Our next port of call in French Polynesia was the island of Moorea. The day started somewhat rainy, but we had big plans already. The pianist in the band had helped organize a day of swimming with sharks and stingrays. All of these islands are surrounded by what they call lagoons. Basically there is a ring of coral around the islands. Inside the circle of coral the water remains fairly shallow in most places. It provides the beaches with crystal clear waters that are warm like baths and stretch far out. You are able to walk for hundreds of yards into the warm, clear water. These lagoons also make for a good home for many different kinds of wildlife because they are free from rough waves or currents and have plenty of nutrients from the coral.
The tour started out in a small boat with some crew and some guests and we rode a little ways around the island, taking in the views of the wild island. It is much less built up than Tahiti and seems to really hold onto that really exotic, jungle feel that some islands have lost in places. As we drove through the lagoon we eventually started to slow down and we looked down and saw these dark circular creatures swimming below the boat. The water was like a swimming pool and only a few feet deep so it was easy to see how big these rays were. Our tour guide basically gave us no instructions except to warn us not to stick our hands in the mouths of the rays. Great. He then dropped a small set of stairs into the water and invited us in. I think everyone was pretty taken aback, but I was excited. Me and the bass player from the band got right out there in the water.
Sure enough these wild animals were just swimming right around us and up to us. They were incredibly docile and welcoming because they knew we had food. The guide had some small pieces of fish he used to feed them. The way the rays moved through the water was really amazing and a little intimidating. They are rather big and just were happy to come right up to you without you even seeing it. I was a little freaked out by the whole thing, to be honest. You would be standing there and all the sudden a big, slick wavy blob is just rubbing itself all over you?! The rest of the people on the boat slowly, but surely joined us in the water. There was lots of screaming and laughing, but after a while we realized the animals were really not going to be aggressive or anything. We all eventually enjoyed watching and playing with the stingrays. Also there were some really beautiful sharks that were swimming around us the whole time. They were probably 6 feet long or so with yellow and black markings on their fins. They were so different from the rays, keeping their distance. Later in the day the guide took us to a small bay and the sun came out! I ended up taking advantage of the coral and the sun and went snorkeling for a while. It was great to see more fish and enjoy this world under the surface of the ocean that is so foreign to us. It was a gorgeous reef and I had a blast exploring. The guide ended up having some amazing fresh fruit and even showed us how to crack a coconut. The end of the tour was spent riding back in the boat, amazed at the bright blue water and then laughing and trying to stay dry as the heavens sort of opened up over us. The experience of swimming with those animals was such a bizarre one, but I'm glad I did it.
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| Swimming with rays: one of the weirdest things I've ever done. |
Our last stop in French Polynesia was Bora Bora. The names of these islands just conjure up such amazing images of exotic beaches and huts sitting over bright blue water, don't they? Bora Bora fully satisfied all those thoughts for me. We had a pretty relaxing day. We got off the ship and took an open air truck ride out to a gorgeous beach. It was just so perfect and the water was so warm. That lagoon setup of the islands is great for that. We had fun walking far out into the water and soaking in the sun while it was there. Then we decided to walk to get lunch at the famous Bloody Mary's tiki restaurant and bar. The restaurant had decent internet and I was able to call home, thank goodness! We've been going pretty long without having decent internet and I was looking forward to calling home, so that was a treat. Bloody Mary's was a pretty kitschy little place with thatched roof and sand on the floor. Ha!
I was with the cast walking the 2 miles back to the beach when my flip flop broke and I had to continue along barefoot, but it wasn't too bad since I was able to walk most of it in the warm waters along sandy bay beaches and in the shade of coconut palms. Amazing. When we got back to the beach there was this dog that was just having so much fun. I couldn't help but spend some time playing and goofing around with this beach dog. I don't know to whom he belonged or anything, but he was playing fetch with coconuts, swimming out int he water and digging deep holes in the sand. He was enjoying his beach day as much as I was and we had a ball!
The luxury Intercontinental Hotel was right across the street and I wanted to snorkel so I went with the cast members over there and we swam our pretty far, swimming under the over-water huts and admiring the fish all around. It started to rain again and everyone needed to head back to the ship, but I still had quite a while so I decided to stay for a bit. Even though it was raining pretty hard, under the water was still clear and quiet. I loved it. Spending time exploring and finding little spots with new fish has become a favorite thing to do. It relaxes me and is just as exciting each and every time. I finished the day waiting in the rain for another truck to come by and pick me up when the dog came over and found me waiting under a little shelter. We sat there together for a bit, happy for a companion in the rain.
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| Sailing away from Bora Bora |
As I got back to the ship the sky cleared up and I was able to get some pretty beautiful pictures as we sailed away. These islands in the Pacific are really just enchanting, special places. They are unique and so set apart, so far away from the rest of the world.
Hope all is well back home. Miss you guys!
Tripp
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