Bora Bora

Crew kindly took our picture on the Bow Sprit

Bora Bora is a name most of us know therefore, I think we assume it is a good sized place.  Um not really, but it does have an airport and a couple of towns and some luxury resorts with over the water bungalows.   The US military was here in World War II and made significant changes that have had a lasting impact on the island.  Some of the lasting changes are:  name recognition, the airport runway, roads, the largest opening for a lagoon in the islands, the 8 inch canons still here on mountains, bunkers on mountains are still here too and a few blue eyed children.  We really enjoyed our time in Bora Bora.  The first week we did a jeep 4X4 tour of the island and the second week we did a snorkeling and cultural tour.  Plus there was another Motu we could enjoy during the day and had a feast and fire dancing at in the evening.

Our first tour the 4X4 was a jeep ride up into the mountains 3 different times.  After the first trip up the roads got bumpier, but it was fun and oh the views!  The different colors of the water below is amazing.  

The second trip up the mountain took us to a couple of the WWII canons.  We saw a spot where one had been and then we visited one of the remaining canons.  Nearby was a bunker that had originally been for ammo storage.  The islands never saw any conflict during the war.  The military had chosen this island because it had a single defensible opening to the lagoon, but they had to bomb some of the coral to make it big enough for military ships.  They wanted ships in the lagoon because with only one way in there was a level of protection.  The canons provided yet another level of defense.  

Our third and final trip up the mountain took us to a small art studio where they made hand painted pareos. I got one - I wanted one as a new swimsuit coverup. it has the mountains and flowers painted on it. Almost forgot, on our way back to the ship on the final stop, we passed a Home Depot. Yep they really are everywhere! 😉

The event at the Motu that evening was quite nice.  They had a big buffet set up under a palm covered pavilion and we ate on tablecloth covered picnic tables.  After dark the entertainment started.  First we had a dance troupe of mainly women performing a variety of local dances somewhat similar to a hula.  Then the male contingent took over.  I can't say men because one was a young boy.  There were flaming sticks that were twirled like batons and tossed amongst themselves, they climbed like cheerleaders on each other while twirling the fire sticks.  They showed no fear and great confidence.  It was quite impressive.  Then it was back to our ship by way of the catamarans they had rented for us.  The nighttime view was pretty especially with our ship and its sails all lit up.

Oh this is the island for SHOPPING too.  There were pearl stores everywhere (well everywhere for a small place).  You had your choice of high end shops or the stalls run by locals.  There were some nice souvenir shops too.  You could find some unique clothing, artwork or some home goods too.  I explored most of the town we were in (Vaitape) and bought a couple of little things.  For myself I ended up in the "Mama's Market" which was right at the pier where tenders from our ship dropped us off.  It was a nice sized kind of open air market with local artisans selling pearl jewelry and clothing, etc.  I got myself an inexpensive (ok cheap) necklace here.  The pearls they were selling may not last as long since they are not up to the standards required by the government for export.  I was okay with that so for $20 I got a necklace and a ponytail tie with a shell flower on it.  I was content.  Many people bought nice pearls here - you could buy them in a setting already or loose so you could do something of your own design with them later.

The first week our friends had gone on an excursion that had 3 snorkeling stops and a luncheon with local food and crafts and had loved it so we did it on our second week.  It was a very good excursion.  Unfortunately for us the weather did not hold up the whole day.  First stop on the snorkeling part was a shallow area with stingrays.  Shallow as in I could stand up in the water.  The stingrays were cool!  They were friendly.  I even had one swim in between my feet on the ocean floor.  Touched a couple too.  

Then back in the boat to go to the sharks.  Yes we were willingly heading to sharks.  When we got there Jeff was the first one off the boat I was the 3rd - with snorkel on correctly, fins and a life jacket on.  So these sharks are nothing like the ones here in Alabama.  They have a yellow fin, are not very big and came across as harmless.  After some conversation, it was pointed out that inside the lagoon (coral breakers) they tend to be smaller and can get bigger out in the ocean.  I enjoyed being with them and never worried.  Okay back in the boat for the third and final stop.  

This was a coral garden with the possibility of seeing an eel and maybe a blue clam.  We saw all three.  Unfortunately, everyone else was there too today.  People were literally swimming on top of each other at times to see things like the eel.  Still, it was a good stop.  I started to head back to our boat when a school of small colorful fish swam right past me (I was in the middle of the school).  I laughed and instead of going back to the boat kept snorkeling till it was time to go.

As we were starting off to our luncheon on the Motu it started to rain which meant that by the time we got there we were all cold.  We were bundled up in towels but being wet meant  we got the towels wet.  We saw a couple of the luxury resorts on our way to the Motu.  We got there and headed for places out of the wind.  The meal was nice, but I was a little disappointed because our friends had said how fun it was to sit in the water at a table and have the sharks and fishes swimming around your feet as you ate.  Now the tables were there, I just had no desire to be out in the rain so under cover was where I ate.  After lunch, it was time for some demonstrations for us - how to open a coconut without a knife - look for the eyes and the face.  How to tie a pareo.  I appreciated the last one because I used that knowledge to wear one of the pareos they also gave me there to the special dinner and fire dancing that night.  

After that it was time to head back to our ship.  Um yeah we were all still a little damp and an open air boat meant we got back to the ship cold and damp.  Let me tell you the hot chocolate at the coffee shop onboard was wonderful!

At the feast that night, I proudly wore one of my pareos and again enjoyed the show.  This time on our way back to the ship the catamaran turned down its lights so we could all enjoy the incredible stars that were above us.  

The next day a quick trip into town to pick up a present for a friend and then to the Motu for a day at the beach.  What a day it was!!  We snorkeled, kayaked, floated and stand up paddle boarded.  While snorkeling we saw a little eel in the coral and lots of colorful fish.  I really like the neon blue little guys.  The boat had brought their kayaks and stand up paddle boards over and we put them to use.  There was a lot of coral on one side of the Motu and we kayaked around them slowly so we could look down at the fish.  We both did stand up paddle boarding.  Jeff is pretty accomplished now.  I got up and did some too.  I thought they had held the board for me again only to learn from Jeff that no I had done it on my own!  I did not stay up long though - I had heard it is a good core workout well my thighs were killing me!  I was digging my feet into the board which may have been part of the problem. It was a good day.

A Catamaran was used to ferry the ships passengers to feast

Taha'a

Taha'a is a small agricultural island and is known as the vanilla island since most of French Polynesia's vanilla is grown here.  The ship was moored in such a way that we were also close to Motu Mahaea a VERY small island that Windstar owns so we could also experience a private beach and a barbecue.

Since it is the vanilla island, one of our excursions included a tour of a vanilla plantation.  I knew vanilla had beans, but I have to confess they looked completely different than I expected.  I thought something like a lima bean when in fact they look more like big green beans!  Vanilla is a very hands on plant to grow.  It has to be protected and it has to be manually pollinated.  Uh yeah you read that correctly each flower has to be pollinated by a human being.  The French spread vanilla around the world as they explored.  They planted the usual variety in Tahiti, but the climate was not quite right so the plant adapted to the local climate and thus the variety in Tahiti is only found in Tahiti.  It is different from the vanilla you get in the Caribbean or elsewhere.

The first week we did an excursion that combined a tour of the vanilla plantation with some snorkeling.  While the vanilla plantation seemed small to me, it was actually a pretty good sized one because they had racks where they dried the beans for other growers too.  We had a presentation under a tent and then we walked around some and just like Disneyland ended up in a little shop.  I bought some dried vanilla and a small packet of beans.  

Carol and Kathy checking out the drying vanilla beans

Then it was time to snorkel.  Since I had not snorkeled in a few years, I had practiced at the pool before we left so I felt confident I knew what I was doing - um no.  I put my equipment on and got in the water and was having some problems so took a life vest to hold on to as I tried to swim around.  With my blessings, Jeff had already gotten in the water.  We passed a few times, but it was not till our guide decided he was going to get me out to some coral did anyone realize I had the snorkel on wrong which was a big part of my struggles.  Let's just say it is not easy to try and change the side of your head the snorkel is on while wearing it.  I saw the coral and pretty much said I had enough and went back to the boat.  Shortly thereafter it started to rain - not a drizzle.  Guide struggled to get everyone back on the boat so he could take us back to the ship.  Guess who was the last one to get back aboard - Jeff of course.  The rain lasted long enough that there was no lunch on the island, but it did clear up enough in the afternoon to go to the motu so Jeff and I did and hung out for awhile.

The second week it rained hard in the morning and again lunch was on the ship.  This time it cleared up early enough in the day that the Motu was the place to go - hey we had all been cooped up all morning!  We actually had to take numbers to get on the tenders to go to the island there were so many of us wanting to go.  The afternoon was great.  I practiced snorkeling and got to see some fish.  I also successfully paddle boarded.  I had tried a couple of years ago in Panama but had never got past my knees.  This time I stood up - full disclosure a crew member held the board steady while I stood up and then off I went.  It was a good afternoon.  Back to the ship so we could head off to Bora Bora for a 2 day stay!

Enjoying the beach with a mai tai in hand

Off to our next Island

Raitea

Raiatea is an important island to the French Polynesians.  It is believed to be the first island settled by their forbearers believed to be the people of Samoa.  It is considered the spiritual center of the Polynesian Triangle of island exploration.  Historians believe that the exploration of Hawaii was planned from this island.  Today only 12,000 people live on it although size wise it is one of the larger islands.  The island is not popular with tourists, because it does not have beaches which is probably also why it has a small population.  Although it does have quite a few black pearl farms.

Our first week we kayaked the Fa'aroa river and the second week we toured the town of Uturoa where our ship was moored.  I always have mixed feelings toward kayaking.  I want to do it and sometimes I really enjoy it and sometimes I am just uncomfortable in that small of a boat.  This trip was a little bit of both.  We had 2 tour guides for our small group.  We were driven to the mouth of the river where we got our kayaks and gear and headed upstream.  It started out nice and wide (well not Mississippi River wide but a nice size) then as we got further upstream it got narrower.  One of the other excursions was a motorized boatride up the river which some friends chose so we all pulled over and waved as they passed us by.  Amazingly a common danger in the islands is falling coconuts - seems they can kill you so our guides were constantly pointing out trees to stay away from - guess a dead guest is bad for business.  One of the amazing and pretty things to me was all of the wild hibiscus trees there were along the way - the flowers were one color the day they bloomed and then faded to another a day or so later.  Having struggled to keep a couple of hibiscus trees going back in St Louis for years I really appreciated the size of these wild ones.  Our guide pointed out land crabs along the bank of the river.  Not sure how to describe except to say they are not edible, make huge holes in the ground and are everywhere once you know what to look for.  We paddled up river past a botanical garden and heard locals enjoying their week end (it was a Saturday).  Then it started to feel kind of junglelike as the river got narrow - watching the kayak in front of you so you could navigate the best path - as the front person I can assure you I did not appreciate it when I ended up in the middle of a tree branch a couple of times!  Then it was time to head back which meant going back to the mouth of the river at the bay.  One of our group was an experienced paddler and he had predicted it could be a challenge to get back all the way across to our landing spot.  He was correct.  When you got to the mouth you could no longer just go with the current you had to cross it and a wind had picked up.  Yeah at the END of the kayak tour.  We all did it, but you earned your lunch at that part of the tour!

Jeff and I chose to forego any tours the second week because we wanted to wander around the town of Uturoa.  We had not really been able to do that the first week because it was a Saturday and the town pretty much closed down at lunchtime and our tour had been in the morning.  Matter of fact all but one of the tour options were in the morning.  So, on week 2 we checked the town out.  We wandered into a little local grocery store and Jeff bought a bottle of a local beer Hinano in an amber.  The ship had some of the pale ale version onboard but not the amber.  He had tried to buy some the first week only to discover that because of a covid restriction no alcohol was sold after noon.  We wandered around and saw a very nice town hall/civic area and some other small shops and of course checked out the boats in the local marina!  

One other important thing to note about Raitea is that it is home to a very rare flower.  In fact if you pick it and get caught it carries a $10,000 fine.  The flower is white and has petals on only 1 side it is called the tiare apetahi.  I got a tee shirt with a drawing of it on it in one of the stores we visited.

Back on board the ship, in the afternoon they had some locals come on board and perform for us.  They sang local traditional songs, made wearable floral arrangements (think wrists and hair) and taught us many ways to tie and wear a pareo.  I got a kick out of the lady's  saying - short for day and long for night when describing the different styles.  The evening ended with a barbeque and line dancing by the crew.  Now remember this is a small ship  so when I say crew I mean my cabin steward was up there, the receptionist, someone from the spa, etc.  I do not mean professional entertainers.  It was a fun evening.

On to Motu Mahaea, Taha'a.

Island of Moorea

The island of Moorea was our first stop. You can see Moorea from Tahiti even so it took us all night to sail to our anchorage in Cook's Bay. Most of the stops/ports on this cruise were in the middle of a bay or lagoon so you could walk outside on the top deck of the ship and see land on 3 sides with open water on the fourth. Moorea is a heart shaped island with 2 bays. The one we were in is named for Captain James Cook who came to this island several times. The other bay is called Opunohu Bay. Moorea is now the pineapple growing center of French Polynesia. 

the clearing is a pineapple plantation

On our first week, Jeff and I selected different excursions; he would go on the Snorkel Safari and I would go on the Island Tour with Belvedere Lookout. These were our first excursions in the world of Covid so we weren't totally sure how everything would work - would we have our masks on constantly, would the guide wear a mask, how packed in would we be? Guides tended to take masks on and off a lot and usually if they were talking the mask was off so you had a fighting chance of understanding them! Although most of my guides spoke very good English. There were fewer people in a van/boat/jeep then normal and if we were in fresh air, we tended not to wear masks. 

The island tour took us to UC Berkeley Gump Research Station, to Belvedier Point, past a pineapple plantation, to a marae, a new national park, and a couple of bays. UC Berkeley Research Station was our first stop. It is not an impressive looking spot, but then you learn what they are up to there and you end up impressed. It is a group of 1 and 2 story buildings and a couple of covered areas like a picnic pavilion. Oh, but the details. The 2-story building is a dormitory that welcomes researchers from around the world. They can come here with just a suitcase of clothes and everything else they will need is there from scuba to lab equipment. Additionally, this island paradise is a study abroad opportunity for UC Berkeley students and in fact we saw a group. Between the students and the researchers there this island is one of the most studied marine spots in the world. It was here that I learned how their white sand beaches were formed - it is not sea shells but coral. Fish try to eat plants, etc. off the coral and gets some coral which their bodies cannot process so it is excreted.

our guide at UC Berkeley Gump Research Station

After leaving the research station, we went to what will become their first national park.  It has been donated to the government and will have some great hikes in the future.  Currently its claim to fame is that it is the site that was used for Bali Hi in the movie South Pacific. 

Bali Ha'i

From there we would journey up to Belvedere Point which is one of the highest spots on the island and we would be able to see both bays from the lookout point.

My pictures from Belvedere Point.  While I could see both bays at once, I could not get them in my camera at once!  Also took another picture of the surrounding mountains.

Cook's Bay - our ship has the masts and the other is a yacht

Opunohu Bay

The mountain I saw was Mount Totui.  It is in the picture below.

Snorkel Safari

Scott and I traveled in a covered outboard boat within the lagoon to our first destination.  The water is very smooth due to the coral barrier protecting the lagoon.  A couple tour boats were already there, but it wasn't crowded.   You could easily see the sandy bottom from the boat.  Once you're in the water you see the Sting Rays in small groups ~10 feet away.   However, when your tour guide enters the water they immediately come closer as they know he has food.  The Rays know where to get a free meal.  These Rays use their mouth to suck on food, so the guides joke about getting hickeys as they are mouthing to get the fish.  This is your chance to pet/touch the rays.  The skin is both smooth, but also gritty in places.   If the tail with the barb gets too close the guide would gently point it in another direction.   

The Sharks stay at least 10' away and closer to the deep channel next to the sand bar we are at.   They are about 4-'5 feet long and are not interested in us at all.  I'm not sure why they are there as I didn't observe the guides feeding them, nor any tourists losing any limbs.   

Our next stop was a shallow coral reef with exotic fish.   The water was so clear I had difficulty judging the depth as I didn't want to touch the coral.   I extended my hand to assure myself that I wasn't going to end up with a cut or damage the coral.   Most of the fish were quite small and look like what you would see in a salt water aquarium.   

For our second visit to Moorea, we planned on hanging out on the ship and using the swim deck.  Turned out to be an excellent plan because it rained almost all day and all tours were canceled.  In the morning, Jeff and I hung out in the back of the ship in a small open air covered area (outdoor bar area) reading and watching the rain come and go likewise the ship was twisting and bobbing slightly so we would see different sailboats at different times.  The plus side for the day was they played a movie in the afternoon in the lounge.  We watched "Couples Retreat" which was filmed in Bora Bora.  Being a popcorn lover, I had wanted to taste their room service popcorn, but they only offer it after 10pm so I had not gotten the chance.  Guess what they served during the movie - yum!  Jeff and I had planned on eating dinner that night outdoors on the top deck with another couple but the rain continued and as we left the protection of the coral reef we discovered stormy waters so we had room service instead.  You see it was a serious storm out in the open waters as in 8-9 feet westerly swells.  Jeff made it up to the lounge to the hear the talk for the next day - I decided against and decided I was better off staying in our nice low middle of the ship cabin.  I also quickly closed the curtains when the waves were covering our porthole.  Some things are better not seen!  We ordered a light dinner, ate in the room and watched a movie.  Jeff was fine and I was ok thanks to motion sickness meds, but was glad it was projected to end in the early morning!  On to Raitea for an overnight stay - guaranteed smooth sleeping there!