Day 56 & 57 - Bora Bora - It Is Better Than It Sounds. Really.

Oh My Gosh. There are few places in the world that I can say are truly remarkable. This is one of them. Bora Bora has most definitely captured a piece of my soul. Wow. It is all that & more. The colours of the water, ever changing with the light, the warmth of the water, the sea life, the people, the little huts jutting out onto the lagoon, the shallow never ending natural pool... the list goes on & on... Wow!

Oh & I also wanted to add that today was our coldest day so far. It was ONLY 27. Okay, okay, you can hit me with  your shoe later. I am truly grateful for the incredible warm weather & I appreciate every second & degree of it!!! :o)

Our first day in Bora Bora began with a dive. This was the Manta Ray dive. Only 15', but we saw plenty of Mantas. They are so graceful, they literally float through the water. A tiny movement of their 'wings' have them gliding along, it was beautiful to witness their grace & agility. I didn't want to get out of the water! Adding to that, it was cloudy & rainy above the surface, so being underwater was much more fun!

I must also add, it was apparently breeding season for the Mantas & the area where we were observing them is a bit of a thorough fare for the boats around Bora Bora. Up until a few years ago, there weren't any Mantas. They left after the coral had been exploded to make room for some new hotels. But then, the Mantas came back! Now they are working to preserve the habitat for them & keep them around. Only 2 dive boats are allowed in the area at any time. I feel very privileged to have seen them.

Despite the overcast skies, the shades of the lagoon were ever changing. It was incredible! I have never seen such shades of green & blue. We were lucky enough to have the dive boat take us on a 15-20 minute ride to the dive location, so we had a bit of a scenic tour. I dove with a fellow named Gus, from the Netherlands. His wife & daughter stayed on the boat & snorkeled around the surface.

I had a poor sleep the night before - pounding headache, sore throat, etc, etc, so I was undecided about doing a second dive that morning. But, when I saw the Mantas & they told me the next dive would have sharks, screw the headache! I'm going diving!!!!

We dropped off the rest of the 'one tankers' & headed out into open ocean for the second dive. Now, I had seen a shark in Rangiroa & thought I was ready to see more. I entered the water & waited for the rest of the divers to join me. While I was waiting, I peered into the water below. No sharks, but plenty of fish & great visibility!

And down we go... We hadn't even been down for more than 2 minutes when I saw the first shark. Gulp. It certainly makes your heart beat faster! Wowser! At one point I counted 6 sharks! They were quite small sharks, Black-Tipped to be specific, but they were beautiful! They circled around us for most of the dive. I got a little nervous & watched them very cautiously to make sure they weren't going to suddenly turn on me & I would come up with a few fingers or toes less... Not to worry! I'm all still here! :o) Of course, there was one particular shark that made things a little more interesting. It was a 9-10' Lemon Shark. Now that was a BIG MAMA. Wow. When it takes that long to swim past you, because it IS THAT LONG, you know that's one shark you don't want to miff off!!! One circle it made, it's mouth was open & you could see the teeth. Ooooooh, shiver me timbers! Scary stuff!

It seems as though I've graduated to the 'Low Air Consumption' Class, even when diving with sharks, as I was one of two divers who were able to stay down for an extra 15-20 minutes after the other divers had to get out of the water. We swam amongst a school of beautiful Butterfly Fish. The colourful creations God chose when he created fish are absolutely mind blowing.

Oh, I forgot to mention, when we took the first group back & when we made our way to the 2nd dive site, we saw a pod of Dolphins. They were beautiful! Our Captain sped the boat around in a circle & the dolphins were swimming at the bow of the boat, playing in the wake & they even jumped out of the water & splashed around. It was amazing! What beautiful creatures!

So, I'm sure I'm forgetting half of what I should be typing here, but that was the first day in Bora Bora... I returned to the ship, all gung-ho to come back off & go snorkeling or something, but it started to rain again, so I laid down for a nap to prepare for the night dive... To Be Continued...

xxxx
Maria & Jaco

Le Meridien - Huts on the Water!

Even in cloudy skies, the water looks beautiful!

Whoo Hoo! Manta Rays? Check!

Is this colour Bora Bora Green?

Dolphin swimming alongside the Dive Boat

Watch out! Sharks in the water below!

Man, I love this place!

Our Dive Boat & Awesome Divemasters!

A little help to get you oriented before you arrive!