Quote of the Day: “After 104 days on this cruise, I’m dreading having to go home and do housework. I think we’ve become institutionalized. We might just have to book another cruise a.s.a.p.”
So whose idea was it to visit Bora Bora on the day they had the highest tide for over 4 years? The waves crashed violently over the reef, but little did we know what that meant until the announcement came over the PA system: most of the excursions were cancelled due to “inclement sea conditions”. But the sea looked beautiful – vivid aqua in colour – yet apparently below the surface it was all too turbid for good views. Later in the day, beaches closed, and hotels were evacuated…
I’d planned on doing a helmet dive thingy, where you wear a large helmet, connected by an air hose to the surface, and walk on the sea floor. Quite radical for me, and disappointing that I wouldn’t be able to do it. There were offers of excursions to drive around the island, but having experienced the local transport in this area previously, I decided to give that a miss. Instead, I had breakfast, then sat out on the deck admiring the view. I was actually very tempted to stay there all day – after all, people pay to hire a boat, to sail this far out, then sit and admire the view, and I was getting it all for free!
Eventually I roused myself, and caught the tender ashore. Being a little late, the tender wasn’t that crowded, which was a bonus. From the pier, I did a walk in both directions, and checked out the church, with its beautiful modern stained glass window, plus a couple of galleries and shops. Everything here is very expensive, which gave some of my fellow passengers something to moan about…
Having decided that I wasn’t in the market for black pearls (outrageously expensive for low grade pearls) I grabbed a tender back just early enough to beat the crush. Most on that tender were crew (all looking about 15 out of uniform) who decided to have a sing-along. They started with a few pop classics, then moved into Philippine songs – very nice, and an unexpected special moment of the cruise…
Last night was another deck party. I didn’t particularly want to go, but BJ insisted! He now sports a tacky plastic green lei, which at least adds a little colour to the cabin. And sorry folks, but the chocolate art is no more – I gave them all to a Samoan passenger who is collecting them to give to young family members she’s meeting in Apia tomorrow. I’m sure Mr Sumee is very relieved…
Just 4 days to go and I leave the retirement village and return to the real world. And I still haven’t worked out exactly what I want to do for the next 20 years. Most suggestions I’ve had from people on the ship are just plain silly!!
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