Day 5 - Bora Bora, Society Islands
Our second day in Bora Bora is no less exciting than the first. We get to swim with sharks, yet again!
This morning, m/s Paul Gauguin is still anchored off the coast of Bora Bora. And why not? It just happens to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth!
Today, we have booked one of the ship's shore excursions: the Lagoonarium Snorkeling Experience ($105pp).
Per instructions on our tickets, and in la Orana (the ship's daily newsletter), we meet with other guests at 8:15am in the Grand Salon on Deck 5. We brought our snorkel gear (mask and fins) provided by the ship as well as towels, sunscreen, bottled water and a ziplock bag for our money and other non-waterproof items. Within minutes of arriving at the lounge, we were led down to Deck 3 to board the ship's tender for the short ride to the village.
When we arrive at the village, our local guide for the day is waiting for us, holding a "LAGOONARIUM" sign. We all dutifully follow him and board a small outrigger boat just steps from where the tender drops us off.
There are a total of 12 guests on our tour today, all from m/s Paul Gauguin. Once everyone is on board, the outrigger heads out toward the Lagoonarium.
The Lagoonarium is located on a motu about 45 minutes from the village in Bora Bora. The Lagoonarium is basically a portion of the lagoon that has been fenced off, with ocean life inside the fence. Think of it as an aquarium large enough for you to swim in.
Guests snokeling in the Lagoonarium
Not long after we enter the water, we are surrounded by Lemon sharks. They are about eight feet long and have a mouth large enough to take a big chunk out of you if they saw you as a food source. Fortunately, they don't!
Rickee is surrounded by Lemon sharks
At one point, the guide convinced Rickee that it would be a good idea for her to grab the fin of the largest shark and ride it. Great idea, let's torment the deadly, man-eating fish! Of course, she had to do it.
Rickee grabs the fin of the largest shark in the Lagoonarium!
After Rickee cheated death, we continued to snorkel with the sharks for about 45 minutes. We also got to see a huge eel up-close and a stone fish. Afterwards, we were treated to a snack of fresh island fruit.
Bananas, coconut and grapefruit
We re-boarded the outrigger for a short ride out to the coral garden. Here, we all had the opportunity to snorkel above large sections of coral and admire the colorful fish that inhabit this area.
We spend about 45 minutes snorkeling at the coral garden before it is time to return to the village. The excursion took about four hours and is an excellent value at $105/pp. We highly recommended it!
We were back on board the ship in time for a delicious lunch at La Veranda. Today is "Greek" day and the buffet features a variety of typical Greek cuisine including moussaka, lamb, gyros, hummus, dolma, and really, really good tzatziki.
This afternoon, we attended an Indian cooking demonstration conducted by Vikram Vij, a notable Canadian chef. Chef Vij owns four restaurants in Canada and has been featured on Top Chef Canada, Chopped Canada, and Dragon's Den. He has also authored several cookbooks. As Chef Vij prepared his Chicken Curry, he entertained us with story after story, some quite "colorful", to say the least. At the conclusion of the demonstration, we all got to try his curry, which was delicious. But, it was Chef Vij's storytelling that was the real star. It was one of the most entertaining lectures/demonstrations we have ever attended on any cruise ship.
Chef Vij prepares his chicken curry
After the demonstration, Rickee and I head up to the Bar du Soleil for the ship's repeat-guest party.
We are welcomed by the Hotel Director and Les Gauguines as we reach the top of the stairs.
Waiters deliver chilled glasses of champagne and circulate with trays of appetizers. We spend time visiting with Alison, the Asst. Cruise Director, and Chef Vij is on hand with more interesting stories. Cruise Director, Claudine, takes to the microphone to greet everyone and express the cruise line's appreciation for the guests' loyalty. It was a very nice "repeater" party. Afterwards, Rickee and I enjoyed a cocktail in the Piano Bar before our 7:00pm dinner reservation at La Veranda.
La Veranda is one of the specialty restaurants on board and reservations are required. The restaurant features a Chef's Dégustation menu, or an a la carte menu. Our waiter informed us that we could mix and match items from either menu. La Veranda becomes a very romantic venue in the evening, with candlelit tables and fine linens. Our meal was delicious, and mine ended with a delicious vanilla creme brulee.
Tomorrow, we will be in Moorea where we have booked a Catajet excursion. Check the blog tomorrow for more excitement from French Polynesia!
Day 4 - Bora Bora, Society Islands
On Day one in Bora Bora we finally see the sun and we swim with sharks and stingrays.
This morning, m/s Paul Gauguin is anchored off the shores of Bora Bora, Society Islands.
Sunrise in Bora Bora
Truly, this has to be one of the most romantic and beautiful places on Earth. It was the scene for the movie South Pacific, and it is no wonder that it has become one of the most popular destinations in the world for honeymooners. Premium resort hotels here can cost $1,000 to $3,000 per night!
Over-the-water bungalows with this view will cost you $1,000 per night or more
We boarded the ship's first tender this morning at 8:30am for the short ride over to Bora Bora. Today, we have arranged our own tour with Vavau Land and Sea Adventures, in part, so that we have a basis of comparison with the ship's tours (which we will do tomorrow). As soon as we stepped off the tender, our driver, Patrick, was waiting for us with a sign with my name on it.
Patrick waiting for us ashore
We boarded Patrick's van for the 10-minute drive to Mai-Tai Hotel where an outrigger boat was waiting for us to board. Another guest from New York was already onboard. We were greeted by our boat Captain and his assistant and we headed off to pick up some other guests at another hotel. We actually made a couple of stops to pick up other tour guests, which took about an hour before we got to our first actual tour stop.
We will do a more in-depth review of Vavau Land and Sea Adventures in a future blog entry, but in summary, we did swim with black-tip sharks and stingrays. Very cool.
Rickee watches a group of black-tip sharks swim just a few feet from her
The tour included a stop on a sand bar where we could easily stand in four feet of water as the huge stingrays swam all around us. There were sharks in the water here, too. Rickee even got to kiss one of the stingrays!
Rickee kisses a stingray
The tour ended around 1:00pm and we were delivered back to the village and the pier where our ship's tender took us back to m/s Paul Gauguin. The ship operated tenders all day from 8:30am until 10:00pm, every thirty minutes. This made it very convenient for guests to go ashore for shopping or to enjoy lunch or dinner at a local restaurant.
m/s Paul Gauguin anchored in Bora Bora
We were back on board the ship by 2:00pm. I was able to grab a quick salad plate from Le Grill before they discontinued lunch service. In the meantime, Rickee wanted to grab a few rays by the pool. The sun has finally emerged from the clouds, and it is really HOT! Her stint in the Tahitian sun is a short one, and by 3:00pm she decides to retreat to the cool stateroom. Besides, we need to get ready for a special event to which we have been invited. At 5pm, we have been invited to celebrate our wedding anniversary with several other couples in Le Palette on Deck 8. Interesting, since we are not married! I can only assume that Paul Gauguin Cruises wanted us to experience this event so that we can inform others of what to expect when celebrating a honeymoon or anniversary aboard m/s Paul Gauguin.
Invitation to special celebration
When we arrived at Le Pallete, we were greeted by Cruise Director, Claudine, and a waiter brought us glasses of champagne. There were about ten other couples at the celebration, most celebrating anniversaries but there were also a couple of honeymooners. Les Gauguines were entertaining us with song, and a special dance was performed by one of the Gauguines.
Les Gauguines perform
After the reading of a poem (in three languages), each couple was wrapped in a special French Polynesian ceremonial blanket and the ship's photographer was on hand to capture the moment with Bora Bora in the background. Truly, this is an anniversary or honeymoon event that these folks will remember forever. The event ended with everyone being served a piece of cake.
Special anniversary/honeymoon cake
We feel very honored that Paul Gauguin Cruises included us in this special celebration. This is a very popular cruise with those who are celebrating an anniversary or honeymoon, and now we see why.
Photo session with ceremonial blanket
Our evening ended with a very romantic dinner at Le Grill on Deck 8. Le Grill is one of the specialty restaurants on board m/s Paul Gauguin. And, while there is no charge to dine here, reservations are required. What is a pretty typical pool grill at breakfast and lunch is magically transformed into a romantic bistro each evening with a unique Asian-inspired menu (same menu every day). Since we are anchored in a protected bay tonight, and the weather is perfect, the tables have been brought outside, around the pool. The only light is coming from the candlelit tables (I am pretty sure these are battery-operated candles), so it is too dark to get any good photos, but trust me, this is something you must experience when sailing on m/s Paul Gauguin.
After our meal, we retired to our stateroom to rest for another day of adventure in Bora Bora tomorrow where we will be experiencing our first ship's excursion!