TRAVELING THE WORLD 365 days/year. You can visit us on Instagram at whereintheworldaremikeandjan. Do not hit “Reply” to message us – Use Contact Tab, above.
“Beware the Ides of March!”….but only because we are, YET AGAIN, going to post photos of stunning Bora Bora. Yes, you must tolerate photos of the reef enclosed by the atoll that is Bora Bora. Be glad that it isn’t 1970, with us inviting you to “see our 7,550 slides from the South Pacific!” This is our fifth visit here, and once again we rented a scooter for four hours, used it for two hours, and took about 150 photos. We are giving you only the finest ones, of course. Even though we jumped off the scooter every few hundred yards for more photos, we were still saddle sore after two hours. And we won’t even talk about “helmet hair!” But even though the scooter was only 50ccs and its top speed was about 40 mph, we usually went slower than that but still had a lovely breeze on us all day long. Traffic was light, and the ring road is narrow. You can see a section of the road in one of the photos below and can judge for yourself.
Much like the US and Australia, Bora Bora was a prison island, a place of exile for thieves and other wrongdoers. But….be careful where you punish people! The outcasts eventually became pirates, attacking the surrounding islands. In the Tahitian language, Bora Bora’s original name, Pora Pora, meant “firstborn,” as it was the first of the Polynesian islands to emerge from the ocean. The main island, which is where we go ashore, is a ring-shaped atoll with mountains on the inside and a ring of ocean, reef, and smaller islands rounding out the circle on the outside. It is warm, humid, sticky, and stunning – a very happy place. We talk constantly about how grateful we are for this life of travel. It has truly opened up our minds and hearts to the world.
Lazy, early morning in Bora Bora – a sailboat slowly, leisurely, wandering around the islands.Two more boats out and about.This was neat to see! If you think “Bora Bora” is the only double-talk here, think again. This is the Windstar Wind Star! (Cruise line and cruise ship, respectively.) It is the line’s flagship and has four masts. You will see it again at the end of the blog, at sunset. Most of Windstar’s cruises are in the $400-800 range per person per night, but some of its Transatlantic cruises go for $79-99 per person per night, so those are the ones you will more likely see us blogging from in the future.One of our ship’s tenders, the lifeboats that take us to the dock when we have to anchor out in deeper water than is available at the shore.The water is so clear, you can see the bottom.It is interesting that on so many South Pacific islands, pine trees coexist with palm trees.Some over-the-water bungalows, which Bora Bora is famous for.A small inlet framing a lone swimmer.A short dock is on the right side.The palm trees just tower over the shoreline.This is the narrow ring road around the island, nicely framed by palm trees.It’s lovely when the palm trees are bent from the wind – they look like they have been dancing.It seems that the house on the right has its own little unconnected island.The clouds are always mesmerizing in the South Pacific. Every weather report says it will rain all day long (on every island we have visited), and each time, it drizzles for four minutes, stops, and the sun shines once more.This pretty photo is from the highest point in the ring road – with the word “highest” taken with a grain of salt.Clouds and ocean were the recipe for the day.Two little adjunct islands offshore. Here they are called “motus.”Some more bungalows.So many lines here – the coastline, the horizon line, and the line of clouds.One side of Mt. Pahia, taken from the ship. Mike went scuba diving today and talked to the dive guide, who said he and a friend had been hiking up some of the hills on the island. They were interested in some harder routes on the the highest peaks on the island, such as this one and Mt. Otemanu, but they are novice climbers. They had been asking around for advice, but couldn’t find anyone who had done them. He said most of the people on the island were more interested in less active sports – like fishing.Another side of Mt. Pahia, taken from land. It is so interesting how serrated it is.Three swimmers in the shimmering water.As we said, the views all day were primarily water (that changed color depending on the side of the ring road we drove), clouds, and trees.The dazzling turquoise blue water that looks like it is connecting these two islands is where the reef breaks the surface. That color!!The clouds look threatening, but they are like pussycats – not a bit harmful. The one palm that fell into the ocean – and lived.Another little motu.A typical house, just across from a beach.We followed one inland road to see where it went – believe it or not, this was at the end of the road. It just stops. You can see the end of the concrete.Sunset in Bora Bora. The Wind Star came into view, and was such a surprise, with lights over the mast making it look so festive.This photo was about two minutes before the sky went totally black, closing out another fabulous day on Bora Bora, the Firstborn Island of Polynesia.
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