Bora Bora!

Transfer day for us!!

A part of my heart was not ready to leave Moorea yet.

I loved this island so, so much.

How could it get any better?

I am here to tell you, it sure did!

Our last breakfast buffet.

With a killer view to boot.

Casey's shirt matched that aqua water and
I was soaking it all in as long as I could.

We sat by the lagoon for a bit before the shuttle van took us to the airport.

I wasn't expecting to fly out, I was thinking we would go by ferry again!
Funny how you learn things along the way.

This airport was TINY!

Really there was no security at all.

Nobody checked luggage for bombs or knives.

Not sure if I should be worried or grateful for the easy check in process. 

Our bustling "gate".

 

We walked around the corner for a snack.

Magnum bars seemed appropriate since that's all we ate in Israel!

Tahiti wouldn't be Tahiti without stray animals roaming around 

public areas. 

The day ended up being sort of long with lots of 

different stops and drop-offs.

Kind of a bummer, but we got great views of different islands

and beautiful views out the window. 

Next time ( I sure hope there is a next time) I know

to book a fight direct to our destination!

Flight from Moorea back to Papeete.

So cool to see the coral reefs and how the barriers make

the different shades of blue. 

Off the plane to grab our luggage.

An hour later back on the same plane.
We didn't realize  we would be making a quick stop 

to the island of Ra'iatea.

We dropped off passengers and picked up more.

Ra'iatea sounded familiar.

I looked it up and sure enough, a new temple

was announced this past general conference in the town of Uturoa

that is on this island!

Then we finally arrived to BORA BORA!!!!!

Just like all the other airports, Bora Bora was no exception.

Probably the tiniest airport of them all.

The ONLY way to a resort or the main island is by boat.

Most everyone is a tourist, or a worker going to a tourist resort.

They have all the resorts in a row where they check you in and then escort you 

to their shuttle tender. 

Probably my favorite airport by far!

You can see the St Regis boat.

Our first glimpse of true paradise!

"How does Bora Bora sound? Very sexy sexy"

This was ringing in my head the whole time!

On our way!!

We had a perfect sunset glimpse of the island.

So glad we got to see it first hand in the daylight, and

then at golden hour.

Our resort was 5 star from before even stepping foot on the property!

I couldn't get over the fact that we didn't have to lift a finger!

I am not accustomed to this.

It was hard at first, but then I thought I could get used to this. Ha!

A conch shell greeting!

They whisked us away on golf carts to the check in desk and then

for a tour of the resort.

Our minds couldn't wrap around the fact that this was a real place, not a movie set.

PICTURE perfect and GORGEOUS!!

We thought Moorea was amazing, Bora Bora blew it out of the water!
Words and pictures cannot express the true form

of paradise this place is.

You should listen to the video commentary of us gawking at every little thing in sight!

After checking in you got some type of cold tea, and then a picture

by the famous Otemanu mountain.

This resort has bragging rights that it has the best view of it from all the others!

Which is definitely true!

 

More gawking once we got to our bungalow over the water!!!

This has been a dream of mine for many, many years.

It did not disappoint!

I took some pictures even though it was dark and not the best

lighting before we messed it all up.

The finest details and little touches they do really put it over the top!

Like these darling fresh flowers over the towels.

They replaced them every day!

I felt like a Kardashian!!

We were starving so headed to dinner.

We were seated right by the sand and waterfront.

Our package included an appetizer, entree and dessert per person.

Casey picked a cold soup that had popcorn on top.

Fancy resort comes with fancy food!!

Already I was wishing we could stay forever!

Hanging with Capt. Taina

Excursion day!

I searched high and low for the best snorkeling experience on Moorea,

and Captain Taina seemed to have the most votes on the web!

A good carb load for breakfast.

Man, the baguette french toast hit the spot every morning!
Along with the fresh fruit. 

Our breakfast view.

Can you hear the smooth Polynesian music playing through

the picture? I sure can hear it!

Walking off the fullness before our big swim.

He was getting ready to deliver breakfast to the huts on the water!

Captain Taina's was nothing fancy in the least bit.

We pulled up to almost a junk yard with a big patio.

We got all checked in then took the group back to the water.

These coconuts lined along the fence were so cool!

I kid you not, we passed behind this massive palm leaf into a turquoise curtain 

of water!

We could not get over what we were looking at!!

Never have seen anything so breathtaking, ever.

Unfortunately, it was a super windy day.

We weren't sure how much sea life we would be able to see

since the current was running fiercely.

 

I didn't care.

Just sitting on the boat with the bluest of blue water

would be enough for me!

Our main captain.

He would explain everything in French, then repeat in English for us.

The way he said, Shellee.

Never tired of the smooth French accent. 

We first tried spotting turtles through the glass bottom. 

Normally this section is swarmed with them.

Of course, not this day!

We still jumped in and tried to spot some.

I think we did see one.

Another great purchase was a water proof diving case for my phone!

Made for some good underwater pictures!

We got back in the boat and drove to another area.

This guy sailed right by us!

He is a world wind champion and comes here

yearly to practice!

Our captain is a local, born and raised.

It was neat to hear his stories and learn about his backyard,

as he referred to the ocean.

I think he said he has swam in it everyday of his life.

What a life!

He lives on family owned land.

His house does not have running water.

He never wears sunscreen and has never burned before!

He took us by a resort that has since shut down from covid. 
It had been vacant for 4 years, waiting for a buyer.
He said he used to do snorkeling excursions for this resort for 30 years.

He knew the owner well, and were close friends. 

As he was telling us about why the resort didn't make it, we noticed smoke!

It was on FIRE!!!

He started to panic and looking for his phone.

He said it looked to be the main "house" of the

resort with the kitchen, office and some rooms.

He was in disbelief!

It was getting bigger and bigger!

He said this will be the talk of the Island for days!

I felt bad, but there was nothing we could do
and he had to continue on with the tour.

This is called the sunken Tiki garden.

Ancient Tahitian tikis were thrown in the water when missionaries

were converting the islands. In protest, locals tossed tikis in

the water as a sign of respect and preservation. 

I think these tikis were from churches?

Don't quote me on that!

Our guide found a huge conkshell!

He said we were going to swim out into some coral gardens.

No noodles.

Good thing I am a good swimmer because we were out for

quite awhile!

I was surprised at how much faith he had in us.

We saw some cool stuff, but I was happy to return to the boat!

He pointed out some pretty spectacular things.

However, I think I exerted energy as I was trying hard to not touch ANYTHING!

Since some of the things could be deadly.

Like a water snail that could kill you in seconds if you

came in contact with it.

No big deal. 

 

This gigantic sea urchin nestled into the coral was also deadly.

Funny how I was excited to go see things not as deadly after that stop.

Like the sharks. HA!

It was a cool experience.

They feel so gross, ick.

I died when they would want to slither all the way up and

down your body!

Time for some grub!

They took us to a private island where they cooked

us lunch.

It was authentic in every way!

Even with their cooking methods.

Love that he is basting the meat with a tree branch!

They love to be eco friendly.

They gave a demonstration on how to make poisson cru.

Raw tuna salad with fresh coconut and lime juice. 

I was skeptical, but it was good!

Look at those colorful veggies!

Cheers!

How could anything taste bad coming out of a cute coconut?!

I was SHOCKED Casey ate his!!

He said it wasn't bad at all.

It's amazing how much better fresh caught fish tastes!

Kabobs of my dreams right there.

I can't remember what the fresh caught fish of the day was, but

it melted in my mouth like butter.

They also had chicken that was delightful. 

Rice and baguettes to go with the skewers.

Fresh fruit for dessert with coconut shavings on top.

They waste no parts of the coconut!

Doing the dishes in the ocean never has been this fun!

No joke.

The fish eat the leftover food.

The birds came out like crazy.

Casey was nice and threw them some offerings.

The pile of coconuts from the poisson cru.

I can't remember what they do to recycle them.

Full and happy.

Back on land.

I had to send a picture of the basketball hoop to the boys.

Rusty said sketch.

I think it was adorable!!

These gardenia plants smelled so heavenly!
Reminded me of my Grandmother who planted them in her gardens.

Another swim in our pool before heading to dinner.

Holy Steak House this time.

No pictures of dinner except this scoop of coconut ice cream.