DAY 34-BORA BORA

       Bora Bora is an island in the leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia just 150 miles northwest of Tahiti.  A picture if worth a thousand words so I have attached this Wiki photo.
As you can see the island is surrounded by a lagoon and barrier reef.  In the center of the island there are two peaks from a extinct volcano and the highest peak is 2400 feet.  The population is 9000 and is a major international tourist destination known for its luxury resorts.  Most of the resorts feature water bungalows built on stilts in the lagoon.  Snorkeling and scuba diving are popular activities.

       Without doubt this is the most beautiful island we have visited on this and many other cruises.  The Hawaiian islands cannot come close to this FANTASTIC island.  The many colors of the lagoon water are amazing, breath taking, and mesmerizing.  I was out on our balcony this morning as we sailed in past the stunning barrier reef and into the lagoon.  Here is link to some photos I took in 2014 when we were here.  You will probably have to "cut and paste" the link to another browzer.
Unfortunately, photos cannot capture the true beauty of this heaven on Earth.

https://goo.gl/photos/U1c4WSL3Jnd6oZyK7

Below are the photos I took this morning on my "Le Truck Island Tour", which was to be a 2.5 hour tour but turned out to be at least 3 hours.  It basically was a drive around the perimeter road of the island.  That was about 17 miles.  We had several stops for photo taking.  It was already pretty hot even though it was a morning tour.  Our guide was VERY knowledgeable which really added to my tour.  David and Melody Hermann were on my tour also.

                           Little band to greet us as we stepped off the tender.

                                The "Le Truck"---French for The Truck, I guess.

                I took a photo of David taking a photo of Melody and I on the truck.

                                             Leaving the little town.

Under the little roof is a grave site.  There are no cemeteries on the island.  They just bury folks on their plot of land.

This stop was Mama Edna's to sample local delicacies such as breadfruit, poe mixed with coconut milk (not marinated), taro and tropical fruit.  We also had an opportunity to buy some local, hand-painted pareus.

This lady was about to demonstrate how they took white cloth and dyed it to make a Pareus.  This is what both men and women wear in French Polynesia.

This is the finished thing after she folded, twisted, then dipped in the different colored dyes.  Took her less than a minute to make this one.  They were selling them for $20.

                   Demonstrating how to wear (tie) the pareus on a passenger.

                     The different colors of blues of the water is just beautiful.

Marlon Brando used to own these.  He gave one of the three he owned to Jack Nickelson, his neighbor in LA.

You'll definitely have to enlarge this to see the land crabs.  The driver threw out some flowers and the crabs would come out of their holes and pull them down inside.  They were a hoot to watch as they would steal from each other.

Across the bay was some over water bungalows of some major hotels.  Cost to stay per night over $1000.

                         These were abandoned from old hotel.

The lighter the blue color, the shallower the water.  The black spots are coral heads just under the water.

                      Our ship and the Fred Olsen ship in the distance.

                        VERY famous bar and restaurant on Bora Bora.

There were two of these boards out front with the names of famous people who have dined here.  My name was not on it---YET.

       I was back onboard by 11:00 am.  Hot and sweaty!  I came right to the coffee connection to start downloading yesterday's and today's photos and to publish both posts.  I had downloaded a few early this morning before my tour.  It is now 2:45 so you see how much time I devote to the blog.  Rebecca went up to the pool grill and brought me down a hamburger for lunch so I could eat while working.
       Rebecca is watching the movie, "Sully", this afternoon in the suite while I do this.  I saw the movie with my son in Durango right after it came out.  My neck is hurting so I think I will go lie down for awhile.
       Will dine in Compass Rose around 7:00 pm then head to theater in order to get a good seat for Brandi's show at 9:30 tonight.  We will be sailing at 5:00 pm and will be at sea for the next two days. Hoping for continued smooth sailing.  Will have at least two "Meet the Crew" for you tomorrow.