Tuesday, May 4th, we woke up on the ship knowing we had anchored in Bora Bora in the night. By the way, for those interested in taking this cruise, Bora Bora is a 2-day port so there is an option to book a one-night stay in an overwater bungalow there. We didn’t take this option.

When we came out on deck to get our usual breakfast in the muggy 80+ degree morning, we noticed it’d rained overnight. This didn’t change the climate much as humidity was already high anyway, and I was still comfortably warm. All this tropical climate meant to me, was that makeup was pointless. =P

What the climate meant to the local scene, however, is pretty clouds, pretty rainbows, and rough(er) currents.

The water shuttles (tenders) had two destinations this port: to and from the main island of Bora Bora, and to/from a motu off Bora Bora where there was an uncrowded public beach for snorkeling and hanging out. This is not a private island like Motu Mahana, and the activities directors advised us in our daily port information meeting (attendance optional) to not wander too far from the drop-off point so as not to disturb the privacy of local residents and hotel guests. There was no beach chair setup, no local musicians playing ukeleles and dancing for us upon our arrival, no beachside BBQ. There was, however, a hut with a bartender serving drinks and snacks. Leaving on the tender, we just wore our swimsuits and rash guards, and brought our snorkeling equipment and beach blankets.

If you’re wondering what the black stuff is around the photo, Mr. W said he must not have turned the lens light shield thingie correctly so it got in the frame. 🙁 Here we are with Bora Bora in the background.

Again, there were coconuts everywhere. We learned what miraculous fruit they are — the water inside is so sterile that Captain Cook’s crew doctor used to infuse injured/sick sailors by sticking an IV into a coconut and the other end into a vein. (Still, heebie jeebies for me. I just don’t like the taste of coconuts, I guess.)

…and this is why you don’t see many Asians in professional basketball.

It was a pretty day snorkeling despite the slightly stronger current, and we did see colorful underwater sealife. I remember thinking, “The ‘Finding Nemo’ submarine ride at Disneyland IS accurate in its underwater depiction!” I never wudda thunk.

Why am I always wearing long sleeves going out in that weather, you ask? It’s a lightweight rashguard to protect me from sunburns. I also have sunblock (SPF 100 Sport, sweatproof, waterproof) on, but when you’re floating on the water surface distracted by pretty colors for hours on end, you tend to forget that the sun is amplified by the clear water AND less filtered as here in French Polynesia, you’re closer to the equator so there’s less atmosphere for the UV to penetrate before it penetrates your skin. Mr. W got a little sunburned on his back the first day we snorkeled. He made sure to wear his rashguard every snorkeling trip thereafter, altho we’d strip down to just our swimsuits once we’re out of the water and under some shade.
After the morning spent on the Bora Bora motu, we took the tender back to the ship, had lunch, and took the next tender to Bora Bora herself. It was a windy ride if you’re sitting the wrong way in order to, say, show the camera the flag.

10 minutes later, we’d arrived at the docks of Bora Bora.

We weren’t that far out from where the ship was anchored.

The main road going completely around the island is about 18.5 miles, so Mr. W and I decided to bike it for exercise and for the scenic exploration. The dock town of Vaitape was similar to every other dock town we’d seen at these ports; small shops and shacks along both sides of the main street for maybe 10 minutes (walking) in either direction, a few banks, a post office. I made a mental note to buy some postcards later and mail them from the Bora Bora post office.
The local shops were out of regular bikes, and pointed us to a souvenir shop a little ways down that may still have some left. That shop only had electric bicycles. We were unfamiliar with those, but soon thanked our lucky stars. The bicycles had a cartridge of rechargeable battery under the seat that, when turned on with a key, gives your pedaling a little push when you start off. Pedaling consistently kicks on the battery, also, so that the electrical assistance takes away about half the pedaling exertion. We LOVED those things!

The rental was pretty reasonable; $33 each for a 3-hour rental. We were told that it takes approximately 2.5 hours to bike all the way around the island, which gives us 30 minutes to stop for photos, shopping, lunch, whatever. The shop lady warned us to stop at the tourist town at the southern tip of the island at the sister store and get our batteries recharged or replaced, or we were pedaling back without the battery’s assistance.
At first we stopped CONSTANTLY for photos. This is pretty much what the road looked like; rustic houses and green mountain on one side, ocean on the other.

At some areas, the monsoon damage is apparent.

The locals mostly fished and farmed as groceries are very expensive.

And there were medium-large dogs everywhere. I couldn’t tell if they were wild or family pets, but they sure weren’t friendly. They knew to stay away from the roads and to avoid bikes and cars going by. Mr. W actually did drain his battery before we’d reached the recharge store, and he had to pedal much of the hills with the strength of his legs alone. I whizzed along and loved the feel of the warm air blowing through my hair.

After we’d gotten Mr. W’s battery replaced at the southern resort town of Matira Beach (even more quaint than Vaitape) and he’d recharged himself with a bottle of cold water, we ran across a cool-looking pearl farm and store.


An overwater boardwalk and pier around the side and back of the building had demonstrative aids depicting pearl harvesting and collecting in their various stages. The two Japanese people there were very nice and gave us cold water and a tour even knowing we weren’t able to buy anything as we had biked in (gross and sweaty) with no spare money. Their jewelry designs are among the best I’ve seen, though. But out of respect to their designer, we didn’t take photos. We made it back to the ship by sunset for dinner.

It would be another day in Bora Bora tomorrow, and we had a GREAT excursion planned in the afternoon. Actually, a dream-come-true excursion for me!