One of the Leeward Islands of the Society Islands is Bora Bora. It has the honor of having the most gorgeous lagoons in the world with sapphire blue and turquoise waters. This lush and green island has two majestic peaks, Otemanu and Pahia. The surrounding string of motus or coral atoll is full of extravagant resorts, most of which have over-the-water bungalows. Think of "cha-ching" with $$$$$ to spend a vacation here.
The island is only 5.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide and is estimated to be 7 million years old. That makes it the oldest of the Society Islands. When we arrived, the temperature was 77 degrees with 80% humidity. The winds were 21.7 mph, and it was raining with very overcast and cloudy skies. Certainly not the type of weather that we had hoped for, but this is the beginning of the rainy season. The ship sailed through the Teavanui Pass and into the bay across from Vaitape. It would have been nice if the sun was out, but it was not. It reminded us of the many times we have visited Bora Bora in the past and found a near-perfect paradise.
The morning began onboard with the dreaded event of the toilets not working in our quadrant. In fact, it may have been more extensive because everyone we know at breakfast had the same problem. Lucky for us, ours started operating right before breakfast. Others were not so lucky. These things happen on every ship, even the newer ones. But they seem to occur more often on an older vessel such as the Zaandam and Volendam. They are both showing their age.
We stayed on the ship until most of the tour groups went off. The island discovery in Le Truck is one we have done more than once for 2.5 hours and $70. An easy one is the glass bottom boat for 1.5 hours and $100. A deluxe lagoon cruise was 2 hours for $160, while for the same price, there was a shark & ray snorkel for 3 hours. A longer tour for 5 hours was a catamaran cruise with sharks and rays and a BBQ picnic. A more expensive option was a jetski ride for 2.5 hours and $560.
We left the ship after 10pm when the open tenders were announced. It was a 10-minute easy ride to the pier. Going around to the parking lot, we searched for le trucks that are always here to transport guests to Matira Point and Beach, about a 5-mile ride south of Vaitape. There were none to be seen, not even taxis. Other folks were also looking for the $ 5 shuttle ride so we waited. Within 10 minutes, vans and shuttles began arriving. We took a van with six other crew members from the ship. It is always a scenic ride, but there sure seemed to be a lot of traffic for a Wednesday morning. We tend to forget that over 10,000 people live and work here.
The shuttle passed by the new Bloody Mary's Resort which has been being built for the last couple of years. The old restaurant is still intact but is being re-modeled. Friends we know went there for lunch today, dining on the inside of their new hotel. They reported it was wonderful especially sitting in a room over the water. The restaurant across the street where the old one was located will be finished before the end of this year. Or so they say.
We got out of the van at Matira Beach and strolled in the surf to the park area of Matira Beach, where we watched a local family waist-high in the water with a sting ray headed their way. The mom got good pictures of it as it swam towards the shoreline. A small dive boat pulled up near them and stopped. We are not sure if they were letting the snorkelers off here. Then we wandered off to the Intercontinental Resort. For the first time ever, we saw a sign posted at the entrance to the lobby saying for guests only. That was not our destination anyway. It was another ½ mile up the road to the Maitai Resort where we were the first to enter their open-air dining venue. Of course, we ordered two Hinano draft beers with a chorizo pizza to share. It was great sitting there enjoying the scenery, but the best part of lunch was the dessert of profiteroles once again. Hotel guests were beginning to come from their over-the-water bungalows for lunch. One big dog who has been here for years, laid almost motionless in the sand or under the tables. Waiting for handouts we assume.
Time to move on, we went back to Matira and hopped on the waiting Le Truck for a ride back to the pier. We were back onboard after a quick tender ride by 2:30pm. However, one of us found a nice, seeded necklace in the hut before boarding the tender boat.
It was a perfect time to work online and try to stay ahead of the pictures and reports. Captain Thomas came on with his updates by 4:30pm saying we had 150 nautical miles to go to reach Papeete, Tahiti tomorrow. He expected the weather to be much the same and 8-foot swells. Tomorrow we might get some rain. The Zaandam left the lagoon by 6pm with not much in the way of a sunset. Just some color in the clouds.
Dinner time was good with different types of salads and mains of lamb chops. The theme was Casino Royale with activities in the Mix Bar at 8:30pm. They advertised table games and a chance to win great prizes. The songstress Anita Newby was in the World Stage this evening. Her tunes included ones from the movies.
Bill & Mary Ann
PS We are backed up a few days but are trying to catch up. Stay tuned.....
