2016_03_31 BORA BORA!

Late arrival today in Bora Bora will allow a bit of relaxation this morning.  However, it's all relative!

We should arrive in port around 10:00 this morning.  It's 6:30 now as I enter this into the blog.  Breakfast call is 8:45 in the main dining room and after that it's up for discussion.  The ladies really want to try and do some shopping as there has been no time or possibility of it on the smaller islands. There is probably more opportunity in Bora Bora as the main town of Vaitape is walking distance from the pier.

First look at Bora Bora this morning.

Getting closer!

A plane just landed at the airport in this image.

The group looks out from Rich's front balcony.

Here you can see the outlying motus, the edges of the atoll surrounding the mountains.  Click on the image to see it better.

Inside the Bora Bora Harbor.

Arrived into Bora Bora harbor this morning around 10:00.  Another LONG breakfast in the dining room fueled us for the day’s activities.

Some of us headed over to the pier in Viatape a bit earlier to do some shopping.  Arrived just in time for the rainfall to drive us indoors to a shopping area.  After a while some went back to gather rainwear and umbrellas.  Stopped at the buffet and had a bite to eat.

Returned to the dock with no rain!  I guess getting the ranger did the trick.  Met Patrick - the owner of Bora Bora 4 x 4 Adventures.  He passed us on to our truck where we met Rappa our driver and tour guide.  

Rappa telling us about the view below.

Pretty nice views from high above the Bora Bora Harbor.  Sun was a bit bright.  You can see our cruise ship (click image).

2 of their vehicles parked above the viewing area.  

Started out for a bit and headed up a STEEP narrow “road” to our first photo opportunity.  Pretty awesome views of the harbor with Oceana Marina in the background.  This company has 8 vehicles and they are all pretty much going to the same places at the same time so we had to jockey for parking.

View from inside heading down......

Rappa showing us breadfruit along the way.  We ate some of these yesterday at lunch.

Inside Bloody Mary's

Brother-in-law Mike would like this!  Apparently Jimmy Buffett played there.  Here's the news story the was in a display case outside.

Next on to Bloody Mary’s, a bar that a million stars have visited in the past.  Trip Advisor said it was basically a tourist trap so we had a quick look and headed on.  

One of the ripe mangos.

Richie Steingart eating a mango!  Juicy!

Stopped at a local beach and got out to stretch our legs and take a few images.  Headed onwards a bit and Rappa stopped to snare us some mangos from a tree along the road.  Delicious - we shared about 5 of them.

Saw a few luxury resorts along the way all with over the water bungalows.  Whet our appetite for our stay on Moorea in a few days at the Hilton!  Click on the image to see the bungalows better on the right side.

French Polynesia!

Rappa telling us about the guns and how the Polynesians love Americans.

Up another steep track to a place where a giant gun is still in place from 1942.  Rappa told us quite a bit about how appreciative the Polynesians are to America.  To stop the Japanese advance in the Pacific, Americans set up bases all along the eastern and southern edges of the original Japanese conquests.  We built an airbase on Bora Bora as well as the road that goes all around the island.  Power grids, hospitals and schools built because the 10,000 Army troops based on Bora Bora didn’t want to leave.  There were about 8 of these huge 150mm cannons in place but they were never used in battle because the Japanese never came there because of the American presence.  Wound up going all the way around the island returning to Viatape city center where we started.

View down the STEEP road from the cannons.  Doesn't do it justice. 

Freshly caught Mahi Mahi on the side of the road in Viatepe.

Protestant Church in town.  65% of Bora Bora's people are Protestants, 20% Catholic.  7,000 people inhabit Bora Bora.

A little bit of shopping for pearls - no takers, apparently the pearl farms on Fakarava were the best and least expensive place to buy them.  We were too busy on the day long snorkel trip to get to the pearl farms.  Rapper said Bora Bora was really expensive.  He also said to bring some beers for the workers on Raiatea after we leave Bora Bora.  He says that will get us some great deals!  We may have to try it!

Richie "Dr Blood" Steingart happy to be on the tender!

Local guys waiting for our boat tenders to head for the pier.  They "surfed" in the wakes from the tenders!

Back to the ship and a shower to get ready for our dinner tonight at Red Ginger Restaurant.  Rich Rediker is almost giddy with anticipation - finally the Asian restaurant.

We successfully got our waiter to speed us thru dinner (only an hour and a half) and we were able to see almost all of the Tama Nui Polynesian show in the Marina Lounge after dinner.  Local Polynesians sang and danced traditional songs.

2016_03_30 RANGIROA

All vestiges of stomach woes appear to be gone this morning!  We've been steaming towards Rangiroa all night and we have another all day non-private tour for more snorkeling in a couple of hours.  The cumulative effect of all the sun baked snorkeling is starting to become a bit of a worry.  Really have to protect yourself from the sun!  Hopefully there will be fins available again on this tour so I can get in the water and check out these reefs.

First look at Rangiroa

Early kayaker

Nice rainbow behind what looked to be a "working" ship with accommodations.

It keeps getting better!

Traditional Polynesian greeting at the pier

The group waiting to board one of those 2 boats.

Leaving the Oceana Marina in our wake

Headed for the pier this morning and met Leon and his mates from Pa’Ati Excursions.  Jumped in one  of two boats he is in charge of and headed across the atoll for an hour until we reached Ile Aux Recif’s.

  

First look at the lagoon.

Another postcard image.

Leon took us right to the beach edge where we jumped out and got our agenda.  We hiked a bit along the beach and turned into a lagoon.  Dropped off our bags and took our snorkel masks with us.  No flippers required.  This lagoon was very shallow and for the timid swimmers (me) it was great.  We swam around for about 20 minutes or so and go out.

Climbed up on the coral formations to see the surf pounding the beach.

Headed towards the edge of the atoll where we came up to a bunch of high walls of coral.  This was the protective barrier at the edge of the atoll.  

Two of the tour guys showed off diving from the top of the coral into a slightly deeper pool.  No takers from the tourists!  Lisa Claver shot this image.  Nice!

There were a million sea cucumbers around and the guides delighted in picking them up and making them squirt water out.  Of course I had to do it as well.  

Relaxed in the warm pools until we were able to head towards our lunch.  

Nice calm "swimming hole".

Rich and Richie hoisting their packs high to cross the lagoon.

Crossing the lagoon.

Walked across yet another lagoon in waist high water - maybe a bit higher for some of the shorter ones!  

Lunch!

At the other side we walked around the corner to an area where our lunch was being prepared.  Pretty tasty I must say.  Started with come coconut bread and then had raw tuna, cooked Mahi Mahi, grilled chicken, rice and a delicious coconut/banana cake for dessert.  Serenaded by Leon on guitar and one of the other guys on a ukulele like instrument.  Polynesian music and they could really play!

After lunch they cleaned up the wooden plates in the water at the beach and tossed some leftovers to a huge bunch of back finned sharks that congregate for their lunch!  They literally come up the the edge of the beach to get the scraps.  

Hard to see but  bunch of black finned sharks swimming around me in a circle.  Pretty cool!

Had to walk just this far to the boats.

Last look at the silly blues - the darker blue is where it got deeper.

Walked through the sharks to the boats - harmless and headed back the hour in reverse to near our cruise ship.  They went out into the ocean in some pretty impressive surf looking for dolphins but none were around.

 TONS of fish!  I didn't even see the black finned shark right in front of me until I was reviewing the images.

Pretty great coral as well.

One last closeup!

Finally went to “The aquarium” a fabulous snorkeling site in close proximity to the ship.  Astonishing amounts of his and pretty impressive corals as well.  No flippers on the boat but I was able to get around with a life jacket.  Probably was harder with the jacket but the water was pretty deep.  The security blanked helped.  I chanced my underwater camera again (it came back to life) and got some great shots until it stopped working completely.  Will take a look at it tomorrow after it dries out!

Back to the Oceana Marina for a shower in anticipation of another dinner in the Polo Grill.  Meat!

Our "formal" staircase image waiting for our "lost" dinner reservation to be filled.

Another fabulous day in paradise!  Ship set sail at 5:00 heading for our two day stop in Bora Bora.