PapaMarshall

WC032 – 1/22/2023 – Bora Bora

Noon Reading

  • Location: S 16° 30.84′, W 151° 45.35′
  • Speed: At Anchor
  • Course: At Anchor

We took the advantage of our later arrival in Bora Bora (arrival at 11:00) to have a bit of a lie-in. Eventually we were up and about and fed and ready to proceed.

First it was up to the upper level (deck 8) of the explorer’s lounge to read and watch as we approached the first land we’d seen in 5 days.

At Bora Bora we were anchored out in the lagoon so transportation to the dock was via tender (the ships life boats).

Our first excursion of the day was a introductory cruise around the island.

  • Driver and guide
  • These boats had an outrigger.
  • On the boat
  • Cheryl enjoying the rain
  • Stingrays
  • Sharks

One of the signature features of French Polynesia is the upscale hotel with huts on pilings out in the lagoon. In this case it’s a Conrad hotel. We circled the se to get a look at how the other half lives.

$1,200/night
Obama stayed in this suite
Our captain was multi-talented

We returned to the dock with just enough time for Randy to switch boats for his snorkeling excursion.

This excursion went first to the place where we had earlier seen stingrays and sharks. This time we donned masks and snorkels and joined them.

Then we moved to a coral garden near the barrier reef. Back in our masks, this time with flippers, and spent the better part of an hour floating among the coral watching sea life.

Cheryl had a bit of time to kill before her next event so she enjoyed a bit of local color.

She was particularly impressed by the guy playing washtub bass and the harmonica while keeping time with a Tamborine shoe.

Her excursion was a Glass Bottom Boat expedition.

  • Studying the species cheat sheet
  • Watching below
  • Below

She commented that it’s hard to identify fish looking down from the top. Also, the colors weren’t as vibrant as she would have liked and with a green tinge.

After our respective excursions we returned to the stateroom to shower and relax before dinner.

BBB was rough tonight. We scored 12 out of 25.

Tonights sample questions are:

  • Tony Curtis was nominated for a golden globe for his portrayal of Albert DeSalvo in this 1968 movie. Name the movie.
  • According to the CIA World Factbook there are only two “Double Landlocked” countries. (A Double landlocked country is a landlocked country completely surrounded by landlocked countries.) One is in Europe, the other is in Asia. Name them.
  • Remember, no fair looking up the answers and please text or email your reply. Don’t submit it in a comment on this post. Thanks!

Then it was back to the stateroom to battle the reality of satellite communications in the southern hemisphere.

O that’s Bora Bora, the first of a 3 day overview of the Society Islands and French Polynesia.

Nite all, R

3 Comments

  2. We will be visiting Bora Bora, Mo’orea, and Tahiti – all are part of the Society Island group in French Polynesia. The kids grow up speaking their own Polynesian language plus French (and signs are bilingual) with the option of learning English or another language in secondary school. Bora Bora was used as a US Base during WWII because it only has one opening in its surrounding atoll so could be easily defended – it was never captured by the Japanese. In monsoon season this area gets up to 21 FEET of rain a year – there are 3 seasons: monsoon, summer, and wind. I was very impressed that, to fight the plastic pollution in their lagoon, each boat has agreed to pick up at least one piece of plastic every time they go out into the lagoon!

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