French Polynesia: Visiting Bora Bora

We sailed from Papeete, Tahiti to Hawaii on the Oceania Regatta.  We docked in Bora Bora for two nights and spent a day in Raiatea, Rangiroa and Nuku Hiva.  Our days were filled with excursions.  We rested during the day at sea when traveling from Rangiroa to Nuku Hiva, filling that day with leisurely meals, massages, visits to the pool and reading books.

Oceania Regatta

The Oceania Regatta is a small comfortable ship which holds 670 passengers.  We stayed in a penthouse suite, since we would be at sea for four consecutive days once we left French Polynesia and headed to the Hawaiian Islands.  It was a very comfortable room with a balcony with large wicker chairs. We spent a lot of down time there.  On days in port, we filled the time with excursions, often snorkeling.  There are two specialty restaurants, Polo Grill and Toscana and we ate in each three times.

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is a collection of 121 islands and coral atolls scattered across the South Pacific. Born from ancient volcanoes, many islands have slowly sunk over millions of years, leaving behind delicate coral rings that cradle brilliant blue lagoons, and are referred to as atolls.

These islands stretch across more than 1,600 miles of ocean.  The islands are divided into five main island groups.  We visited the Society Islands (Tahiti, Bora Bora and Raitea), Tuamotu Islands (Rangiroa) and Marquesas Islands (Nuku Hiva).  Polynesian people have prehistoric origin as part of the migrating Austronesian peoples.  Europeans began traveling through the region in the 16^th century.  James Cook arrived in Tahiti in 1769.In 1842 the French took over the islands and in 1946 it became an oversea territory of France.  The residents have French passports.

Bora Bora

When I told a friend we were going to Bora Bora, he commented it was a place so special, they named it twice.  It is a small heart shaped island with a lagoon, whose colors range from deep blue to bright turquoise near its protective coral reef.   Remnants of an extinct volcano forms two large peaks, Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia.  It is home to luxury resorts with over the water bungalows, ranging in price from $800-$5000+.  It was inhabited by Polynesian settlers in the 4^th century.  James Cook landed in 1770.  It remained independent until 1888 when its last queen abdicated and it became a French colony.

Exploring the Lagoon and Reef

The Regatta dropped anchor in the lagoon near Vaitape on the western shore, and we took tenders to shore. One the first day we sailed on the lagoon in a catamaran which anchored near the reef and we snorkeled.  

That evening we took another catamaran to view the sunset, which we did not see because of the many rain showers circling the lagoon.  Our pilot did his best to stay away from the storms.  

For the second day, Joe and Diane did the shark and stingray snorkel (we could not get into it) and a lagoon cruise with a beach break.  The shark and stingray cruise went to Motu Tapu where the boat anchored, and snorkel gear was donned to stand in shallow water while the sharks and stingrays encircled you 4 or 5 feet below the surface.   The boat moved to the Coral Garden for more snorkeling.  The afternoon tour sailed passed islets of Motu To’opua and Motu Tapu before stopping for a beach break at a private island where a small group of musicians entertained.  Later there was snorkeling in the lagoon.  One member of the crew led the good swimmers on an underwater tour, which Diane took.  Tragically, when everyone re-embarked the boat, one passenger, Bob collapsed and could not be resuscitated, despite heroic efforts by the crew and the quick response of EMS which included two physicians.

That second day, Dan and I took the reef ringed lagoon tour with 6 people on a motor boat which flew through the blue waters and close to the reef.  It stopped in the Coral Garden near Pitiuu Uta and Motu Pitifor snorkeling.  There was a strong current and we held onto an anchor line while investigating the marine life.  The water was clear and someone used rocks to place messages for snorkelers-a heart and “I love Bora Bora.”  We had mai tais in front of Matira beach, near the Intercontinental over water bungalows.

We finished our evenings with a cocktail in the Horizons bar where they had two for one drinks followed by dinner in a specialty restaurant or the Grand Dining Room.