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.