Anniversary Bora Bora: Rob likes his women like he likes his coffee

Hot and bitter.

It's about 20 minutes after we wake up that we remember it's our anniversary. We clink coffee mugs and mull over what to do today. Kayaking seems to be the option that will get us out of the house without being stopped by Andre. Plus, Rob's bum is still sore from biking. Kayaking it is.

Before we go, Rob finally succeeds in rendering his stop-motion of the previous day's sunset. He tries to do this every trip with mixed success, but I think this is my favorite, because it catches the neighbor bringing in his catamaran. Rob also wades out to take a sunset shot from a different angle. You can see him in his red swimming trunks. The ferry to the airport goes out along the horizon, and you can see a couple of outriggers zipping by.

We get the kayak out and head out of the bay. We decide to retry Rob's first plan from the other day, and head around Motu Tevairoa, where Pearl Beach resort is. We think it'll be a longer kayak trip than the previous day. The first time we tried this, the rebars sticking out of the water stopped us.

We make good time getting to the motu, and because we're going around the left side, we get a closer look at the Pearl resort. It looks nice enough, and there are two other kayaks paddling in front.

The back side of the motu has a few houses on it. We saw some fishermen at one of the houses just as they were setting out. We waved, they waved back.

Ia orana!

Another house further down has planted a bunch of palm saplings.

Baby trees

We get a little further, and have no idea how far we've gone on the back side of the island. Rob's wondering if we should turn around, and then we (hah! we! It was me.) decide to keep going to make it all the way around.

A little further ahead, and we encounter a fence of rebars sticking out of the water. It's a different fence than the other day, and we figure out they are marking an impassable area for boats with an outboard motor. We make the assumption that our little kayak can make it through.

Rocks. Rocks everywhere!

The fence goes right to shore, and I think we should go around it on the barrier side, but Rob starts chanting "Thread the needle! Thread the needle!"

We navigate slowly between the rebars, and we're through.

Phew! Except now it gets difficult

The lagoon bed is covered in rocks, and the distance between the island and the barrier reef shrinks.

I'm reminded of Scylla and Charybdis, but Rob starts saying it's an asteroid belt in a C3PO voice.

Because we are forced to get really close to the reef, the waves look spectacular. We're close to rough waves, yet the water on our side is gently undulating. I keep making Rob stop to watch them because it is mesmerizing.

Navigating the rocks proves difficult, because they are everywhere. Sometimes, it looks like you have enough clearance to go right over top, and then you find yourself in the trough of a wave and you bump it anyway. However, only once do we actually scrape a rock.

Because it's our anniversary, we talk a bit about our wedding day.
MJ: I was really nervous.
Rob: I was fine. Not nervous at all. "I guess I'm getting married."
(pause)
Rob: In retrospect, I probably should have given it more thought.

And then we see the the other rebar fence!

Rob: "Thread the needle! Thread the needle, man!"

We make it through. As we're leaving the channel between the motus, we see a fisherman with an interesting rig. He's put some kind of fish container onto a paddle board, and then he's in the water snorkeling. We give him a wide berth so we don't disturb the fish.

We start heading back to Bora Bora. It's mostly uneventful, except that the channel is very wavy, and we end up full of water again.

When we're almost across the channel, this large-ish boat starts bearing down on us, so we turn right to let it pass. As we do so, we notice a one-man outrigger heading full bore toward the boat. Rob thinks they will collide, and then we see that the outrigger is aiming to ride the other boat's wake.

We keep paddling toward the house, and then we notice that the outrigger has turned around and is heading back the same way. He's going really fast, and starts to pass us, so we laugh and start paddling harder to give him chase. He actually stops paddling and smirks at us while he lets us get ahead. About a minute later, he starts racing and easily passes us; then he lifts his float at us in what I assume is the Polynesian equivalent of laying a patch. And then he's gone.

The waves are still pretty rough, so we stick close to shore. At one point, we kayak within the remains of an old pier.

"Thread the needle!" "Let it go, Rob"

We make it home safely, and more importantly, we manage to sneak into the room without seeing our host.

After 3 hours on the water, you still feel the motion of the waves when you're on land.

Trip distance: 11 km (essentially the same as the last trip! Disappointing)
Moving time: 3 hours
Average moving speed: 3.8 km/hr

A short rest, and then we'll walk to the yacht club for an anniversary dinner.

The walk is nice (albeit CRAZY hot and humid). We have time to look around us at everything. Some sights:

Empty lot

Apparently, if you're not constantly taming your yard, it will look like the above in a couple of months, because the jungle, she is wild and always reclaims what is hers.

Albino hen and her chicks

Actually, she's probably just a different breed than all the brown hens we've seen.

Rooting pig

I've included the pig, because given the number of chickens, goats, and cows we've seen, it's remarkable that we've only seen one pig.

I also love crabs, even though people here only see them as pests or food, They are really hard to spot, because they duck into their  holes as soon as they spot you. I did manage to catch this guy, who had gotten a bit too far from his hole. He elected to sneak back, rather than make a run for it.

We make it to the yacht club restaurant, and it is on a big deck that sits over the water. We're there before it opens, but they graciously give us seats facing the water and the sunset. I think it's the most picturesque place I've had dinner.

Recounting dinner won't be exciting, but I did have mahi mahi (caught that morning!) with a hibiscus sauce that was very good. Rob had the surf and turf with a peppercorn sauce, and he said it was the best lobster he'd ever had. The steak was from New Zealand, and very tender, but it does taste different than Alberta beef.

Sunset

During dinner, we watch the setting sun while the boats come and go.

I still love catamarans

A different catamaran

When the sun goes down and it gets dark, lights come on under the deck that light the reef below and attract fish. I exclaim to Rob that there are fish everywhere, and next thing I know, the entire restaurant is with me, looking over the edge of the dock, just as a ray swims by. Here are the fish; what's interesting is that all the orange fish are at the surface, and the blue fish stay just under them.

Night time at the harbour

Walking home in the dark on Bora Bora is lovely. There are streetlamps on the road, so it's not completely dark, and it's much quieter and the air is cooler.

We happen upon a Polynesian dance practice on the main wharf. They are playing Polynesian music, and it is amusing seeing all the cars nearby holding spouses and dads. The men are blasting Bob Marley music to drown out the women.

Dancing in the dark

Grandma grave in the yard in the dark

We are almost home, when I realize I don't have my shawl. So, back we go. I'm pretty sure I had it until I started taking pictures. We find it at the wharf.

Found it

As we're walking back, and I'm apologizing for backtracking, we agree it's been a good anniversary.

Stats on the walk:
Distance (one way): 4.2 km
Avg moving speed: 4.3 km/hr
Moving time: 55 min

Bora Bora: A shark is like a train wreck.

I do not want to be in one.

Today was another shark day. It starts off with Andre insisting on driving us to the marina, because we might miss it. Even though there is only one road on the island. The directions to the marina are: go left. In about 400 m, there is a marina. Wait there.

Ah well. We drive for exactly 30 seconds, and wait for the boat while Andre tells us about his unpublished novel.

A yellow boat drives up with what I assume is a handsome Polynesian man piloting it. I did not notice the chocolate-brown skin, the tribal tatoos covering his six-pack, his chiseled profile, or the faraway look in the unknowable depths of his eyes, because Rob is exactly the kind of man I find most attractive.

Hard-to-miss marina

The boat heads over to the Pearl Resort to pick up the rest of the snorkelers. It's an over-water resorts, so we get to see one up close.

Budget luxury at $800/night

When we first got to the Bungalove, there was a young Russian couple staying in the room attached to the house. Andre told us that they spent one of their nights at the Pearl in an over-water room, and couldn't enjoy it. There's a glass panel in the floor, so you can see the fish while inside the room. But apparently, you also see guests go snorkeling under your room, and they often yell to each other when they see something interesting. As well, the rooms are very close together, so there's not much privacy.

Back to the boat. Oooh, I just liked this picture of a bike on the dock at the Pearl.

We pick up four other couples and a single guy. Captain Will does a quick check of where everybody is from, and Rob makes the following observation:

• Brazilian couple is wearing a baseball hat from Milan
• Australian guy has Brazilian flip flops
• Spanish guy is wearing a Guinness shirt
• Chinese guy has a UK union jack on his backpack.

He found it funny that not one person with a country logo was wearing their own country.

We boat for about 1/2 hour to get to the other side of the island. Captain Will points out some of the other resorts. This one, the St. Regis, has more space between bungalows, larger rooms, butler service, and over-water pools. It costs a max of $4500 CDN/night. I didn't get a shot of the cabins at the Hilton that have a second level upstairs and which I assume cost more. It must be annoying to spend that much money just to have tour boats motoring by and pointing out your bungalow as an attraction.

Luxury luxury rooms

Random Catamaran photo. I like Catamarans

We make it to some coral gardens that are very close to the ones we went to off the public beach a couple of days ago. Captain Will throws some food in the water, and we're surrounded by fish. I'll limit the fish photos.

Squirrelfish

Squirrelfish are hilarious. We saw them in the Caribbean, too, behaving the same way. They form a small school, and all just stare at the coral. You can swim right up to them, and they don't move. They're like a bunch of kids watching a Disney movie.

Underwater ballet

We're there for about 1/2 hour. On our last snorkel tour, we were the only guests. On this one, we're one of several, but it is neat to see how excited the other people get. There is a young lady who wears a life jacket and gets in the water and is having a great time. I think she must be the bravest one of us here.

We go to a second spot, and there are some black-tip reef sharks and a couple of rays. The water is shallow, so we just stand around while Will plays with the mantas. People are kissing it, and it is tolerating us because it is getting lots of fish.

Aside: On a previous trip, another tourist was telling us how hard it was to reel in a ray. He sounded very proud of himself for catching one. First of all, how hard could it be? They come right up to you if you have food. Secondly, do you catch puppies and kittens, too? Who could consider a ray a trophy fish? How could this be allowed to happen?

Who could hurt this face?

Aaaanyway....

We start swimming toward the barrier reef. I liken it to a walk in an underwater forest. We swim for a bit, and then Will stops to point out something of interest. At one point, he finds a spiny sea cucumber and puts it on Rob's head. Rob says it was surprisingly heavy.

Cucumber mohawk

We get quite close to the barrier reef, and watch the waves break for a while. I've already posted videos of the waves, so I won't do it again.

We head back to the boat, and are going to go past the reef in the hopes of seeing bigger lemon sharks. On this leg (foreboding) of the journey, I notice that I've scraped up my leg (ha! there it is) on the coral. A couple of the others have, too. Will gives us some antiseptic wipes to keep them from getting infected, but the saltwater from the swim is irritating, and it swells up. I keep thinking of how the phrase "salt in a wound" is very descriptive, because it BURNS. I'm also worried about bleeding when we're swimming with sharks.

Wah

We get to the deep water, and Will throws a bunch of fish in to draw the sharks. This is when I realize the last tour guide, Alex, was lying when he said the black-tips were vegetarian. Rob thinks it's hilarious that I was so gullible. Rob, gullible isn't even a real word.

Non-vegetarian sharks

Into the water we go, and the sharks are everywhere. Sadly, there are no lemon sharks. Or maybe, luckily, there are no lemon sharks.

I don't like when they look right at you

Bad shark jokes

Rob getting a mechanic's view of the sharks

We head to a local motu for some fresh local fruit, and then head home. Will drops us off at the marina, and it's a five-minute walk back to the bungalow. There's a marae with a petroglyph on the walk back.

Petroglyph of a shark that looks like a turtle

It's still early afternoon when we finish lunch, so we decide to bike into the main town and look around. It's about a 20 minute bike ride, and it seems school just got out, because there are kids everywhere. We check out the tourist shops, pick up a socialist baguette and head home for the evening.

Anniversary tomorrow!

Bora Bora: Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?

Cause your face is kind of busted up.

Rob tried monovision today, where you only correct one eye for distance. He liked it, but his depth perception was off. Lots of tripping today, but he was finally able to wear contacts and read at the same time.

First thing in the morning, we enjoy coffees while watching some locals train in their outriggers. We know they're not just out for an excursion or fishing, because they are paddling as if they're being chased. This happens frequently, where an outrigger literally zips by, with between one and several paddlers. It's hard to catch them on film, because they're going so fast. The big annual boat race just finished when we got here, and it seems that there's still some training going on.

Whoosh

There's also a sea bird that is hanging out beside the deck.

And I finally get to have one of the local avocados. They're huge! They have less flavor than the ones at home, and are very watery, but are definitely avocados.

After breakfast, we discuss and put together a complicated plan on where we will kayak this morning. There are a couple of motus that may have good snorkeling, and that we can kayak around.

Detailed Kayak Excursion Plan

We're able to get the kayak out and start paddling out. The water is very calm, and we're feeling strong. For now.

Once we get to the point of our bay, we have a better view of the motus. We need to cross a boating channel (dark blue water), and then Rob wants to get closer to the barrier reef (where snorkeling is supposed to be good), and then he wants to circle around the motu on the left and head back.

Even though we have to cross the boating channel, we only see about three moving boats during the entire trip. The water is a little choppier on the blue water, but calmer than we could hope for.

We get to the motu on the left, and there are homes all along it. Even though all beaches are public in French Polynesia, we don't want to just show up at someone's home, so we keep paddling until we find a sandy outcropping that looks unoccupied. We pull up the kayak, take a look around, and then do a little snorkeling.

The Coast is Clear. Literally.

Looking back to Bora Bora

While we're there, we flip the kayak and open the spout. The boat was full of water in the hull. This always happens when we're on vacation, and we always forget to fix it until we're halfway through the trip. I'm not sure if these plastic kayaks are leaky, or if the owners don't know to drain them once in a while? Anyway, we're hoping that will fix the problem of always going right when we're kayaking.

All couples should go kayaking once in a while. It's a good exercise in conflict resolution.

Rob: Can you just paddle straight? I'll steer.
MJ: But we keep going right. I'm trying to help.
Rob: But you keep correcting the wrong way.
MJ: What do you mean? If you want to go left, you paddle harder on the right.
Rob: No, that's the opposite of what you should do.
(Some further discussion...)
MJ: Oh, wait. You're right. I was thinking of braking when you're tobogganing, not paddling when you're kayaking. I'm not really wrong, I'm just doing the wrong thing.
Rob: Sooooo, can you just paddle straight, and I'll steer.
MJ: Sure.
Rob (quietly, to himself): You're still wrong.
MJ: I can hear you.

The snorkeling isn't great (no fish), but the water is clear and calm. Rob's also having mask troubles, so we cut it short. Back to the kayak, and we're going to try to circle around the left motu.

Hm. Somebody's stuck big rebar posts in the water. We can't navigate through that without damaging the kayak, so we decide to just head back.

Nope

Before we go back, though, we want to watch the waves break on the reef for a bit. We paddle to the right of the rebar, and enjoy the show.

There are two smaller motus in the channel, so we decide to go around them instead. Actually, we thought it was just one motu, and then realized they were separate only as we went around them, so it was a nice surprise.

A cunning alternative plan

Surprise - another channel

The motu closer to Bora Bora appears to be private, and a stop-off for picnic lunches for tour groups. However, there's no one here, the sand is nice, and Rob wants to snorkel some more. We pull in, and I decide to wait on shore.

I should be helping bring in the kayak, but I'd rather take a picture

Rob explores this reef by hisself

Rob spots one critter. Apparently, when sea cucumbers are feeding, they send out these tentacles to catch the plankton and other microscopic bits.

Nom nom nom

Then we head back. The waves are choppier and we're struggling a bit more. It seems to take forever, but we make it back. There's a lot of water in the seats, and we basically soak in sea water for an hour for the trip back.

Here's the GPS of the trip. Note, Rob's waterproof bag kept his phone dry. Lucky thing! We probably should have done a pre-test and not just soaked the bag in water for an hour.

Total distance: 9.8 km
Average moving speed: 3.9 km/hr
Total moving time: 2.5 hr

A break for lunch, then we decide to hike up to see the old WWII guns that are here. It's not that we're interested in the artillery; the vistas are supposed to be wonderful.

We bike about 3 km to the entrance. Andre insists we take a detour so we can see some local housing.

The entrance of the path is marked Private Property, but we've been told to ignore the sign.

The hike in is an arduous 1.3 km, uphill, with high humidity, in the afternoon tropical sun. However, we make it up in about 1/2 hour. Poor Rob kept stumbling because the monovision messed up his depth perception. He was never actually injured, but he was sweating like a virgin at a prison rodeo.

Some photos:

The Road

One of the Guns

North-ish view

South-ish view. You could hear the Polynesian drums from the cruise ship's dance show

The guns are only good for shooting down sailboats now

I thought someone had hung dead fish from a tree

A bunker where a couple were quietly trying to ignore us and make out

Map of the walk:

Total distance: 9 km
Average moving speed: 6.8 km/hr
Moving time: 1.5 hr

Then we headed home for supper and rest.

During our down time, I was looking something up on Trip Advisor, and I fell in love with an unintentionally off-kilter reviewer named Maupiti Mike. His reviews are all awesome. He especially loves Cuban cigars and the socialist baguettes.

One more anecdote, with possibly too much information. If you are one of my children, you won't want to read this.

I warned you.

Our host seems to be getting needier for attention as the days go on. When we are outside, he wants to suggest excursion ideas, share anecdotes, and tell us stories. This day, Andre had already cornered me and/or Rob twice to tell us what to see and then to hear about what we saw. Later, however, Rob and I were alone and settling in for the night. We were feeling romantic and relaxed; we'd had some fruity drinks, the sun was setting, and a gentle breeze was blowing. Rob just wanted to grab his camera from outside before it rained, and then we would... hm... euphemistic verb. Except the second Rob stepped outside, Andre shanghaied Rob to see a video of an orchestra playing the Gunsmoke theme on ukeleles. Mood killed. Anybody else been cockblocked by a Corsican chef sharing YouTubes of ukelele music?

So ends another day.