Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Yesterday we were docked in the capital of Tahiti, which is the big city of Papeete (pronounced pah-pee-yet-tay).  I don’t have much to say about it because it’s basically a big city and feels like one.  It has a McDonalds and an internet café, in addition to tons of people and pollution.  We hopped on a city bus and toured part of the island, which was fun.  That and the nutella crepe we had in town were the highlights of the day.  If you’re ever get to the island of Tahiti, skip Papeete and stay in a more remote part of the island.

Today we were in Bora Bora, which is also part of French Polynesia.  An interesting fact:  French Polynesia has the second highest cost of living in the world (Japan is number one).  It’s definitely not the place for a budget vacation (reportedly Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban paid $15k per night to stay in an over the water bungalow here.  Room service is delivered via canoe).  While on the island we were finally able to rent bicycles – yay!  We rented a couple of cruisers and rode the entire island (22 miles).  The road is relatively flat (only one hill) and there’s not much traffic.  It was so much fun and a great way to see the island.  It seems that everyone in Bora Bora has at least one dog, and more likely two or three.  Some were tied up, while lots of others were loose.   They definitely weren’t treated like we treat our pets – many looked half-starved and a little wild.  In fact, they all looked like some sort of wild dog breed, almost like a dingo.  Thankfully no dogs chased us while we were riding our bikes – most of them were laying in the shade probably thinking we were crazy for exerting ourselves in the sun! 

While riding around we came across a large resort on a beautiful beach that was all boarded up and fenced off.  We thought about trying to sneak in there and then decided it might not be a smart thing to do in a foreign country where we don’t know what kind of laws they have (plus there might be wild dogs down there)!  We found out later that the resort was Club Med, which went out of business due to the economy.  Looks like even Bora Bora has been hit by hard times.

Halfway around the island we stopped at a popular beach to swim and snorkel.  It was about as perfect as a beach can get, with crystal clear water and powder white sand.  We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the beach, and then made our way on our bicycles back to where the ship was docked.  As one of the ship’s employees said when we saw her sunbathing on the beach (she’s from Italy), “we are in paradise!”  I heartily agree.