More photos from Rebecca ... Bora Bora and Moorea

NWRebecca is taking a photo excursion this morning, and she'll have more for you later today.

It's our last full day on the ship. We been the arduous journey home Saturday night in Papeete and will be home Monday AM. It will be awhile before Mark can find the words to describe the trip.

Mark meets a stingray off Bora Bora

Outrigger

Mark's stingray

Our guide

Private motu on Bora Bora

Bora Bora

Mark amazingly catches a coconut as it falls from the tree. (Ok, so he threw the coconut up in the air and caught it. But who needs to know, right?)

Cooking fish

Moorea --  Cook's Bay

Rebecca's photographs

Here are a few of Rebecca's photographs.

Swimming with the sharks and the rays

We will never forget today.

Mark does not swim well and is nervous in the water. It is what it is. Rebecca is an excellent swimmer. Neither have had much experience swimming in a lagoon near Bora Bora where the black sharks and the stingrays come up to be petted and fed. 

So put Mark in a snorkel for the first time in his life, give him his underwater camera, strap on a life vest, and insert him in crystal blue water. 

He loved it. He petted the stingray (feels like velvet,) and photographed the sharks from an acceptable distance.

Rebecca is very proud of Mark. 

So is Mark.

There was snorkeling in a coral garden, and then a traditional Polynesiasn feast. Pork, fish, plantains, breadfruit, yucca, are placed on top of hot rocks, covered with banana leaves and left alone for 3 or so hours. The result is heavenly. We ate with our fingers. We'll be back. And you should come visit too.

Here we are snorkeling at the coral garden. 

We tell you about this adventure because we chose this excursion for its high tourist value. Actually, it sounded a little cheesy. We were wrong. The whole experience was one for the ages.

Sharks and stingrays. Damn. Can you believe it? 

Cooking fresh fish for lunch.

Lunch after a morning chasing stingrays and sharks.

Bora Bora

Spent the afternoon walking around Bora Bora then took a taxi ride around the island. Today we swim with sting rays and sharks (really) and then more beach frolic on a local motu. 

On the north side of Bora Bora. In the distance is the St Regis.

Our guide to everything Bora Bora.

North side looking inward

Tourism is down on Bora Bora. This is one of three bankrupt hotels. Locals say it's overbuilt. But the island still attracts it's share of the rich and famous who'll pay $1700 or more a night to stay in a place like his.

We may have to wait until we get back to post Rebecca's photographs. WiFi and all that is erratic even on a good day. 

But the overall experience is singularly spectacular. We'll have memories forever. 

Bora Bora early Tuesday

The Private Island

One day of the cruise is reserved for the Paul Gauguin's own little corner of the South Pacific. 

All of the islands we'll visit are ringed by motu's,  or islands. A motu can be large and inhabited, or as small as your garage. Motu Mahana belongs to the cruise line and looks like a movie set. Bars, food, chairs, trinket selling, snorkeling, diving, drinking, hot sun, and great fun. You just have to lose yourself in this stuff.

It's almost a truism that the passengers are a diverse lot. The biggest group is from the US followed by France. Then Asians and people from everywhere else. Remember, there are just 260 passengers total.the population is just large enough not to get thrown together with the same people, but small enough to make a fairly wide selection of new acquaintances.

We are in Bora Bora for the next two days. This is one of the more developed islands and has, according the somebody who knows these things, the largest number of high-end stores and resorts. Tomorrow we"re going to a Polynesian excursion ... Tour by out rigger canoe, snorkeling, visiting some tame stingrays, watching some non-tame sharks, and eating a typical Tahitian feast. Film at 11.

Overall, the trip has been beyond our expectations and has been a lovely way to celebrate a wonderful love and friendship.

Motu Mahana

Mou Mahana with the Paul Gauguin in the distance. The island behind the ship is Taha'a.

The pool area. The pool is the size of our dining room, only wetter.

Gods and ancestors

 Yesterday was the 40th anniversary date and we celebrated in typical Johnson fashion style. 

We started with an archeological tour of the island of Hauhine (that's pronounced way-he-ne.)

It is one of the least populated of the islands -- 7000 or so --- incredibly lush, and the site of a number of significant archeological sites.

Rebecca and I are glad we as it. Fruit grows everywhere, tourism is minimal, the people are friendly, and the large sacred eels have blue eyes.

The black eels swim in a sacred pool which bears a strong resemblance to a creek, eat sacred salmon out of a can, and delight in swimming through the legs of the children who pick them up and pet them. I will not question their sacred credentials. One respects other beliefs. But I personally do not need to get particularly close to a sacred eel with blue eyes, and I was not motivated by religion or curiosity to pick up one of the damn things.

We visited a vanilla plantation --- French Polynesian vanilla is highly prized. A typical vanilla plantation is the size of a small backyard, growing vanilla is very hands-on and you apparently must know a lot about the sexual preferences of a vanilla plant. 

We ate dinner last night at LaVeranda on the ship. Wow. One of the best meals ever. Truly memorable.

Today we're spending the day on Motu Mahana, a private island owned by Paul Gauguin cruises. Polynesian barbecue, alcohol consumption for many, dancing, snorkeling, frivolity and sunshine await.

Onward.

Rebecca at a historic village site on Hauhine, French Polynesia December 15, 2013.

700 year old Banyon tree on Hauhine

Reproduction of a chief's home, now a Polynesian history museum, on Hauhine.

Everybody in the tour group but Mark looking at at the Sacred Blue Dyed Eels of Hauhine. (You had to be there.)

As soon as we get to a better wifi connection, Mark will upload the first set of Rebecca's fabulous photographs from French Polynesia.