Mora Bora Bora
And Rule # 3: don’t drink so much Tahitian rum and coke. Didn’t feel all that and a bag of chips this morning at 06:00. But soldier on we must. I had a small breakfast, and couldn’t even finish the eggs or bacon. On the way to the dive shop I chatted with the Indian guy from town trip yesterday. He is from Chicago and now Japan, talked about Daniel, a French couple from Paris, dive buddies and very nice. I met Bill Fulcher and his wife. he ended up with some incredible shots from his camera, a nice swimming Moray eel video and more. I must credit all of the pictures underwater to him, they are great. And I thank him for sharing them with me. The dives were great, different than the others and very nice. Tapu was outside the reef, started at 45 down to about 80 on a sloping reef. Lots of sharks, not all at once, but almost always one or two in sight. 6-9 foot Lemon sharks, thick and cruising the bottom. The reef fish would give it away, as they would move out when one was coming. They did not seem to care about us, and would come within a few feet and just ease around. I also saw lots of Remora the fish that have a sucker like top of the head and travel with the sharks. Several black tips as well, but mostly the Lemon sharks. Jerome the DM said not to worry, they are very happy to see us and will smile so we can see all the teeth! Just Joking! Nice canyons, some corals but not many, some Morays, a very cool dive. Up top and back into the Lagoon. A cold wind. While traveling the driver/boat man played his Tahitian “guitar” for us and was very good, some fun songs as well. (I’ll be comin’ round the mountain in Tahitian.)
The second dive was at Toopua, just south of the Motu where I am staying at the Hilton. Into only about 18 feet of water, a Coral garden. Then west into the current, and over a wall of coral down to 50 feet and a sand bottom. We hugged the bottom and swam a ways upstream, sometimes pulling along with our hands as well. The goal was finally there, a group of 6 spotted Eagle Rays. They swam very near us, maybe 4 feet. We dropped to bottom and watched them for a while. Then we went on around a nice coral area with many “mushroom” corals and back toward the boat. I saw one Ray gliding above us and then we ran into the group of them again. It was a workout dive, but worth it to see the rays up close. They dropped us off at the Hilton, so we didn’t have to go all the way back to the shop and out again. I rinsed off and my gear and went for a nice club sandwich lunch. The one waitress, (? Mahu, or effeminate man raised and who lives as a woman, though not sexually gay) is very pleasant, but when I mentioned that I am trying with my French, she now only speaks to me in French, but very patiently and helpfully. After lunch I had to have a bit of nap before I could even write this.
Friday was another diving day. The first dive was inside the lagoon, east of the island. “Anau” is the place where the large (6-8 foot) Manta Rays hang out. So this morning I get to dive with Delph. She actually was OK, not bubbly or even happy, but OK and professional. She went over the dive with us and explained that the visibility could be poor, but that is where the Manta Rays hang out. We should stay close and if we lose sight, go up and she would come for us. She was 1/2 right, the visibility was poor, maybe 15 feet, but no Mantas to be found. We swam from the shallow 12 ft coral entry point over the lip and down to a channel at 40-50 feet and cruised up and down it a couple of times to no avail. Saw very little and came in before too long. Today they had no towels on board, so I was a bit cold, with my slap shirt on and not able to dry. Met Bill again, turns out his wife is a plastic surgeon and he is an anesthesiologist. They work in their surgi-center in Beverly Hills.
The second dive was back to Tapu, outside the Teavanui pass like yesterday morning. It was as good as yesterday, lots and lots of Lemon Sharks, saw more black-tips today, and one turtle. We also saw a tourist ride, the “Yellow Submarine” which actually goes down! I had thought it just floated on the top, a glass bottom boat with side ports, but it went down about 25-30 feet below. Interesting to see. A couple of Lion fish, and a relaxed dive.
Today I am packing up to fly on to Moorea for the next 5 nights. Bora Bora certainly is beautiful, the lagoon has spectacular colors, and the dives have been great.
Tags: Travel
James