Sofitel Bora Bora Motu Private Island Vaitape

... Tonight is our last formal night—we’ve gotten some good photos (yes Julie, one for your wall). Everyone has given us advice as how to drive in Oz, where to go in Oz, and generally what we should do. Unfortunately we’ll only have 9 days. We’ll just kind of go with the flow. Looks like the most interesting thing will be driving out of Sydney. One chap made ...

... of the time we do the buffet, as we’re hot and ready for the pool. Mornings are spent sunning around the pool and reading, relaxing in the pool to cool off, or relaxing in the hot tub. You’ll notice the key word here is relaxing. Usually there are activities around the pool which make for good viewing (see Mr. Rhapsody or pool volleyball, girls!) Then it’s lunch around 2pm followed by ...

... reading this blog the opportunity to take my work from me for free. It is so easy to screen capture or download almost any image from the WEB, so a slide show allows me to share my work in a way that is interesting yet produces small quality screen captures. Forgive me for this, I hope that you will choose to still enjoy the slide show photo presentation format.

We over-nighted in Bora Bora, many crew members went ashore to enjoy a night on the beach or a stay in one of the grass hut hotel accommodations.

I went to bed and slept in until about 11:15AM. I needed the rest.

I had IPM again today and so after eating lunch I headed to the crew training room to take care of some lessons I needed to complete and then headed ...

... thing to see on this dive. These things were terrifying looking at about 3.5m long and a face like a Great White but they were harmless, as Jocks found out when one swam right up to him with seemingly little intention of stopping or changing swim direction. They were big so I was quite proud of myself and then felt silly for nearly not diving because of sharks as now I'm mad for it and want to see them every time we dive.

The evening before ...

... from Carole and Jeanine at dinner. Mum was very surprised to hear from the latter, as it had been about 50 years since they had communicated. Too late for our laps, so we just went to the show. A new cast came on board and trotted out a new show - Cinematastic. Cramped choreography. When it was over, we just read for a while. We were en route to Moorea by then, but the seas were calm. Slept with the balcony door open, to hear the sounds of the waves against the ship's hull.

"Pardon me, have you any Grey Poupon?" -Kevin, to another crew, as we (hypothetically) nearly collide with their boat Rains and heavy winds hit during the night. Arlene dreamt that the keel was sitting on the bottom (she was wrong). Ardice lay awake believing she head carrot sharks in the water. Paul laughed maniacally in his sleep (probably about the carrot sharks). Our early morning start quickly became a pipe dream. Tom and Ardice made pancakes for breakfast ...

... in finding it, but we soon realized that the park and the Bora Bora Aquarium are one in the same. Our Official Translator asked them the cost: 1000 francs per person. We declined. Our next attempt in the Great Snorkel Hunt was a nearby motu. The lagoon side had a small but beautiful white sand beach. We marched off through the jungle, machetes flailing, to the ocean side. Many coral spires sticking out of the water, not great snorkeling. Paul, Tom, Don, and Kevin took the ...

... we were on a collision course with a Liki Tiki (who very nicely slowed until we passed). We debated attempting a raid (figuring the six of us out-numbered the twenty-four of them ...) but wanted to have time to snorkel. Lucky for them. Once behind the island, we took down our sails and motored. We were in fairly deep water, though the cruising guide warned us of a difficult passage. Eventually, we spotted the five deviant palms. We aligned our stem ...

... We tried to our a little farther but got hung up on a log. We turned around twice, and headed downstream. Tom offered to oar for us. Readily accepted, of course. Tom spotted a crab which looked a great deal like a root. However, since it left, we figured it must be a crab. Fair assumption. Kevin caught a yellow flower which was floating along. It was very pretty. No scent, however. Ardice, being the sentimental type, trapped the spider in it and tossed the flower overboard. The ...