January 17,2018 – Bora Bora (Vaitape), French Polynesia

Considered by many the world’s most beautiful island, the Society Island of Bora Bora is only 4 miles by 2½ miles. This stunning land is made up of a barrier reef of motus, or islets, each one variously connected to the next depending on the tides.

Surrounded by a deep lagoon that glows countless shades of turquoise and emerald, its palm-lined shores and steep forested slopes rise up dramatically to the pillar-like peak of Mt. Otemanu at 2,379 feet. American novelist James Michener put the island on many travelers’ itineraries in the 1950s when he called it “the South Pacific at its unforgettable best.” Rugged mountain roads through lush landscapes lead to spellbinding cliffside views. 

We tendered into the dock and from there we took a tour on the charming open air “Le Truck”. It was very airy and comfortable. 

There are approximately 10,000 inhabitants on Bora Bora. Our first stop was at Bloody Mary’s Bar & Restaurant. A longtime island favorite, it is the quintessential tiki bar with its thatched roof, open sides, white-sand floor, wooden slab tables and stools made of coconut stumps. The picture with all the names is a list of all the famous people who have been to Bloody Mary’s.

There was a movie made in 1979 by Oscar de Larentis in Bora Bora, called Hurricane. We went by a hotel called the Sofitel Hotel, which was originally built by Oscar de Larentis for this movie, as there was no lodging on the island for the actors and crew. Also, the area where they did the filming he has given back to Bora Bora for community use.

Our next stop was at Matira Beach, where I go some sand. Steve and I walked into the water, it was beautiful.

Bora Bora was also Christianized by the Protestants in 1797. The group that came here was the London Missionary Society. Today they also have Catholic, Mormons, Latter Day Saints, Jehovah Witness and a few others. Here is a picture of the Protestant Church.

The first airport here was built by the Seabees in 1941 and finish early 1942 and used in WWII. At that time, it has two runways, one 1000 meters and the other 2000 meters. Today, they only have the 2000-meter runway left. In the picture, you can see the buildings of the airport with the runway to the right where it flattens out.

Our last stop was to see some Land Crabs. These were used for the first meals at Bloody Mary’s. To get them to come out of their holes, the tour guide threw hibiscus stalks on the ground and they would come out to take them back into the hole.

The last stop was at Mama Edna’s home. Here they make home died fabric that they turn into sarongs. They start with a cotton fabric that they get from China, then fold it into a knot. They dip it into paint and then unfold and let dry. Like our old tie dying. They then had three passengers go up and they showed how to make the sarongs.

We then had finished our circumvention of the island, which was approximately 19 miles. These last pictures are some we took along the way. It is probably the most beautiful island that we have been to.

This evening at 5:30 they are going to have everyone on deck and they are going to have a drone take a picture of everyone. Tomorrow we are at sea, so back to learning bridge.