Hi, everyone!
When we got up on Monday, we were anchored in the lagoon at Bora Bora. There were clouds hiding the top of Mount Otemanu, but at least it wasn’t raining! Bora Bora is a collapsed volcano surrounded by a fringe reef that protects it from surf. The lagoon is where the middle of the volcano used to be. We took the ship’s tender into the harbor, so we could go snorkeling in the lagoon. Guess what? The MS Amsterdam is here, too!
First, our guide Coco-san took us on his boat to a place where we could feed manta rays. Coco-san helped me make friends with a ray! The feeding attracted lemon sharks, too. Coco-san said that lemon sharks don’t bite people, but I wasn’t sure what they think about little lions, so I stayed in the boat. I tried steering the boat, but only while it was anchored.
After we met the manta rays, we went to another place just inside the fringe reef to snorkel in a coral garden. There were pretty blue and purple coral, and I really liked the blue edges on the clams living in the coral. The currents in the water were strong, even for Grandma and Grandpa. I’m glad they helped me see what was under the water without me having to get wet!
On the way back from our trip, we stopped to see one of the local resorts. The guest rooms are built right over the water! After that, we went right past MS Marina on our way back to the dock. I remembered to thank Coco-san for helping me make friends with the ray! The tender from the MS Marina was ready to take us back to the ship. The boarding steps are very tall for a little lion! Look how high the seaman driving the tender sits!
After we had lunch, we took a tender back to Vaitape so we could walk around and see the town. There were bananas growing right by the sidewalk! That reminded me of Hawaii. Grandma helped me buy postcards so I could send some to my friends.
On Tuesday, I could see the sunrise from the balcony of our cabin. I hoped that the rain was over, but we did have another shower on our tender ride back to the Vaitape harbor. Our Tuesday morning trip was on a jet boat that took us all the way around the Bora Bora lagoon. We saw more resorts with rooms over the water and an old cannon left over from World War II. We stopped to snorkel at a place with lots of fish and coral. Our guide called it “the aquarium” because so many fish gather there to be fed. I got to steer the jet boat, too, while Grandma and Grandpa went snorkeling. I made friends with the fish that swam right up to the boat!
After our snorkeling stop, we stopped at Matina beach. That is a very pretty place with shallow, warm water. And best of all, the sun came out! I decided to catch some rays (sun rays, not mantas) and chill out with the ukulele player. Then I helped our guide Peter-san serve fruit snacks to the swimmers. When we got back to the Vaitape harbor, we remembered to mail our postcards at the post office.
Every afternoon at 4 p.m., tea is served aboard MS Marina. I like going to tea with Grandma and Grandpa! There are yummy sandwiches and sweets and a string quartet plays nice music. We can watch the weather and the scenery from high up on the bow of the ship. So far, it’s been pretty cloudy for tea times!
Just before sunset, the clouds went away. I was excited to see Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu in the late afternoon sun. Don’t they look pretty?
But just as the weather is getting better in Bora Bora, our ship is leaving. Guess what? The captain says there is a big tropical storm headed for Samoa, so we’re going to go to Tonga instead!
Love,
Lion-san
We are glad you, Grandma and Grandpa finally got some sun and snorkeling in! We are also glad you didn’t try your luck at getting closer to the lemon sharks. The rays were close enough and you didn’t even have to get wet. It is still cold here and Joe-san doesn’t like it although Nancy-san and Moose-san don’t mind.