We left the curtains open in our bedroom last night so we could see the sunrise. I slept through it but I did wake up in time to see the canoe coming with our breakfast.
The breakfast was lavish…enough for six people. We weren’t quite awake yet, and our stomachs definitely weren’t awake. Bu we did manage to eat some eggs, fruit and bacon. We saved the pastries and yogurt for our lunch.
We got on our swimsuits and hats and stuffed a bag full of all the essentials needed for a day on the water. I pushed Gayle down to the dock to wait for our captain to arrive for our 3 hour private snorkeling experience. You can tell it was windy.
We were early and so was our boat. We climbed onto the front of the boat and set off for our adventure.
Jean, our captain, took us out to see stingrays and sharks.
When he suggested that we should get on snorkeling gear and go out to enjoy them, neither one of us was keen on the idea. Jean assured us that he had never seen a shark eat a person here. We said we would just watch them from the boat. There were lots of them.
When other boats arrived and all of their tourists got off to swim/walk among the sharks and stingrays, I decided I was brave enough. When I came back to the boat I convinced Gayle she was brave enough so she went in.
Here she is with a shark swimming by her.
We were both exhilarated by the experience….and pretty proud of ourselves. But I had a hard time hauling myself back into the boat. So when Jean suggested we dive into deeper water and peer down at the eagle rays, which can be as large as 16 ft long and have a 23 ft wingspan. I didn’t want to have Jean have to lift me back into the boat so soon. So we headed to the north side of the island to the coral garden. Again we crawled onto the front of the boat and soaked up the sun and the scenery.
Jean warned us not to touch the coral and that swimming through the coral garden is like a maze. We jumped off the boat (my jump was more like a stumble) and eagerly set off to see fish. It was wondrous. The place was alive with color: clams with teal and purple mouths, red fish, blue fish, yellow fish, pink fish, spotted fish, striped fish…you name it. It was a maze and we had to be careful where we swam in order not to brush the coral. Jean came out to join us and lead us back to the boat…and then he hefted me back inside. We got back on the front of the boat
and took a tour back around the other side of the island, past the motu resorts, private islands, catamarans full of tourists and sailboats in the distance.
We could see that rain was probably headed our way again this afternoon.
We pulled back to the dock of our hotel absolutely sated with adventure and beauty. Back in our bungalow we got out our breakfast leftovers and snacked. Gayle can’t stop smiling here on Bora Bora.
We put on our snorkeling gear and climbed down the ladder of our bungalow to see the fish under our glass coffee table. But the winds came up suddenly making it very difficult to swim around. We gave up quickly and by the time we got to the ladder to climb out it was raining. I am glad we are having our adventures in the morning because it seems like wind and rain are a regular afternoon occurrence. We cleaned up, took naps and got ready for our dinner reservation at La Villa Mahana. Just before sunset we walked across the street from where we are staying to the only public beach on Bora Bora, Matira Beach. It is known as the place to watch the sun go down.
We arrived at La Villa Mahana by taxi with two other couples from our hotel. The restaurant is very small. There were only five tables (10 people) for dinner and one seating. It feels like you are entering someone’s home or having an intimate dinner in a a small art gallery. When I researched where to eat in Bora Bora this restaurant was on every list. You have to get a reservation months in advance and so we did. Chef Damien has an incredible culinary history. He married a Tahitian woman and together they have created this restaurant. A message in the menu from the chef tells how he feels about food. He writes, “In the way that spices bridge countless cultures, so they open us up to the world, not masking the products but instead sublimating them.”
There were three different tasting menus. Gayle went with the vegetarian menu: tart of goat cheese and baby artichoke hearts (she wanted to lick her plate), mashed potatoes with bananas and mango sauce, asparagus and truffle risotto with mango sorbet for dessert. I had the “exotique” choice: seared ahi on a mixed green salad with edible flower petals and a lime dressing (beyond amazing), mahi mahi curry on the same mashed potato magic that Gayle had, beef tenderloin with gnocchi, and banana flambé. Everything was exquisite. The table service was perfectly timed and every dish was served with elegance. As we ate a soundtrack of music played, everything from Frank Sinatra to Elvis to opera to classical to weeping violins to Ray Charles. At the end of the meal we were brought a guest book in which we could write about our experience at Villa Mahana. I wept as I wrote about my gratitude for the flavors, colors and music…so grateful to have survived a double mastectomy and to be having this wonderful adventure in Bora Bora with my sister.
As we walked back to our bungalow with our leftover bread (sourdough and coconut bread) from the restaurant in our hands Gayle kept repeating, “What a perfect day!”
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