Goodbye to paradise and Jay
25 July 2010 | Bora Bora
Kat
After Bastille day we decided to climb up to the top of the hill on Bora Bora and burn off some of the calories we seem to have been piling on lately. Unfortunately it had rained heavily all through the night before which turned the already steep 800m climb into a complete mudslide. We certainly hadn't been this muddy since mountain biking around Surrey in the middle of winter! Luckily in the trickier places there were ropes so we could drag ourselves up to the top where we enjoyed a fantastic view over the enormous lagoon which completely surrounds the island. The water looked brilliantly blue but you could see the overwhelming impact of some of the larger "hut over the water" hotel developments and it now seems clear why you hardly see manta rays around Bora Bora anymore. But all to soon it was time to climb down which was in fact even worse than going up, especially the first 10m where you had to lower yourself down a vertical cliff with only a few slimy footholds for support - a head for heights definitely required for this hike!
Still awaiting the new parts for our replacement rig we were worried about heading back into strong trade winds on the South Easterly course to Tahiti so decided to extend our stay in Bora Bora and wait for a break in the weather. The sad news is that Jay had decided to leave us early after a job offer in London came up and his flights back to Tahiti and then LA were fast approaching so we investigated a small island (or motu) near the pass which seemed to always be deserted as a destination for a farewell party for Jay. Apparently one of the hotels uses it for special functions as there is a massive BBQ, tables and toilets which were very convenient. We scrounged some leftover coal and joined by several other boats we were soon cooking up burgers and drinking the remainder of the Heineken kegs we had bought duty free in Tahiti (yes they didn't last long!). It was a great night - where else can you celebrate on your own private island! Bye Bye Jay we'll miss you and I'm glad we found the perfect spot for the farewell to paradise pictures!
With a few days left before the forecast weather change we made the most of the rest of our stay and visited Bloody Marys with Delos, a classic Bora Bora restaurant where instead of a coat check in they have a shoe check in and on the way in you there is a large board naming all the famous Bloody Mary guests. The place was really cool and we all enjoyed massive burgers and of course, the Bloody Mary cocktails! We also headed back to our private motu which had a large sandy area where we got together with Quartermoon, Delos and Sunboy for a game of beach cricket. Although the international side now had a firmer grasp of cricket rules it was the Australians that ruled the day after some very dedicated sand dives from Debs. eW also did a couple more dives, one in manta ray point where we saw only one small manta plus a few eagle rays and another dive outside the pass where we were completely overwhelmed by the number of blacktip sharks we could see, as well as the two lemmon sharks who have made this area their home, living comfortably off the chum fed regularly by the dive boats that visit.
Bora Bora is certainly a very beautiful place and we were sad to leave - especially heading in the opposite direction from all of our friends back to a busy couple of weeks in Tahiti fixing the rig and doing lots of jobs, including polishing for me - groan! Luckily the weather stuck to the forecast and we had a calm overnight crossing back to Tahiti.
For more pics see: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/bradmcmaster1/BoraBoraAndOtherSocietyIslands2010#
For Delos' blog see; http://svdelos.blogspot.com/2010/08/from-sea-to-summit-on-bora-bora-by.html