Sunrise and Sunset over Bora Bora

We travelled 160 miles northwest Monday night to arrive in time for a beautiful sunrise over Bora Bora on Tuesday morning...

It is easily understood why James Michener, author of Tales of the South Pacific, called Bora Bora “the most beautiful island on earth.” Emerald-green hills and crystalline blue lagoons highlight its spectacular beauty. It is comparable yet different from Moorea in that there are fewer mountains and most of the greenery does not extend as high in the sky.

Again we decided to explore via catamaran. We took a scenic cruise across Bora Bora’s Blue Lagoon, considered to be the world’s most beautiful lagoon, which is three times larger than the island’s land mass (about 60 miles in circumference) and has an unbelievable range of azure and turquoise colors.

The catamaran stopped at various spots in the lagoon for us to snorkel or have other experiences (to follow). At the first stop, we saw many, many colorful fish over a coral reef…

At the second stop, it was very shallow and not as inviting to get into the water. The boat crew dropped bait in the water to attract “friendly” sharks and sting rays (how do you keep the “non-friendly” ones away?). We were encouraged, if not thrown, in the water to enjoy this experience upfront. There were sting rays and sharks everywhere and they brushed right up against you (all those shadows in the water pictured below right are NOT rocks!). As you can see from the pictures below, John clearly is having a good time meeting a sting ray. However, Joanna was not so pleased when she got side-swiped by a shark immediately upon getting into the water! It was quite an experience and one we will never forget.

After getting back on the boat with all of our body parts intact, we travelled to a private island in the lagoon on a coral atoll, or “motu,” for a barbeque picnic and spent the afternoon on the beach and swimming in the lagoon.

We cleaned up back on the ship and later headed out to dinner at the world-renowned Bloody Mary Restaurant on the island (where the rich and famous have gathered for decades), catching this spectacular sunset over Bora Bora on the way.