Hello Bora Bora

Goodbye Moorea

We are up at 5:15am and finish our packing. We drop-off the rental car and head to the port in Moorea to catch our ferry back to Tahiti. The crossing takes 30 minutes and in that time I see a pod of dolphins and many flying fish. The flying fish are very cool, they are fish with wings that jump and literally fly across the water. And they fly far, not just a few feet.

Flight to Bora Bora

We get off the ferry, collect our luggage and grab a cab to the airport. The ride is not long because the airport is in the city. The airport is small and well organized. We move through check-in and security quickly.

While waiting we notice a barefoot man dressed only in shorts doing continual walking circuits around the airport concourse. Every so often he leaps into the air like a plane trying to takeoff, throws up his arm and makes a guttural whooshing noise. He doesn’t bother anyone and all the airport workers ignore him so we figure he’s the slightly crazy but harmless guy who calls the airport home.

I meet four guys that stayed at the Sofitel overwater bungalows in Moorea and they also met Beach Dog. Boy that dog sure gets noticed.

The flight from Tahiti to Bora Bora is about 45 minutes long. Bora Bora airport is on a motu (which is the atoll surrounding the island, basically a reef island). We land on the most picturesque runway that I have ever seen.

Catamaran to Bora Bora

Once landed, we collect our luggage and grab Air Tahiti’s a free catamaran shuttle to the town of Vaitape on the main island. We are treated to a beautiful view of Bora Bora and the lagoon on our ride. Most of the high end hotels are on the motus and have their own water taxis to transfer their arriving guests from the airport to the hotel.

Awesome Airbnb Hostess

Our Airbnb host, Desiree, is waiting for us at the dock when we disembark.

Desiree cannot speak much English but is very friendly. Her husband Stanley and she are retired and have three cottages on their waterfront property which they call Lady Bora Bora (LBB). She also has a cute little dog named Beebo that she warns us eats shoes so we must keep our shoes inside our cottage.

Matira Beach

She offers to drive us to Matira Beach and shows us landmarks along the way. She drops us off and returns 2.5 hours later to take us back to LBB. The beach is gorgeous with the clearest vibrant turquoise waters. And the water is so warm. Matira Beach is number 8 in CNNs list of 100 top beaches in the world.

We go to a nearby restaurant for lunch (tuna steak, fries and salad). I am enjoying all the fish here.

End of the Day

Desiree picks us up at 4:00pm and drives us into Vaitape to show us the main sites and location of the grocery store and restaurants.

Later we bicycle into Vaitape (LBB provides the bikes) to a food truck parking lot. Everyday from 5-10pm food trucks set out tables in the lot and you have your choice of different places to eat.

We bike back just as it’s getting dark, sit out on our porch overlooking a bay and relax.