like the closest I was going to get to scuba diving.I am kicking myself that I didn’t take an underwater camera with me. We were each lowered into the water and the heavy helmet placed onto our heads. The weight of the helmet alone was enough to cause us to sink to the bottom of the 10foot deep water. I was feeling extremely anxious at this point but incredibly excited! As soon as I was submerged in the water, I saw fish coming at me from all directions to nibble on the chunk of bread the divers had attached to my helmet. I actually began shrieking out loud inside my helmet, but soon stopped and calmed down and enjoyed walking around on the ocean floor immensely. The water was so clear so visibility was great. I saw many different types of fish, including clownfish, a stingray, crabs, clams and even a barracuda that one of the divers fed while we kneeled low in the sand and watched, holding our breaths should it lunge for one of us.
These are a few photos I’ve just copied from a website so that you get the idea of what we did.
I have to say, that was one of the best experiences of my life. I definitely recommend it and I would not hesitate to do it again if ever I were given the opportunity.
After our tour, we were taken by boat back to the island and then driven by van back to the port, where we caught the next tender back to the ship. We were famished after our day’s adventure.
cheeseburger, fries, salad, soup & jelly
I would definitely love to return to this island one day. But I think I have changed my mind about it being the destination for my honeymoon. Moorea now holds that honour.
Having had a late lunch, I wasn’t hungry enough to have a main course so I simply ordered a salad, which I could barely finish anyway. I could barely keep my eyes open, so I had to have a coffee.
After dinner, I met with my trivia friends to participate in Brad Stevens’ musical trivia. We came a very close second place!!
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