Cruise day 13 – Jan 16
Visit Vaitape, Bora Bora, French Polynesia –
Wow, this is more like it! Bora Bora is the exotic island with pristine turquoise waters, a gorgeous deep lagoon and the small village-like atmosphere that I had envisioned. It has the perfect south pacific “heavy jungle” look, and two beautiful volcanic peaks reaching skyward next to the lagoon:
Around the island are luxurious resorts with bungalows on pilings jutting out into the ocean. What a fantastic place it would be to stay, but big $$$$!
On this stop we were tendered ashore again, two trips for us since we had reserved two excursions – and both were awesome. After breakfast we took the “Aqua Safari” tour, an optional excursion we had to check out. Then after returning to the ship for a quick lunch we went back to the island for the included excursion, a covered boat ride around part of the island and lagoon.
Aqua Safari
This activity was even cooler than we had imagined. We were lowered to the seafloor wearing 80-pound helmets connected to the boat via pressurized air hoses. It’s in only 10′ of water and in a small roped off area with some small coral formations, but it does give the feel of scuba diving. I’m a certified diver, and although this was nothing like moving freely around a large reef, it was pretty cool and Mona Liza was grinning from ear to ear the whole time we were down.
Once on the bottom, we were surrounded by parrot fish, butterflies, clowns, morays, and more. A diver/photographer took several pictures of everyone, which can be purchased. Everybody was thrilled with this excursion, don’t miss it if you get a chance to go!
80 lb helmets
Helmet on…
…I’m going down!
Bora Bora Boat Cruise
Another winner, this is a cruise in a covered boat around part of the island and then through the lagoon and back to the dock. Teva, our captain/guide (who played the ukulele for us during the longer stretches) gave us a lot of information about the history of the island, and especially the culture and languages of Polynesia. We were interested to learn that there are no cemeteries here because residents bury their deceased in the front yard. That means if you buy a house where some of the family members are buried, well, you get them with the house!
We made a quick stop at a shallow area where various stingrays were swimming all over the place. Teva got in the water to lift one to the surface to show us, but he was unable to grab one so we had to be content to just watch them swim around in the crystal clear water:
After cruising past a big group of bungalows (and a couple of homes) on stilts stretching out over the water, we headed back. On the way as we crossed the lagoon, we got hammered by a downpour. The cover over the boat didn’t help at all, but it was a joy ride as we got soaked while speeding through the storm.
Bluefin tuna was the fresh fish of the day, the first time I’ve tried it. Delicious! After dinner we went to a show featuring session guitarist Louie Shelton playing with the ship’s band. Then off to bed, a couple of tired puppies!
This stop surpassed our expectations, and we had a wonderful time!
Lowes Travels 
Nice! a worthy port stop 🙂 loved your stories and photos.
Looks like a great stop. What fun to be under the sea!
I thought ML was making a pass at Teva before you clarified 😉.
I’ve been looking forward to this post. The water and surroundings looks splendid.
Hey, you will never know what I do each time I met a local 🙂 – ML
We both love BoraBora but just too pricey!
What stunning water! Being a diver, did wearing those cubes annoy you? It would have been wonderful to have scuba and really explore!
A whirlwind of splendor! Since the colors in the photos are breathtaking, I can only imagine how much more vivid they were in person. Did you see evidence of anyone actually staying in those luxury huts? Little Miss Flirty-Pants is a crack-up! I’ll bet Teva gets a kick out of her antics 😀
I saw two bungalows occupied but the guide told us the high season is from May to Aug. Teva was ecstatic for sure!
Was waiting for your post on this island.. Spent 10 days at the Bora Bora hotel in 1980….nearly 40 yrs ago. There was even a Club Med at one end of the island. So happy to hear it’s still pristine waters, and wonderful excursions! Keep enjoying.
It looked like they took care of their island, did not see any highrises, just those expensive bungalows. But Bora Bora was what I imagined it to be, super beautiful!
The turquoise color of the water is extraordinary! And the island is gorgeous. The two excursions you did look like so much fun, getting soaked and all. I’m glad when you were diving they had you in a protected enclosure since you were wearing bags of fish food around your necks, LOL.
That was so much fun! At first, we were ignored but then realized we brought a snack for them and they just attacked us. I even touched a few! And the water was warm and felt sooo good! The best experience so far.
Our favorite stop in French Polynesia was Bora Bora. I remember the musician on the right from when we visited in 2017. The helmeted walk on the floor of the sea looks fun … I’m just not sure if my slight case of claustrophobia will let me do it.
It was the best experience so far, I was just glad I did not panic or have anxiety when I was pushed down with an 80 lb helmet.
So very cool!! Love the diving cube and that gorgeous water. Sounds like the island you wanted to see.
It lived up to our expectations!
Now that was a perfect day! The island looks so green and lush and the water exactly as I would have imagined. Love your underwater adventure!
It’s our favorite so far.
I’m so happy you enjoyed Bora Bora. Knew you would! We stayed at a beach bungalow for 10 days while at Moorea. Not over the water but, we believed, better than over the water.