Bora Bora Tops Tahiti for Beauty

 

 

Bora Bora

DAY 27 – We arrived at the island of Bora Bora at sunrise the day after we were in Tahiti, on Thursday, January 24th.  This island is located about 162 miles northwest of Tahiti and it is surrounded by a lagoon and fringing reef that turn the water an unbelievable turquoise blue.

I didn’t think anything could top Tahiti, but Bora Bora is considered the world’s most beautiful island, and it deserves this reputation!  It has towering mountains that are often ringed with clouds at the top, so picture something like the movie version of the musical “South Pacific” in your mind.

Thankfully we spent two days exploring all the beauty this small island offers.  The lagoon and white sand beaches have brought some famous hotels and resorts to this island.  Most have built thatched roof cabanas out over the water on stilts with walkways, making a day, week, or month stay on this island feel almost like a Robinson Crusoe experience.

The island has only one small town, with one grocery store, two gas stations, and a Rotary Club!  The harbor is so shallow that we had to drop anchor on our cruise ship and use the ship’s tenders to get to shore.  Our fellow passengers could come and go as they pleased as we had six tenders going back and forth all day and evening long both days as we were exploring all the magical areas of Bora Bora as we could.

Larry and I have vowed to return to this paradise for a longer visit.  Bora Bora has been discovered by many people, including movie stars and sports figures, who come here to escape from the rest of the world and relax in this very quiet, friendly paradise.

Here are just a few photos…it is so challenging to select just 3-4 photographs…but that is all that our ship’s satellite-based Internet can handle as I try to publish each Blog.

These are the turquoise waters that form a gigantic lagoon for miles completely around the island of Bora Bora…it is so beautiful that it is almost unbelievable to see.

The typical Bora Bora resort hotel guest room is located out over the water.  People jump in to the beautiful, warm water from their own cabana, and they also have a small boat, kayak, or a jet ski or two for exploring around the island’s expansive lagoons.

Larry pauses as he and other visitors enter Bloody Mary’s bar and restaurant of Broadway musical and Hollywood movie fame.  The restaurant, built in 1979, still has a sand floor and true Polynesian hospitality.

We took an excursion on a small local boat and went out to the reef areas to get up close and personal with stingrays and reef sharks.  Our Bora Bora boat captain handled these friendly sea creatures as if they were his personal pets…and a few daring people on our boat joined him in the water!