Monday, September 30, 2024

SPA-tacular Day!





OOTD!
 I was really just trying to get the sweet messages the 
cleaning ladies write on the mirrors.

Casey glaring at me hoping I wouldn't make
him do a fit check, lol!






I think we had a little bit of a skip on our
way into "town"... the main part of the resort.
We had a spa day scheduled!!

Thalasso Spa on the outside alone is top notch!
Check out these gorgeous spa bungalows.
We had walked past these numerous of times, 
which made us excited it was finally time to see
what it was all about!




Upon check in, they give you these woven bags.
They don't do robes, but instead sarongs!
I do love a fluffy robe.
But when the spa is partly outdoors and sweltering,
sarongs are the way to go! 





A little glimpse of the waiting area.






We went all out this trip and booked
a 2.5 hour couples package!
It was a splurge.
 But for the first time I think money could indeed buy happiness, ha!
Or at least, washing your worries away just for a tiny bit!







First step was soaking in a salt water tub with  fancy oils and powders.
I felt like we were in a bubbly cauldron full of potions!
Slightly disappointed I didn't come out 10 years younger:)
 



The view!!!





Even with a glass bottom floor to watch the
fish below while melting away in our massages.

I think we both slipped into another world.
It was HEAVENLY!!





We hopped around to the different therapy pools 
and sipped on our very fancy drinks.




















Ship our kids to us!






The cold plunge pool that I did NOT go in!
Why do those always give me anxiety?





Another round of pina coladas and french fries by the pool.







The lagoon was chalk full of fish!!
Snorkeling around was very entertaining at this resort.






















The cloud ring around Otemanu was cute!






A day view of our home sweet bungalow!















Casey won husband of the year by putting up
with my instagram antics!

I really wanted to make a video of some sort of us
jumping off our private deck.

We made each letter of LOVE with our bodies.
Silly me, thinking we could get it done with one try!
Stinking L and E were the death of us!!

I think our neighbors thought we were crazy!
We jumped off that deck for over an hour!
Our noses and throats were burning from the salt water.

We had some good laughs.
My niece is is a whiz at social media stuff and put it to 
music ( Nat King Coles L-O-V-E). 

It turned out super cute!

Some screen shots from the reel.














Our reward, cat napping on the deck.
This was our afternoon ritual.
Taking the pads off of the lounge chairs and dozing in the sun.
It was glorious. 





My evening ritual.
Soaking in the tub while munching on mini bar drinks and snacks,
while watching a movie into the sunset.





Our last dinner was another cultural night with Tahitian dancing.







Could the dessert BE any more darling? 
Chocolate grass roof cake with mango ice cream.
I was not ready to leave the resort food life!






Monday, September 16, 2024

Magical Waters






Waking up to the soothing blue floor of the South Pacific right underneath us was
something purely magical. 

No wonder Moana felt such a strong pull towards the ocean!

I was sad to get torn out of bed to make our snorkeling excursion.





But looking at Bora Bora in the full daylight for the first time
changed my tune!

Could it BE any more breathtaking?!









The view from our platform deck outside our room.




It was a dreamy walk to breakfast. 

 






The front desk area.
La Orana!





We ate like kings!
Tahiti knows how to do breakfast right!








Loved the solid wood chairs.






As we waited for our snorkeling guide, this boat pulled up
and we were serenaded by 
a ukulele version of Sound Of Silence. 
I could have listened to him all day!

  I also enjoyed talking to this man with the clipboard.
Not sure if he appreciated my 100 questions, lol!
I was so interested in his life!
He was the activities director for the resort and came from Italy.
He started working at the InterContinental only a few weeks prior.
I believe he said his contract was for a year?
And he would be staying there the whole time, never going home to visit.

All of the staff live on the resort.
He pointed back to a side area where dorms are.
Bora Bora is a TINY island.
In fact, there isn't even a hospital. 
Everything gets shipped in from surrounding larger islands.

This is how it is for all of the other resorts.
People come from all over the world to work in Bora Bora,
and I don't blame them!







Our boat came and whisked us away to
our magical water playground!
Just for record keeping purposes, I booked with Reef Discovery.
There are so many different companies, but I liked that this had
a smaller group of people on each boat. 












Even though we did snorkeling in Moorea, I had heard
you can never get enough of it.

Which was true!
It even felt like a whole different experience.













Our first stop unfortunately didn't boast lots of animals as it was close to shore
and the currents were going fast from the previous windy days.
No sea turtles today. 


Our captain drove us to another location.
On the way he pointed out this island.
He said this was a private island owned by the 
founder of Nars cosmetics!

It had no electricity or running water!
He transformed in into an oasis with a
big house, photo studio and planted
1500 coconut palm trees for privacy!

He only comes about 1 month out of the year.
Rich man he is!

Oh, but its currently on the market for 50 million
 if anyone was looking!







The Coral Gardens were SPECTACULAR!!
I felt like I was a mermaid swimming amongst all the bright colors and fishes!






Notice the floating pieces of bread?
They do that to attract the fish.

In Moorea they told us NOT to feed them bread, as it is harmful to their digestion.
We were confused why our guide was trying to kill his fishy friends!
When we asked he huffed and said, with his French accent...
I feed them bread for 20 years, they still here!!

We had a good laugh. 










He took our camera and said he would take our picture.
Don't be fooled thinking this shot happened easily!






We have many hilarious outtakes to prove otherwise!
I think he thought we were wimpy weirdos who couldn't figure out how to swim.
 At one point he shook his head and said enough.
Ha!











We moved on to see big schools of eagle rays!!






Then swam with sharks and manta rays!
It looks like our guide is kissing a manta ray.
He probably is. They do this every day of the year!











It was neat driving around the whole island and
checking out all of the other resorts. 

And once again, staring off into the wild blue yonder. 






Pool food hits so good sometimes!
It's one of my love languages.







So fun to see a bride and a groom!












Our room was at the very end of the walkway.
I loved everything about it!
I also loved that when we first arrived
at the airport they gave us each a turquoise
reusable water bottle.
You can see it on the railing to the right.
They had filtered water stations all throughout the
resort to refill you bottles with. They came in SO handy!

I think we came at a perfect time.
I had heard how humid and hot it can be.
Unbearable sometimes.
We for sure were sweaty and hot,
but nothing crazy where I thought I was going to melt. 






The cleaning fairy came!
I forgot how on top of things 5 star resorts are.
Daily stocked mini bar was also nothing to complain about, either!





Even the soaps were darling. 
 





We jumped in the water off our deck for the first time!
 We got a kick out of ourselves for filming us swim underneath the bungalow
to where the glass coffee table was in the living room. 








We made dinner reservations for the fire 
performance show!





Clever way to depict gender restrooms.