Well we have arrived to the final group of islands of this legendary voyage like no other on earth…..French Polynesia. There are a total of 118 islands and 5 archipelagos situated in a surface maritime area of 5.5 million square kilometers. There are 280,000 inhabitants living in these islands and atolls.
The Society Islands is split into two groups – the Windward and the Leeward islands making them the largest group. The Tuamotu archipelago consists of the low islands and the atolls. The Gambier and the Australes are at the extreme south of French Polynesia. And finally, there are the Marquesas with 12 high islands without lagoons and much further north. Their currency is the Pacific French Franc, although some credit cards are widely accepted as are US dollars in most markets. The exchange rate is about 102 French Francs to the $1 USD. Bargaining is not in their culture. The official language is French, but many speak English as well. Good words to know: bonjour (hello), merci or mauruuru (thank you), and au revoir (goodbye). A woman is vahine and a man is tane…..good to keep in mind when searching for restrooms. If you ask for a tatau, you would be getting a tattoo. Tipping is not in their culture as well.
OK, so our first port of call was one of the most gorgeous one of all in our opinion….Bora Bora, located 170 miles from Tahiti. We were greeted with warm temps in the 80's, a humidity of 72% and a strong breeze of 18.3 mph, just enough to keep us comfortable. The pilot was dropped of at 6:30am in a small boat that bounced all over the place. When we entered the only pass into the lagoon at Teavanui, we could see a lagoon with shades of blue, turquoise, and sapphire surrounded by a reef that went on forever.
The island itself is 5.5 miles long and 2 ½ mile wide and is 32 kilometers around the base. The lagoon on the other hand is three times the size of the island. The atoll that surrounds the island is full of high end resorts and hotels and some of them have the over-the-water huts. They are accessed by ferry or boat, as there are no bridges connecting them to the island. The Le Bora Bora by Pearl Resorts starts at one end, followed by Four Seasons, St. Regis, The Westin Resort and Spa, and Intercontinental Resort Thalasso & Spa. Expect to part with some BIG bucks to spend a few days or a week here. And if you get bored, every resort has a vessel to bring you to the main village of Vaitape and back again. As well as shopping and dining, there are jet skis, e-bikes, cars to rent, canoeing and kayaking and paddle boarding. Not to mention many locals that offer snorkeling, helmet-diving, and shark/stingray boat rides with motu BBQ lunches. Been there – done that.
As the Zaandam headed for the spot to drop anchor, we could see the tallest peaks of Mount Otemanu at 2384 feet in elevation and Mt. Pahia at 2168 feet high. One of them looms over the main village of Vaitape, where the sheltered tender dock is located. There are about 10, 550 residents living on this lush island of coconuts, breadfruit, bananas, and mango trees to name a few. The tendering began at 8am during our breakfast starting with green tickets # 1-2-3 and 4. Both tender platforms were opened, and it seemed to go very well. As we usually do, we stayed onboard and left the ship around 10:15am when open tenders were announced. By then, they had called green tickets up to # 52. There was no line at all on deck A forward. Once again, they were not stuffing the boats with guests but leaving half full because there were several boats in the water. Nice.
Unfortunately for an elderly gentleman, there was an ambulance and attendants trying to get him onto a gurney on the pier. He must have had an accident or worse and was being transported to a hospital. Sometimes these things happen no matter how careful everyone is. Our destination was getting to the parking lot behind the craft market, and finding a ride to Matira Beach, about five miles down the road. It was well worth the $5 per person ride each way to sit in comfort and see the sights along the way.
We passed by the famous Bloody Mary's Bar and Restaurant, or should we say what's left of it. Last year it closed permanently and is now in the process of being remodeled completely. Besides a new restaurant, they have built another set of brand new bungalows over the water across the street from the old establishment. We had checked it out online to learn that it may open by late this year. But seeing what is left to do, that is not going to happen anytime that soon. We would find out more later at lunchtime.
The bus pulled over at Matira Point where we joined a lot of cruise passengers already there for the day of swimming, tanning, and sunburning. There is precious little shade and the white sands reflect the sun so much it was blinding. The beautiful shallow light blue waters were full of floating folks either snorkeling or swimming and keeping an eye out for those "moving" rocks that turn out to be sting rays. We looked for them but saw none today. In fact there were few birds like the terns or noddies.
The tide was up, so there was not a lot of packed sand to walk on. We went up to the large shaded palapa near the end of the beach where the restrooms are located and made our way to the Intercontinental Resort across the road. Entering their open-air lobby, we looked for the sign that advertised a day pass but saw none. Guess they do not need outsiders using their facilities and pool for the price of a meal. Walking the property we found it to be quite nice and complete with more over-the-water huts and bungalows surrounding a beautiful pool. But this was not our destination.
Continuing up the road, we went for at least a mile to the MaiTai Polynesia Resort, another nice option for staying here. They also have hillside huts as well as bungalows and some over-the -water rooms. They also have a very nice open-air restaurant that opened at noontime. They serve many items, but one of their specialties is pizza. How about that? We were first to be seated at a table with a view and a nice breeze overlooking the lagoon. An older resident dog chose us to plop down by our feet and refused to move for the waiters and waitress. Like many dogs here, he had a noticeable limp from crossing the road too many times we suspect.
The first thing we ordered were two draft Hinano beers – the big ones (50cl). Hinano has the best-tasting beer we think…..full of flavor, not sweet and ice cold. We added one Margherita pizza with extra mushrooms and onions on top. It was perfect. So was sitting in the strong breeze while watching the lagoon activity beyond the resort. Finally, we could not leave here without sharing a dessert of profiteroles – scoops of ice cream in puff pastries and piles of whipped cream in between the ice cream. All drizzled with a chocolate sauce. Diet? Not exactly, but oh so good.
We remembered the waiter, who might be part owner here from previous visits. We inquired about the progress of Bloody Mary's, and he told us he had worked there for 27 years, until Covid shut them down after 2020. He added that the new build will be done by July of 2026, and when it is completed, he intends to go back to work there. It will never be the same as it was in the 1960's, but we are sure they will save some of the memorabilia from the old restaurant and bar. Many famous actors, actresses, and political characters have made visits here over the years, and the plaques should be preserved.
It was time to go, like it or not, so we headed back to Matira Beach where a bus was just turning around to go back to Vaitape. Perfect. This time we got photos from the water side of the bus as well as the wonderful breeze. It always surprises us to talk to some guests that have had Bora Bora on their bucket list. One such lady was thrilled to have gone swimming in the lagoon and was in 7th heaven having done so. Then she was interested in buying black pearls when she got back to town. This would be one of the best places to do that in the guaranteed shops.
We did want to update the Kindle, but at the pier, they gave a QR code to unlock it. We did run it at the MaiTai but it did not go through as expected. We were back on the ship by 3pm, and relaxed and worked as we always do.
Dinnertime had some good items such as a seafood cocktail (the big shrimps are gone) and another bowl of custom chicken noodle soup. We each had a different salad followed by mains of Dutch meatballs and a Club Orange dish of roasted lamb. Both were fine. One scoop of vanilla ice cream with nuts and chocolate sauce, and a plate of pineapple finished the meal. The ship pulled the anchor before 8:30pm and headed out of the passage before 9pm. Totally dark now, all we saw were the town lights as they flashed by the ship.
There was entertainment this evening with Bruce Mathiske with Sizzling Strings (guitar). Rock, folk and world music was his thing. Moulin Rouge was also shown in the Wajang.
Tomorrow we will be in Raiatea, a short distance from Bora Bora.
Bill & Mary Ann
