Hawaii / Tahiti 30 Day Cruise - Day 19 Bora Bora

Wednesday Day 19 – Bora Bora

We awoke to our first daylight view of Bora Bora and its beautiful blue and turquoise lagoon.  The Westerdam is anchored in Pofai Bay and we will be tendering to the town of Vaitape.  Novelist James Michener described Bora Bora as “the world’s most beautiful island” and it certainly lives up to that description.  The lush mountainous interior dropping down to the beautiful teal blue lagoon is beyond description, it certainly exceeded my visions of what Bora Bora would be.  Because of the mountainous interior, most of the inhabitants of Bora Bora live on the coast.  On Bora Bora the guide books say it’s all about the water.

Today, Nancy, one of our fellow roll call members, had arranged a three quarter day tour with snorkeling and lunch with a company called Patrick’s.  After meeting with our group and tendering to shore, we met with Patrick’s tour and were on the motorized outrigger and on our way.  We crossed the beautiful lagoon to our first snorkeling spot of the day where we would be swimming with the manta rays and sharks.  It was incredible snorkeling with rays gliding beside and under you, they looked like stealth bombers as the moved around in the water.  It was also exciting to be swimming besides sharks, although we were told they weren’t dangerous it made me a little nervous anyway.  Great snorkeling in the warm tropical waters with rays, sharks and many other colorful tropical fish.

A view of the Paul Gauguin and Westerdam from the tender boat on our way to shore.

We passed one of the many hotels with over the water 
bungalows on our way to our first snorkeling spot.

The guide on our boat.  A native Bora Borian, as well as a colorful character.

Val happily anticipating swimming with the rays and sharks.

The second boat on our tour.  Looks just like ours.

Dave snorkeling and taking photos with his GoPro.

Two manta rays.  One swimming over the other. 

Looks like a stealth bomber.

We think this fish is a gar fish, but we're not sure.

The sharks were beautiful, plentiful and friendly.

After getting our fill of rays and sharks, we were on our way to the next snorkeling spot.  This was in deeper water with more fish and coral reefs, and we ended up having a little adventure here.  Our guide told us we should probably wear our fins and we soon found out why.  After getting in the water we were enthralled by the fish and beautiful coral, but soon noticed that we were being pulled away from the ship pretty quickly so we decided we had better start back to the boat.  Val and I are both decent swimmers, but we struggled to make any headway against the current.  Everyone else was having the same problem and I was beginning to think we would just have to go with the current and get picked up by the boat.  When the guides noticed most of us in trouble they threw a rope out to swim to and we pulled ourselves to the boat.  The guides had to jump in and get one person, but we finally all made it back to the boat somewhat exhausted.  It’s too bad the current was so strong, because it was a beautiful spot to snorkel.  So that was our little adventure for the day.

We continued on around the island and our next stop was a beautiful little motu where we would have lunch, and what a lunch we had!  They had tables set up in the shallow water so you could sit in the water and eat your lunch, but we decided to sit at a table on land in the shade.  It was a Polynesian barbecue with a pig cooked in a pit, barbecued tuna, chicken, whole lobsters, taro, tapioca, breadfruit, pineapple, marinated raw fish and a few other things I can’t remember the names of.  In true Polynesian fashion our plates were palm fronds and we ate with our fingers, this was truly a delicious feast.  After lunch we had time to wander around the motu, wade or swim in the lagoon or just relax in the shade.  Definitely a slice of paradise.

We were serenaded by our guide as we headed to our lunch on a motu. 
 Notice he's steering the boat with his toes.

Our lunch sport for the day.

Fresh lobster on the grill.

Uncovering the cooking pit.

A roasted pig and side dishes for our lunch.

More lunch being prepared.

I was so hungry I didn't think of taking a picture until I'd eaten half my meal.  My ideal meal, good food, no dishes to wash and you get to eat with your fingers.

One way to stay cool while eating lunch.

Val and I in paradise.

Val and our guide (can't remember his name).

Patrick of Patrick's Tours.  Many locals have traditional tattoos.  
Ancient Polynesians had similar tattoos

After the lunch break we completed our circle of the island and were brought back to Vaitape and the tender dock.  The trip around the island was very interesting with the guide pointing out landmarks and telling interesting stories.  There were many beautiful looking hotels around the island with most having the inviting looking “over the water bungalows”. Val and I decided we had a pretty nice “over the water bungalow” on the ship. Our guide was fun and quite a character and added to the fun of the day. He was a Bora Borian and told us about his culture, as well as played his ukulele and sang to us as we sailed through the beautiful clear water.  This was truly a great day. Patrick’s tour had been highly recommended on both Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor and he certainly lived up to his reputation. 

On our way back to the Westerdam.  The red outrigger on our canoe 
provided a nice color contrast with the blue sea water.

More music provided by our guide as we complete our circle of the island.

After returning to Vaitape, we returned to the ship, showered and rested a bit.  Around 4:00 we took the tender back in to Vaitape to look around.  Our stay in Bora Bora was a two day overnight stay so there was no deadline to get back to the ship.  After walking around town for a while and going through the shops and buying a few things we started looking for a grocery store as we wanted to replenish our supply of soft drinks.  We brought our own soft drinks with us as it is less expensive and easier than having to go to a bar to buy them on the ship.  We were a little surprised to see that a six-pack cost the equivalent of $7.50, but that is still less expensive than the ship so we made our purchase despite the price.  It did show just how expensive it is to live on these islands as that grocery store was one used by locals, not a tourist shop getting what they could from the visitors.

We returned to the ship around 6:00 and saw there was a Polynesian barbecue going on back at the Seaview pool, but we’d already had our BBQ for the day so we decided to have dinner at our regular time in the dining room.  After dinner we walked around the ship and looked in on the pool party, but it had been a long day for us and another busy day tomorrow, so it was back to the room for us. I might add that we are lucky to have a full moon here and it just adds another touch of beauty to the already breathtaking scenery.  We are looking forward to another day on Bora Bora tomorrow when we will be exploring the interior of the island.

The Polynesia BBQ at the Seaview Pool on board.

The end of a wonderful day.

Hawaii / Tahiti 30 Day Cruise - Day 18 Raiatea and Taha'a

Tuesday Day 18 – Raiatea and Taha’a

We almost always get up early to watch us sail into port and this morning was no exception as we made our way into Raiatea and Taha’a.  As we neared the harbor we realized the riffle in the water we saw was the reef surrounding the island, a very scenic entry into the lagoon surrounding the island.  Raiatea looked lush and green under mostly sunny skies.  This morning we would be docking so no tendering today.  That makes getting on and off the ship much easier.

Raiatea and Taha'a are on the horizon.

Sailing through the reef and entering the lagoon.

Raiatea is known as the cradle of Polynesian culture in the South Pacific region, and it was the first island found by the first migration of the ancestral people who came to the area.  It is one of the largest island in French Polynesia and is the largest and highest in the Leeward Island group.  It, along with its neighbor Taha’a, is encircled and protected by a reef creating a lagoon surrounding both islands.  Taha’a is smaller and more mountainous than Raiatea and is called the “vanilla island” because of all the vanilla grown on the island.  The lagoon surrounding the island is dotted with many motus (coral islets) some of which have hotels on them.  Raiatea is less visited than some of the other island such as Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti so it offers more of a sense of seclusion.

Today we were on a ship excursion to visit the island of Taha’a, so after a quick breakfast we were on our way.  The excursion was scheduled to leave before 8:00 AM, but unfortunately the local authorities took a long time to clear the ship (has to be done before anyone can go ashore) so we ended up waiting a while.  The ship was finally cleared and we were off the ship and into a small boat for the trip across the lagoon to Taha’a where we were met by 4X4’s to give us a tour of the island.  We made our way around the island taking in the tropical beauty on our way to a pearl farm, which was our first stop.  There was a talk and demonstration on the process of how pearls are actually started and harvested from the oysters.  The talk was quite interesting and explained why black pearls cost so much as it is really a long and labor intensive process.

 

The Westerdam docked as we leave for Taha'a on the motorized outrigger.

On the boat.

We were greeted at the dock when we reached Taha'a.

Our ride around the island.

One or the vehicles in our caravan as we circled the island.

Val and I at one of our stops.

After the pearl farm, we continued our drive around the island with a few scenic stops until we reached a vanilla plantation.  The name plantation is a little misleading, as it might make you think of a large operation, but in reality it is a small family business.  Again, it was very interesting to see how the vanilla is grown, harvested and processed.  A lot of work goes into creating a little bit of vanilla.  After the talk, there was local fruit and juices to eat and drink, which were really good.  The tropical fruit is just so fresh and delicious here, we are loving it.  After the vanilla plantation, we continued our drive around the island until we got back to the boats.   

Raw vanilla drying on the rack.

This feisty lady was the owner of the vanilla plantation.

After getting back in the boats and getting a farewell serenade from our guides, we were off to one of the motus for some snorkeling.  We had fun snorkeling again, but we didn’t have much time as our stay was cut short due to the delay in getting off the ship this morning.  They were running a second tour after ours so they couldn’t extend the time.

We were serenaded as we left the trucks and got back in the boats.

Approaching the motu for our abbreviated snorkeling session.

Val finishing her snorkeling.

The view of Taha'a from the motu with Raiatea in the background.

After returning to the ship we got something to eat and then went back to shore to look around the town of Uturoa and do some shopping.  It was very hot and humid in town and it eventually wore us down so it was back to the ship and the welcoming air conditioning.

One of the colorful shops along the dock.

When we left Raiatea we would be sailing between Raiatea and Taha’a so the Captain opened the area on the bow of the ship and had a sailaway party.  It was a beautiful sight as we left Raiatea, sailing between the islands as the sun went down.  Travel Guide Julia narrated as we sailed past the islands which made for an interesting and beautiful passage.  As we passed between Raiatea and Taha’a we could see Bora Bora in the distance, our next stop.

Out on the bow for the scenic cruise between Raiatea and Taha'a

As darkness sets in and Taha'a on the right we could see Bora Bora in the distance.

After the sailaway we went back to our room to get dressed for dinner, and after dinner we finished the evening the casino.  When we returned to the room we were surprised to see that we were going through the reef and entering the lagoon surrounding Bora Bora.  As we sailed in we could see another smaller cruise ship already anchored, the Paul Gauguin, and it was all lit up.  The Paul Gauguin is a cruise ship that circles the islands and is supposed to be a wonderful cruise.