BALI HAI OR BORA BORA?

When you imagine a South Pacific Island – Bora Bora – or something that looks like Bora Bora probably pops into your head.  Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia dominate the horizon, with each peak over 2000 feet above the Pacific Ocean.

Bora Bora as seen from Raiatea

I can’t help but start humming the tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “South Pacific”.

Most people live on a lonely island
Lost in the middle of a foggy sea

Most people long for another island
One where they know they would like to be

Bali Ha’i may call you
Any night, any day

In your heart, you’ll hear it call you
“Come away, come away”

NOTE:  Despite the restaurant named “Bloody Mary” on Bora Bora, the actual Bali Hai was based on the real island of Ambae in Vanuatu.  Bali Hai from the Movie “South Pacific” was portrayed by the island of Tioman in Malaysia.  However, Mount Makana on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai was used as Bali Hai when they filmed the 1958 movie scene featuring the character “Bloody Mary”.  The scene from the below YouTube clip was filmed on Kauai’s Tunnel Beach.

A RELAXING MORNING

After 2 consecutive days of early rising, we enjoyed a chance to relax this morning.  Aside from my early sprint to grab some Snail Rolls, we stayed in our cabin and took it easy until the early afternoon.

SNAIL ROLLS

Holland America is known for having themed rolls as they arrive in various ports around the world.  You will enjoy Panama Canal Rolls during that transit, which will also be known as Sydney Opera Rolls or Hong Kong Harbor Rolls depending on the port you are entering.  Today, we were in French Polynesia, so it was only fitting to have Snail Rolls – shown here.  They were excellent.

Snail Rolls were served in many of our ports in French Polynesia in the morning

HEADING ASHORE

Around 2:45 PM we headed ashore and after a 10-minute tender ride, we were inside the Artisan Market next to the tender landing.  They had a nice selection of garments and other souvenirs.  Based on our earlier visits, you will probably find everything here that you would probably find anywhere else on Bora Bora.  If you are pressed for time, spending 30 minutes here will allow you to review a nice variety of goods from across the island.

Bloody Mary’s is 3 miles south of town. There are shuttle taxis you can take for $5 or hire a regular taxi for about $15

There is a covered waiting area and a small artisan market directly across from the tender landing

These dresses were for sale in the artisan market located next to the tender landing

Here are some of the last-minute tours for sale at the tender landing

The AVIS car rental office is located directly behind the tender landing

The Visitor Center is off to your right as you leave the tender area.  They have information about tours, restaurants, and other activities.  They gave us a tip about the Restaurant Les Délices De Bora-bora, but it was only open for lunch and dinner, so we didn’t have a chance to sample their food.

The Visitor Center is located along the waterfront and has free WiFi. It may be hard to use as they limit the number of simultaneous users

This restaurant, Les Delices, was recommended by the Visitor Center but was closed when we arrived. It’s about 1/4 mile from the tender landing

On our way back from the restaurant we stopped in the local grocery, Chin Lee, and picked up some more Tim Tams.  Our final stop was Bora Spirit, which had a nice selection of T-shirts and other souvenirs.

We bought some Tim Tams at this Chin Lee, the local grocery store – near the tender landing

We stopped here at Bora Spirit and bought some nice T-shirts

Taking any soft drinks back to the ship is forbidden.  We love the French soft drink, Orangina, so we bought a couple of bottles at Chin Lee, along with some potato chips, and enjoyed them in the shade as we waited for the next tender.

BACK ON THE SHIP

The sun would be in a nice position for photographs at sunset, so we headed up to the deck above the Sea View pool and captured some nice pictures.

Sunset on the Zuiderdam with Bora Bora in the background

We turned around and took this picture of the sunset looking to the west.

Tomorrow will be another early start as we will be taking the Maohi Nui Tour (aka Patrick’s Tour) for the first time.

My post from our 2018 visit to Bora Bora is HERE

HERE is a page with Amazon links to many items that we use on our cruises.