Bora Bora
When Joey asked me where my dream destination for our honeymoon would be - I said Bora Bora, not thinking that it would ever happen! But 2 years later - there we were sitting on a plane on our way from Papeete, Tahiti to my dream destination- Bora Bora!
As I have made it very clear- I do not love to fly- but today I didn't care that we were on a turbo propeller plane that shuttles people back and forth from Tahiti and the surrounding islands ( okay, I cared a little). Already from the plane window we were introduced to the beauty of Bora Bora.
Bora Bora is famous for many things- beautiful landscapes full of Polynesian palm trees and exotic flowers. The water is almost indescribable. It's a rare greenish- bluish color water that sparkles in the sun's reflection. What is underneath the water is a world of it's own- full of a variety of living creatures including multicolored fish and coral. Bora Bora, and the surrounding islands of Tahiti are famous for Tahitian Black Pearls that are grown in pearl farms - each pearl takes about two years to produce. Bora Bora is also famous for it's laid back- fun loving culture. Friendly faces, kind-hearted people that enjoy life day by day. I was really excited to get to experience Bora Bora and all it is famous for.
When we landed at the small airport we were warmly greeted with a flower lei and escorted to our transportation boat that would shuttle us from the airport to the Bora Bora Pearl Resort. The transport boat set the tone for our Tahitian experience. The hotel staff sang joyously along to the beautiful and Polynesian sound of the ukulele. The entire boat swayed arm in arm singing and clapping together as the boat gently sailed through the turquoise jewel tone water. Looking into the water was amazing as it was crystal clear. We could see the sand below and the occasional eagle ray that swam playfully along side the boat.
After a 15 minute ride, our boat pulled up to paradise! The beauty, the water, the people- everything was unbelievably welcoming- even more than I expected. I really felt like I was on a high of happiness. Our round the world trip has been amazing so far, but this Bora Bora part was a totally different experience. It was the Honeymoon part of our Honeymoon! We were ready to take a break from hiking and waking up with the sunrise to catch a bus.
We checked in to the hotel and were escorted to our Over-Water Bungalow! Our host escorted us down the wide and smooth boardwalk. We passed many rows of bungalows until we finally reached our bungalow- which I considered our home for the next 3 days. It was the farthest one in the row so we really had an unobstructed view and total privacy from our balcony. The room was amazing. It was beautifully decorated in authentic Polynesian style with a triangle roof and everything made from tropical woods. The balcony view was absolutely stunning. The water seemed to stretch for miles until they met the mountains in the distance.
The best part of the room was our glass coffee table that gave us a view into the water that was directly under the bungalow. We had a spot light shining on a large coral that was home to many beautiful angel fish, needle fish, parrot fish and beautiful neon little fish that we could see so clearly from the comfort of our room. From the minute we got there the hotel completely spoiled us. When we walked into the room- there were gifts waiting for us. They gave us a Tahitian style platter and next to it, was a small gift bag with a black pearl pendant inside. What a great way to welcome us! Over the next few days they treated us to drinks at the bar, and a beautiful fruit platter. The whole thing was amazing!Everything was truly luxurious! (For all you Bachelor watchers... I really felt like Ali!!)
We spent the next few days relaxing and enjoying what I liked to wish was my new dream home! The view and the scenery never ceased to amaze us. Every morning that we woke up to the beautiful panoramic view from our bed put a huge smile on our faces.
We weren't completely lazy the entire time in Bora Bora- we did do a few fun things... One day we took the free shuttle to the main island and walked around the small village. We met a few locals who helped us with directions and recommendations of where to go. While in town we decided to walk into one of the famous pearl stores. Not that I was interested in buying anything- and getting a pendant as a gift from the hotel was more than I ever imagined I would have. We went in to the store just to get a better of understanding about the pearls and how they are made. We learned that Bora Bora pearls really come from huge ocean farms off of the Marquesas Islands. Each pearl takes years to cultivate and only a very small percentage end up good enough for jewelry – that's why they are so expensive and sought after. They really are beautiful things and it made me feel even more special to think that I got one from the hotel.
Another fun thing we did was that we went to a Polynesian dancing show at the hotel. The fast-paced dancing looked fun and easy... until they called us up to dance in front of everyone! I ended up doing what looked like a cross between the chicken dance and the macarena- not the style of the traditional Tahitian dancing- but still fun! (Joey video taped the whole thing and said he is keeping it for Blackmail – I think I was pretty good.)
We also spent some time swimming off our balcony from our room. We explored around and underneath our balcony- and then explored further around the other bungalows. We swam through a beautiful coral nursery growing under the boardwalk of the over-water bungalows. We got really close to the fish and couldn't even count the number of species that kept swimming up to us. It was as if they were just as interested in us as we were in them.
Overall everything we saw, and everyone we met was truly amazing- especially our neighbors down the boardwalk- a few bungalows over. We met a great family from Tulsa, Oklahoma also on vacation. Not only was it nice to see Americans- but they were really great people to meet on our trip! Everything about our Bora Bora trip exceeded our expectations! We learned many things, a lot about the Polynesian culture and traditions. I also learned what became my favorite Polynesian word 'Maururu'- which means 'Thank you'. So maururu Joey for making my honeymoon dream come true!
