AND GONE TO HEAVEN
Jennifer McDermott and her husband tick one off the bucket list in French Polynesia.
Somehow I convinced my husband that the fifth wedding anniversary is the Tahitian anniversary. For years, I had dreamed of going to Bora Bora in French Polynesia. The lagoon’s glimmering turquoise, jade and cobalt blue waters, the overwater bungalows, the seclusion — for me, it was the ultimate bucket-list destination.
Some of the world’s most famous celebrities holiday in Bora Bora. Jennifer Aniston honeymooned there. Pictures of Justin Bieber swimming naked in Bora Bora circulated online last year. Usain Bolt celebrated his Olympic victories there in September.
My husband and I spent a week lounging on the deck of our bungalow at Le Meridien Bora Bora. We woke early to catch brilliant orange and pink sunrises. We got up close with sea creatures, from moray eels and trumpetfish to sea turtles, sharks and stingrays. We discovered that the saying heard in pearl shops, “You don’t choose the pearl, the pearl chooses you” is surprisingly true. Most of all, we relaxed.
Bora Bora, located about 260km north-west of Tahiti, population about 9000, was formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Mt Otemanu, a remnant of the volcano, rises nearly 730m and serves as an iconic photo backdrop.
The island is set in a lagoon and surrounded by a string of motus, or small islets. The colours are stunning. A friend said my photo looked like a watercolour painting.
From Papeete, it’s less than an hour's plane ride to Bora Bora. Then it’s a short boat journey to the main city, Vaitape, or to one of the luxury resorts.
Our overwater bungalow featured a glass floor for fish watching and a spiral staircase for climbing into the lagoon.
We splurged on massages early in the week, before our pale skin turned a reddish hue, and we fed baby sea turtles at the Turtle Centre established at Le Meridien. We took the hotel’s boat to The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort to dine at the exclusive Lagoon restaurant run by acclaimed French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and to check out the lavish bungalows with private swimming pools over the lagoon.
We tried paddleboarding. Then we tried snorkelling to find the sunglasses we lost while paddleboarding. Adventurous couples buzzed around the island on jet skis.
Feeling adventurous, we signed up for a snorkelling trip to swim with stingrays and sharks. There are so many stingrays there, you feel their slick, rubbery bodies hitting your legs. One is an older, docile ray the guides call “grandma”. Our guide from Teiva Tours lifted grandma and kissed it on the mouth.
But when the guides started “chumming” the waters with fish parts to draw blacktip sharks, we climbed back into the boat. The sharks were much more interested in the fish than in us, however we weren’t taking any chances of a misdirected chomp. In deeper waters, we snorkelled on the surface as 3m lemon sharks glided below.
We also spent a day in Vaitape. There’s a centre where locals sell their crafts, a small marketplace to stock up on sunscreen, juice and inexpensive French wine, and a cafe.
The main thing we did though, was shop for Tahitian pearls. We were leaving one of the stores when I caught a glimpse of a pair of green pearl earrings. I walked away but no other pearl could compare, so we returned at the end of the day to buy the pearl that chose me.
There’s a must-visit spot along the coastline,
about 5km from the city centre: Bloody Mary’s, a funky restaurant known for its seafood and celebrity clientele. I enjoyed the restaurant’s signature plate of teriyaki wahoo and the house drink, a Bloody Mary of course, while my husband loved meka, a broadbill swordfish. By the entrance there’s a long list of famous diners, including Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Meg Ryan, Cameron Diaz and Johnny Depp.
At the hotel, we ended the week as we began. We lounged on the deck, telling each other how unbelievable it was that we got to see this place and check Bora Bora off the bucket list. — AP