Bora Bora - Gem of the South Pacific

Bora Bora more than made up for Tahiti.  The island is ringed by coral reefs with waves crashing over them into the shallow water which surrounds the island.  Our ship anchored in the harbor so we had a short tender ride to the town.  A 4 piece band was on shore greeting us with island music and the welcoming people gave us flowers (actually buds) as a welcome gift.  Darrell took "leTruck" for a drive around the island while I went on a "Shark and Stingray Safari."

The welcoming committee

 I think I got the better deal, but he enjoyed the ride.  The best way to see the island is from the sea where you can really see the different colored waters.  The shallow areas are a pale turquoise fading to deep blue where it is deeper.

The Captain.  Tattoos are a local tradition.

Our small boat took about a dozen of us on a tour to see some of the resorts and houses before we got to the shallow water.  As we approached the area where the water was about 4 feet deep, we began to see stingrays swimming around and under our boat.  All you could see was a dark shape about 3 feet across gliding under the water.

Reef shark

The stingrays loved our captain.

 The captain dropped anchor so we could all go in and wait for the fish to come.  And they did come!  In addition to the stingrays there were reef sharks, blue pilot fish, yellow and white angelfish shaped fish, iridescent blue fish about 3 inches long and a few other kinds.  The captain was feeding them, so the fish were all around us.  You could pet the rays, but we were cautioned not to pet the bottom side.  The fish might think your fingers were food.  They do not bite, but suck up the food and can give you a nice "hickie" if they latch onto you.








The stingrays were amazingly soft, except for a rougher area around the edges and down the middle of their backs. The body was 2-3 feet long with a 2 foot "tail."  As they swam, it was as if they were flying through the water by flapping their wings.

How's this for a houseboat?

This outrigger canoe had a big motor.

At this resort, you were really on the water.

               We had company on the water.

One of the colorful fish.

Next we moved to an area over a coral reef for snorkeling.

All those dark shapes in the water around me are stingrays!

We sailed off into the sunset with fond memories of this south sea paradise.