A bicycle built for two (a two year old)

March 30, 2018 was set to be not just Good Friday but a “good” Friday as well.  Team Anseth had no formal plans so we could hang by the pool or go for a snorkel or sleep in for that matter.

Surprisingly, we were all up and at the buffet by 8:30ish.  Another great breakfast of fresh pancakes and French toast, fresh fruit and vegetables awaited us.  Grace had a little french toast to start breakfast but, she quickly switched to cocco krispies.  Once on the krispies she consumed like 6 bowls.  I had a light breakfast and boarded the ferry to the Intercontinental Le Moana which is situated on Bora Bora.  My plan was to rent a bicycle from the resort and ride around the island a little bit.

As usually things didn’t go as planned.  When I showed up at Le Moana they had me set up for a cruiser bike with one gear .   I informed them, that I understood I would be gettting a mountain bike.  Now the selection is not great they have 2 bikes a a black and a red one.  I raised the seat as much as possible and it seemed OK.  I selected the black one, which will now be known as Little Blackie.  This is not to be confused with Black Beauty, the sweet fat tire bike I had in Nantucket.   I also didn’t have any other choices,  so I decided to take it out.  Very quickly I realize the seat was too low and the bike was too small.  Every time  I pedaled, my knee come way too close to my chest.  I am basically trying to ride around Bora Bora on a kids bike.  I take off out of the hotel and head left along the coast line.  There is only one road that runs around the island so it is hard to get lost.  I eventually get into a rhythm which only occasionally was broke by cars passing me tightly on the left.

The coast is dotted with houses and shops and restaurants along the way.  Occasionally you see a church.  Once the concentration of houses gets big enough you get a gas station and a grocery store and you have a town.  Then it thins out again as you go.  It is a hot and sunny day so great for riding a little bit.

Here is my GPS map of the bike ride.

Here is a church along the way.  It was pretty full with families on Good Friday.  Like a lot of island countries, Bora Bora was pretty much shut done on Good Friday.  People were either in church going to church or a the beach cooking and hanging out.  The smell of home barbecue came over me several times during the ride.

Another church, this one is in town

Church in paradise

From here, I continued up the coast.  If you look at my GPS map, spot 2 is were I stopped next.  It took a little work but eventually I found a trail so that I could hike up to an old WW II artillary bunker.  There is supposedly one on each corner of the island.  Pretty steep hike up but worth it.

One of the turrets with the gun removed

The artillary still hiding in the forest 

The gun and the bunker behind

One in color.  The light was really intense so it was hard to get any pictures that looked decent 

The view out towards the lagoon.

Seeing the artillary and island does give you a sense of how awful it must have been to fight in the Pacific.  You have islands which are basically volcanic fortresses. There is a very small area to land and if you are there first you can build bunkers to shell would be invaders, without mercy.  If you are in a boat out in the deep blue sea, you are alone on your boat.

From here, I continued around the island.  At this point, point 3, the heat and humidity were starting to get to me.  The houses were starting to thin out so I wasn’t sure I was going to get a water stop.  Luckily a guy on a moped passes me and then pulled over to have a beer.  I pulled in behind him and got 2 1.5 liters of water and 2 Cokes.  I am not sure what this Polynesian lady thought.  She was minding her own business when this overweight, pale guy, sweating profusely in a man/bear/pig had showed up and leans across the counter asking for water.  Then I ask her to break a 10,000 frank note.  At this point I was willing to buy as much water as needed to make this transition happen.  She made change, wiped down her counter and sent me on my way.  I chugged one Coke for the sugar and about half the water and was back on the road.  Refreshed and revitalize, I developed a nice rhythm again stoping occasionally for a drink and a picture.

The mountain from the road.  You probably think you have had enough photos of this mountain.

Up to the mountain

Almost home.

Up by the artillary 

Proof of life.  Waiting for the boat back.

When I returned back to our resort we ate lunch as a family and then hung out by the beach.  Everybody, except Grace, took a turn on the paddleboard.  Grace checked out the water from the beach but eventually retreated to a chair saying something like “scissors won’t cut water”

Ashley out for a cruise 

Katie almost running over a stingray

Come on Scotty get to paddling

After paddle boarding, Kari and I hit the spa and the girls chilled in the bungalow.  For dinner it was a Polynesian buffet.  I thought the food was pretty good for a buffet and the Hinanos were cold.  We enjoyed a Polynesian show as well but the girls refused to go up and dance.  The best we could manage was a picture at the end.  

Dancing during th show 

The guys are dancing too.

The girls at the end of the night.

We walked home and went to bed.  Tomorrow we pack and head to Tahiti.  We will hang there until about 11 PM and then began the long journey home.

One fish, two fish, three fish blue fish

March 29th, 2018 was a Thursday, we had set aside for fishing.  Our excursion was set to leave the dock at 8 AM.  Our first sign of trouble was not finishing our buffet breakfast until 8:10.  

It was a glorious sunrise in Bora Bora

One more for good measure

We eventually made it to the dock and onto our boat chartered by Bob. My confidence was starting to ebb when I read the sign on the captain’s consule that read Romantic Tours Bora Bora.  That seems like an odd name for a fishing charter but it was booked and payed for already.

Bob was actually a great guy.  He was born right here in Bora Bora.  Says he was born on the beach and I think he might be telling the truth.

Our team did not have their A-games today.  Kari and Katie were steal dealing with sun issues from the snorkeling excursion.  Ashley appeared annoyed that there was no WiFi almost as soon as we pulled away from the dock.  Grace sat in th middle of the boat pretty much like she had all vacation .  Usually, I need another person on board to make this work and it did not look good from the start.  

We dropped our lines in the water and began trolling.  This is actually pretty boring especially if the fish are not biting.  I held one line  and so did a combination of Kari, Grace and Katie.  The other 2 lines trolled off the back of thof boat .  Ashley looked on indifferently.

We finally hooked on from the back and Katie reeled it in.  A little grouper was our catch pretty, but small.  All Katie could muster was a smile.  At that point I knew we were screwed.

Just a happy idiot trolling the lagoon

Katie trying to reel in her grouper.

The grouper.  

This is the most excited Katie got the entire 4 hours.  We trolled some more and landed on more fish.  This time Gracie hooked on to a little Jack.  We were all a little surprised she didn’t just run to the middle of the boat or cut the line with her scissors.

Gracie trolling for fish 

She wouldn’t touch it.

From here, we trolled around for about another half an hour before Kari caught a fish on another one of the trolling lines.

Kari reeling in all the lines and her grouper.  The fish was pretty but small we didn’t even get a picture of it.

Now with the lines all tangled Bob drove us to a little island to untangle the lines and we could wander around drinking Cokes or Orangangis.  We did get a couple of good pictures.

On the island, one happy family???

One more for good measure.

We wandered around for about 10-15 minutes while Bob tried to untangle all the lines.  

Here is a Palm tree in the wind

Gracie by a coconut tree.  

Shortly after this picture, I saw Ashley raise a coconut over her head to smash it.  I was hoping she was trying to smash it open and not over Katie’s head.  Worried that this was devolving into a Lord of the Flies situation, I quickly guided everybody back to the boat and we were off again.

Bob could sense he was losing his crew so he drove us by the island that Bieber and Nicole Kidman have rented when they come to Bora Bora.  Some poor dude was out raking the sand on the beach.  Three people were sitting on ththe dock hanging out, none of them looked famous to me.

From here we turned and headed towards the main pass where ships can enter the lagoon.  Mind you, we do not have a single line in the water and have not had one for 30 minutes.  I am perplexed. Grace is snuggled up next to Kari.  Ashley is complaining that “this is dumb and we should go back to the resort” and Katie has completely given up.  She is laying down in the shade of the boat.

Kari makes small talk with Bob. He was born on the beach.  His house is on the northwest corner of the island very close to a WW II bunker and battery.  There is a public school on Bora Bora but only till 14 then you need to go to Tahiti.  There is no hospital on the island which now currently has a population around 11,000.  There is a private doctor if you need/can afford one.  If you are injured it is 15 min for a plane to get her from Tahiti and 15 minutes back so depending on your injuries maybe you make it maybe you don’t.  If you are pregnant, most women leave the island after 7-8 months and live on Tahiti until the baby is born.   This discussion mercifully killed some time.  We are still not fishing, once again we are not fishing during this entire time.

When we get to the pass. Katie is almost asleep, Gracie is almost asleep and Ashley is sitting quietly with her sunglasses on staring off into the distance, probably trying to replay Office episodes in her mind.

Then it happens we encounter a large school of dolphins swimming in the pass they swim around the boat and lift everyone’s spirits.

Plotting a Mutiny?

This is just one of the many dolphins that salvaged this trip

All three at the front of the boat.  Yeah enthusiasm!!!!

It was short lived.  The dolphins went on their merry way leaving us sad and not fishing in our boat.  On the other side of the main pass we saw several black tip reef sharks and watched for a little bit.  

At this point Bob decided to go outside the barrier reef into deeper waters maybe we would find a wahoo or a tuna.  We cruised for 10 minutes kind of skirting the breakline of the barrier reef.  The water got a little rough near the point where the fishing was suppose to be.  Grace ran to the middle of the boat and began crying afraid that we would capsize.  Ashley looked indifferent but mouthed something like “ This is dumb can we go back to the resort.  Kari comforted Gracie.  Katie had completely given up and now had her head on the bench and her legs in the arms of my swimshirt to keep the sun off of them.  At this stage, I told Bob the crew had lost it’s enthusiasm and we should just head for home.  Let’s not forget we still haven’t put a hook or a line in the water for almost an hour or more.  

We start cruising and get back inside the barrier reef and head for home.  Oh Lord let this trip end soon please Lord.

Gracie stopped crying once we were back inside the lagoon.

Smiling about the possibility of being done.

Ashley is done on the bench. Katie is completely done on the floor she had one shirt covering her head and neck and my swim shirt is covering her legs.  Yes she has one leg in each sleeve.  

We finally dropped some line in to troll the lagoon and I caught this little Jack.  It was a beautiful blue.

No one could muster the energy to even take a decent picture at this point.

We finally arrive at the dock around noon.  4 hours in a boat, 4 little fish.  Most would say a pretty miserable time was had by all.  We did however get to see the beautiful island of Bora Bora.  We did learn what it was like to live on Bora Bora as a citizen.  We did get to see the waters of the South Pacific from turquoise to powder blue to the deep blue of the sea.  We had some shade, a little sun and a little ocean breeze so ee certainly could do worse.

Our bungalow from the water

After this we grabbed lunch at the resort.  More tuna sashimi for me and a couple of Himanos.  The afternoon was spent relaxing.  That night Katie, Ashley, Kari and I all did the tasting menu at the resorts nice restaurant.  I thought the he food was generally really great.  While we did that Gracie ate about 2 pounds of Swordfish.

In the pool at Sunset

Mussels with a Mango cannelloni. Which is stuffed with crab

Scallops with curry and a dumpling

Steak 

The sunset was ridiculous last night

Here’s another one

One more for good measure.  I sat outside for 20 minutes watching a paraglider circling around Bora Bora at sunset. It was amazing to see from my standpoint.

Not much planned for Good Friday.  Maybe everyone will get some rest.

Watch out for the Rays

March 28th, 2018, was a Tuesday and our first full day in Bora Bora.  The plan was to eat breakfast, get our snorkeling gear at the beach pool house and meet our guide for a Bora Bora snorkeling adventure.

Sunrise photo from the deck 

Grace and I are headed to breakfast 

Looking back at the Bungalow 

G-Money wants to get some cocco krispies

From breakfast it was off to the main dock to meet our guide from pure snorkeling, Vehi.  Great guy super laid back.  After introduction and getting our gear arranged, we were off.  The first stop was to view Manta Rays.  These Manta Rays live primarily in the lagoon and swim near the coral so the fish can clean them.  The water was probably 40 ft deep maybe more but would come up more shallow in spots.  We dropped in and snorkeled for about 5 minutes before we saw the large Manta Rays cruising below us If you desire 4 min of long tracking shots of Manta Rays swimming call me and I can splice my GoPro clips together for you.  In the interest of brevity here are the best pictures.

Yes that Ray is pooping.  That is not jet propulsion coming from the back

Manta cruising the reef

Shark in the depths.  I think this is a black tip reef shark.

Two Mantas circling.  

Two Mantas.  Amazing

From the Manta spot, we headed to a sandy point in the lagoon to look for Eagle Rays.  These are also coming from deeper waters to get clean.  They do have some stingers near the tail.  The water on this dive was a little shallower, maybe 20 ft or a little more.  It is so clear it is almost unbelievable.

Eagle Rays cruising in formation.

Eagle Rays 

The Eagle Rays turning 

Imagine 5 minutes of long tracking Eagle Rays gliding through the water.  I have that much video on my phone is you want to see it. 😴 

Vehi dove down.  Yes to the bottom and delivers this sea urchin to us.  It was really cool and unbelievably sticky to my hand

Sea Urchin in my 🤚 

From here we travelled to a section called the “Aquarium”.  Seemed like it was too good to be true the way Vehi described it.  

Whoa there are a lot of fish here!!!

Katie lost her snorkel and it went to the bottom.  Vehi was down one second later to fish it off the bottom.  Maybe 20 ft where it went down at.  I got 1/2 down and thought my eardrums might explode.  After Katie lost her snorkel she turned in to Ariel from the little mermaid and just began free diving around the reef.   I do not know where she gets it but she is crazy 😝.

We do love Bora Bora

Katie working on something for her snap nation.

We love Bora a lot.

Ashley trying to continue the Instagram magic.  Her photographer was not quite on point.

More fish.  Gratuitous snorkeling photos

Imaging snorkeling along in peace when this swims at you.  Terrifying, trust me.

Fish 

Now our guide and another guide found a Giant Moray eel and managed to lure it out.  I can’t put video on the blog but check out my Instagram for a ridiculous video.  This eel was bigger than Grace, who spend the day on the boat plotting against TSA and planning her next big smuggling job.

The eels about 1/4 of the way out.

The eels is out and heading back home

Check out the colors in the tail of the eel.

This eel is giant.  Giant, I tell you.

After it was over I dove down by the hole he was hiding in to get one last picture.  It is below.  There is a fish hiding the eel partially and it is amazing how well camouflages it becomes.  As I swam by all I saw were it’s eyes and its teeth.  It looked ready to take a chunk out of anything it wanted to.  It was way more scary then this picture leads us to believe.  

Look at the teeth towards the bottom of the circle.  If the little fish was out of the way, you would be terrified right now.

Happy snorkelers and Grace who refused to participate until NCAA division 1 athletes are fairly compensated.

In transit, should you northerners be out in the sun this much.

After this amazing experience we went to the coral garden.  Much more laid back but no less beautiful.

Here is the coral.  It is beautiful many colors.  I have video but not much as we wasted a lot of video trying to film terrifying eels.

Check out the barrier reef behind us.

Warning light and the barrier reef.

Bora Bora from the boat

More Bora Bora.  Seriously will this guy ever stop 

Back at the dock with our guide Vehi.  Amazing morning.

Turns out the rays we should have been worrying about were coming from the sun.  Ashley, Kari and especially Katie all receive sunburns to varying degrees.  You could literally cook an egg on Katie’s legs.  

After this we found some shade and some lunch.

Walking back to the resort somewhat worse for wear

The resort 

Tuna sashimi!!!! So fresh so good.  I may have mercury poisoning after this trip.  

Hopefully Hinano is a cure for mercury poisoning.

The girls all went back to the room to seek shelter from the sun.  I applied a little extra sunscreen and went for a paddleboard.  It was a great little trip around the resort.

Shade and a shower for everyone renewed our spirits somewhat.  Dinner was a barbecue on the beach.  The fresh fish was better then the veal.  Ashley said she was not going to eat baby cow and reaffirmed her commitment to go vegetarian after spring break.

Gracie before dinner.  All day in a boat gives you a lot of time to think or plot?

Bora Bora at sunset.  I can’t stop myself it is like a sickness.

The resort is ready to barbecue 

Tahitian vanilla with some chocolate in a coconut.  Ridiculous.

Good night everybody.  Tomorrow we are trying our hand at fishing.

Sleep tight.  The air conditioner in our bungalow does not have a setting high enough to reduce the heat coming off the girls northern skin.