Tales from the South Pacific
Tuesday, May 24th - Bora Bora
Well, I haven't been good about keeping up with my writing since we arrived on Bora Bora on Tuesday... I am writing this on Thursday, so it is really hard to believe that this time tomorrow we'll be getting ready to leave and our big vacation will be over... well after about 16 hours of travel time between 3 planes and 2 layovers). But my Bora Bora memories are still fresh...so here we go!
Bora Bora has been amazing... but unfortunately the thing we'll probably remember the most about it is the WIND. At times, I am guessing the wind has been blowing at a steady 30 mph and gusting much higher than that. Our bungalow deck overlooking the lagoon and ocean is unbelievably spectacular.. .but after about 10 minutes it is hard to sit out there without feeling you have had a facelift! The hotel employees keep telling us that it is "winter" here (which it technically is in the southern hemisphere)... but that doesn't quite explain why it was so pleasantly tranquil in Moorea just a few hundred miles away. We were also told this may the occasional "trade winds" that blow into the area every so often.
Besides, the wind ... the other big difference from Moorea is that the lagoon is not tranquil... there is a pretty good current coming in, despite (as in Moorea) the ocean is breaking several hundred yards out from us. Again, I don't know if the "winter season" (it is still in the 80s temperature-wise) or the full moon... but it is just quite different... and unexpected from our tropical experience earlier in the week.
The hotel here has been superb. We thought the Moorea resort was pretty shmancy, but it definitely feels a bit more upscale here. We were greeted at the dock by a lovely reception gal... taken to the bar where we were given a warm towel and a tropical drink.
Oh, yes we had to arrive to the hotel by boat. The Bora Bora airport is on one of the motus surrounding the main island... so the hotel "shuttle" is a boat! It was a breezy 20 minute boat ride all the way down to the southern tip of the island where we arrived at the hotel's private dock. Yes, all very "Fantasy Island."
After filling out our registration information, the same lovely lady escorted us to our room. We pretty much had the furthest bungalow out... she just kept on walking and walking and walking... just when you thought you were at the end of the pier/walkway, you would go around another corner and head out further. I am guessing our bungalow was at least a quarter of a mile out into the lagoon!
Picture of our overwater bungalow and a hill-top shot of the resort (taken on a different day)... hard to see since I shrunk it down, but I put a few red asteriks over our bungalow in the wide shot... it is pretty much in the center of the photo.
The room was beautiful... as in Moorea, very Polynesian... your own private hut, but with all the creature comforts you could imagine. The special feature was what our reception gal called the "magic table" ... a glass box that served as a living room table, but you could slide the top back and it was open right down to the water. So you can grab some day-old bread (available in baskets along the bungalow walkways) and feed the fish right from your room. Tropical flowers were arranged on the bed, tables, and sink area... and vanilla vines hung down from a trellis over the bathroom area! Wow wee!
The "magic table" and the vanilla vines over the bathroom area (they look a big gangly here, but they were quite a nice touch!)
Again perhaps another reason why it was so windy for us because we were so far out (could you tell I was a bit TOO obsessed with the wind?!)... and also we didn't have too much of chance to feed the fish... since the wind would pretty much take our bread crumbs and blow them away by the time they hit the water!
But it is a very memorable thing to look out your room window and see the tide coming in...and under (!) the place where you are staying!
Our bungalow deck and view during our stay in Bora Bora... definitely worth getting whipped by the wind for a while!!
[POSTSCRIPT: Before the hate mail starts rolling in... let me just say, that we both feel INCREDIBLY fortunate/lucky that we were able to (and have/had the means to) experience all these things. While it cost a small fortune (Yes, even for us! We are financially comfortable, but I wouldn't say even approaching "wealthy"), we certainly had no regrets over this very special "treat" to ourselves.]
I think it is important to treat yourselves once in a while! Your trip looked awesome and I hope to visit those places some day.
Posted by: Kim | Monday, June 06, 2005 at 12:41 PM