Day 3

Today was a great day. It began with both of us watching the sun rise & ended with a sunset and cocktails.

The two of us woke up early this morning so that we could eat breakfast, take the first boat to Vitape, and grab the shuttle (I use the term shuttle loosely as it is more of this big truck, with a large extended bed, for adventurist people to hop on board) to take to our first excursion: swimming with the sharks and stingrays.

We made friends with this other So Cal couple and they were sharing with us about some of the excursions they had planned. Because there were a few we were interested in, we decided to tag along, giving us built in buddies and photographers :)

The boat was run by two brothers and a crazy French man. This trio of guys was a riot – beyond hilarious! They serenaded us, informed us of Bora Bora culture, and gave us a comprehensive tour of the area. While on board, it became quite apparent that we were in the minority as most of the travelers were from France, Italy, and a guy from Greece. The tour guides spoke predominantly in French but the spoke in English for us as well. It was very cool to hear all the different languages.

 

TIP for travelers: the native language here is French and a dialect of Polynesian Islander (clearly I am making this terminology up). Many of the employees around the island is speak English (some better than others) but good to keep this in mind as you explore.

The boat made a few different stops. We first went out to towards the reef barrier and anchored just shy of it. There we put on our snorkel gear and watched as the brothers fed the sharks and stingrays. We got to see lots of them, up close and personal. The crazy French guy kept bringing the stingrays around to swim against me, they’d flap along my back, and side. I am not gonna lie, it was a bit nerve racking.

The second place the boat took us was to a great coral reef area, perfect for snorkeling. We got to see tons of beautiful, tropical fish. At this point, we have yet to use our flippers. It’s not necessary because the water is so salty and staying afloat is not a problem. Sadly our waterproof camera got water in it, so we are unable to access the images we took and no longer have use of the camera, we’re hoping airing out will help. In any case, our friends got some great pix of the fish and coral, I am sure they’ll share with us.

The third and final destination was the main event, the Lagoonarium. It was wonderful! It was sectioned off into four distinct tide pool areas: one with turtles, one with stingrays that they debarred (making them completely harmless), one with tropical fish, and one with a mix of all the above (minus the turtles). This section extends along the perimeter of the pools and has huge swim areas on either side. This was super exciting. It was here that we got to get cozy with the sting rays and lemon sharks.

It was here at the Lagoonarium (which is a small island) that we had lunch and got to explore. Lunch was traditional Polynesian cuisine and was quite delicious. We had some chicken, fish, rice, little bananas in tapioca pudding (SOOO good), cirveche, fresh fruit, and bread. “Yum Yum Time” was good. There were a few pups on the island that we fell in love with, they were too cute! They swam with us, went for a walk around the island with us, and provided us with some great K9 company (we miss our pup – love you Jack!). The island had a little shop and it was here that Scott got me a special hat. It is a great memento to remember this incredible day.

After our day of exploration, we went to our friends bungalow, where we listened to music, had drinks, swam, jumped from the swim step (and the second story, I even tried it this time –eek), and snacked on fresh meats, cheese, and bread from the local market.

TIP for travelers: you must visit the local grocery store, Chin Lee. It’s a great way to save money, find familiar foods, as well as try some of the local goods.

We watched the sunset, gorgeous. The evening ended with a fabulous diner for four at Iriatai (the fancy place) where they had live music. This guy was really good, playing U2, Cold Play, REM, Eagles, and other classis bands, all with an island twist. We danced a little (although not the norm) and played pool. It was a terrific day, which ended with a terrific night. Good times in Bora Bora (some here say Boha Boha).