I had half a thought about meeting Bora Bora Patrick on the pier in the event he had a cancellation today. We are scheduled to do his lagoon tour and motu picnic later in the season, but were in the mood to be on the water again today. As it turned out, Patrick may have had room for us, but when I checked in the safe this morning, we didn't have enough cash on hand to pay for his tour, and need to get more from the ATM in Raiatea tomorrow.
Instead, we gathered up floats for a beach day, and, by 10am were already settled on beautiful Matira Beach, after taking a $5 (or 500 XPF) taxi ride from the tender pier. Matira Beach had never looked prettier; the algal bloom that sometimes plagued the beach last season was nowhere to be seen, and the crystalline blue water glistened in the sun. The beach was not particularly quiet today, however...a large group of school kids was apparently having what we would call a "field day" on the other end of it. They were clearly having a big time, but, fortunately, left immediately after lunch.
G and I were early enough to get two wooden loungers that, at least early in the day, were in the shade. We immediately headed into the water with our two floats and spent most of the rest of the morning and until mid-afternoon paying in the water. I applied SPF 50 several times (honest I did!) but am still cooked tonight. Why does that happen to oh-so-cautious me when others are purposely baking in the sun and don't get burned?
A man sailing a small Hobie cat sailed in offering quick sails out to the reef, and G insisted I take one for $10. What a thrill that was, with two stingrays and a black-tipped shark easily seen swimming below us. Over the course of the next several hours, fellow passengers, crew members...even G went out for the same sail. The man sailing the catamaran, Olivier, offers circumnavigation sails of Bora Bora that we may have to consider on a future cruise. We've circumnavigated Bora Bora several ways- jet skis, motorized outrigger canoes, car, taxi- but never by sailboat.
We seem to have switched from animals to babies. This is 10-month old Manua.
You know how you can feel that you're getting too much sun even before anyone else mentions it? Well, by 3pm I was feeling that telltale chill that accompanies a burn, and we caught a taxi back to the tender pier and were on the ship and showered with our gear rinsed off by 4pm. We were too hungry to wait for dinner and so went to the Panorama Buffet for a slice of pizza, and sat on the back terrace watching as a very brief, misty shower moved over the Bora Bora mountains. With the sun still shining, we saw a beautiful rainbow, enhancing an already perfect view.
We went to dinner in the half-empty Club Restaurant at 5:45pm. The Pacific Princess is staying in Bora Bora until 10pm tonight, and many passengers are dining in the Panorama Buffet or at Bloody Mary's on land. We considered tendering back over to shore and taking a taxi to Boody Mary's for a drink, but we will have more opportunities to do that over our next two overnight visits to the island. After our two days on the water and in the sun, I am done for the day.
We arrive in Raiatea tomorrow at 7am. Since it's only 25 or so miles from Bora Bora, the Pacific Princess must be turning in circles overnight. I'm not sure if we're arriving at the pier in Uturoa, Raiatea through Pai Pai Pass or Teavapiti Pass, but either approach will offer spectacular views. However, a 5am wake up call is not in the cards for me...if the sounds of the Pacific Princess maneuvering through the passes don't wake me up, I was meant to sleep in. ;-)
