Wednesday, September 12^th, 2001 8am or so
(Not sure where I was for this one)

            Our last full day here on Bora Bora.  We have been up for almost two hours.  We popped on the news for a while – trying to get new information, but only heard the same things being repeated over and over.  We then climbed the motu to try to catch the sunrise.  Too late.  The view was very nice… and we took several photos to prove it.   I can’t tell you how the activities in the states has affected us down here… the mood everywhere we have been has been pretty somber.  To be honest, I am not even sure if flights are even leaving or arriving on Bora Bora.  I have not seen or heard any aircraft – they may have put a stop on flights to Papeete because of how full I am sure they are right now.  If they were backed up 500-600 people yesterday, I am sure that has tripled or quadrupled by today.  Almost every flight out of Tahiti hits Los Angeles first.  Since they CAN’T hit L.A. right now, I am not sure what is going to happen.  Every flight to the states from here is a full plane… and very large.  It is a very small airport, and the hotels were already full for the season.  I would imagine that it should be pretty chaotic right now.  I really should call today to find out what tomorrow is expected to be like.  We are trying to enjoy things as best as possible right now – I know I am dragging it down a bit because of worrying, but it is hard for me not to. 

            I think I mentioned this somewhere else, but I am going to say it again.  I love the smells here.  Their coconut soap has an aroma that I will not soon forget… and one that I will always say smells like Tahiti.  We bought several bars to take home.  Another thing I will take back with me is the Black Pearl association.  I have not said anything about them prior, but it is SUCH a huge thing here.  Tahiti is known for it’s black pearls.  They are for sale everywhere here… and I mean EVERYWHERE.  I am actually tired of hearing people tell us of a place with really good deals on pearls.  Each person has their “own special contact”… one lady that worked the car rental desk at Ia Ora on Moorea was almost comical.  We heard her give the same spiel to the couple before us.   It was almost as if she was selling drugs to us.  After renting the car, she leaned in close to us… and with a thick accent said, “You are looking for the black pearl?”  She said it with a low voice and big smile.  I immediately said No, and she quickly looked at Tami to see if I was lying or not.  We already heard her tell the people before us about the “good deal” she knew about at a specific dealer.  The dealers are everywhere, and all have signs saying 30% percent off… or “Sale”.  I realize that the pearl and tourism are the two biggest exports for Tahitians, but if I don’t want to spend that much on a pearl, then I don’t.  I don’t like being continually sold on them.  Oh well, I am sure that lots of other people buy them.

            Another thing that I haven’t mentioned yet is how nice it is that every night around 7pm our hotel either knocks on our door or comes in when we are not inside.  Know why?  To turn down our blankets, place chocolates on our pillows, and to replace our beach towels.  What class!    

6:44pm  

              Still no real news on flights.  I just remembered that there is an error on our vouchers – they accidentally have our departure date as the 15^th instead of the 14^th for the hotel room.  I may be able to use this error to our advantage if needed.  We may need that extra night there.  The word on the news regarding air travel is that it is currently postponed “indefinitely”.  G-r-e-a-t.  We are going to be stuck in one of the most expensive places in the world.  Ok, so what did we end up doing today?  We rented a car again. (The guy is the same as last time.  An overly feminine, but very lively man.  He is as friendly as they get, and remembered us from renting before.  Once again, a complete character.)  This time we actually picked a day when shops were open.  We drove the opposite way around the island this time – it was quite beautiful.  (Haven’t I used that word a lot in this journal?)  The weather was the best that it has been our whole time here… sunny, warm, and as clear as it gets.  The water was perfection.  More blues than a Crayola box of crayons.  We drove all the way around to the same place we have always gone  -- Viatape.  We stopped at the store and picked up a few things we wanted to bring home with us… more soap and sweets.  We tried the only Chinese “restaurant” on the island.  It was empty, and when we opened the doors we were greeted by the best-looking place that we have seen since being here.  We asked to see the menu first and found out that everything was in French.  The waitresses didn’t speak English.  We left.  We drove a bit further and found a snack shop across from the “college”.  Let me clarify that when I say “Snack Shop”, I am using their definition.  Most of these are simply stands on the side of the road with hand-painted signs.  This one was no different.  They had Chinese food… and seafood.  I ordered the lemon chicken and Tam ordered won tons.  They piled the chicken on… it looked delicious!  We walked across to the ferry terminal to find a place to eat in the shade.  It was the best damn meal that I have had since being here!  Wow… Good stuff.  It only cost us about $18… a bargain here.  We then drove further down the road to check out a few “art galleries”.  We really wanted to get something nice to remember the trip by.  Most of the local art is out of our budget… you would think that hand carvings and paintings would be priced reasonably in a place like this, but a lot of it was in the high hundreds.  The only one that we really both liked was a Tiki sculpture that was about $300!  Uh, no.  Especially when we don’t know where we are going to be in two days… We made a quick pause at one of the only two “cyber-cafés” here on the island.  I think that title is totally stretching it for this place.  It was a home with an old run-down computer that they let people use.  400cfp for 15 minutes – and you HAVE to buy a drink for each person there.  It ended up costing a total of $9 for us to check our email and send the response to our parents.  We stopped for a few more photos and then went back to the hotel.

            We decided to skip the parasailing and took out one of the free outrigger boats they offer guests of the Motu.  BIG mistake.  Man, that thing was SO much work!!!  We kept going in circles… no matter what we did, we could not get the thing to go straight.  We were fighting it more than moving it.  We somehow made it to the other side of our motu and dragged the thing up onto the rocks.  When I got out I almost flipped it… causing Tam to fall out.  She sliced her ankle a bit on the underwater rocks.  (Sorry, Tam!)  We pulled our gear out and did a drift snorkel.  We went WAY out in the ocean – didn’t see a whole lot except for the standard fish.  On the very tiring swim back to shore I found the coolest shell that I have ever found.  I remember my grandparents having one of these in their house.  Anyway, we know that there is something living inside of it, but we want to keep it.  I am going to make Tami be the bad guy on this one… I just can’t do it.  We got the boat back into the ocean and worked the stupid thing back around the motu.  Near the end, I was tired of fighting the thing, and just jumped into the water and pushed it to shore.  Now, THAT is how a boat is supposed to work. 

            We showered and cleaned our gear… knowing that was our last time in the ocean here in Tahiti.  Who knows when we will ever go diving or snorkeling again?  I walked onto our deck in my underwear and took a few last photos of our view.  Stunning.  Suddenly, I noticed that an Eagle ray was floating right by our bungalow.  I ran down the steps, frantically telling Tami to get my snorkel and the can of sardines we bought.  Here I am, clad only in underwear, diving into the ocean to chase a ray.  It took off as soon as it saw me.  Who wouldn’t?  A madman in briefs swinging around a metal can… what a nut.

            Well, it is now 7:20.  We are heading out for dinner at Bloody Marys.  It is a famous place here on the island – all of the famous people that visit go there… hence the reason why we have reservations for 8.  I am sure that we will spend 60-70 bucks on a dinner that I probably won’t appreciate.  At least Tami has good taste and will get something out of it!  Type more later…    

10pm    

And so our last evening in Bora Bora comes to a close.  We drove over to Bloody Mary’s immediately after my last entry.  VERY interesting place.  The ambiance was really neat… you walk in the place and there are sand floors and tables cut from tree trunks.  The stools that you sit on are tree trunks as well.  You start out at a finely prepared spread of meats displayed on ice in front of you.  The guide introduced us to all of the various types of entrée meats that were available.  Everything from swordfish to mahi mahi to Parrot Fish (The lagoon fish for the day) to chicken or steak.  They then prepare the meal for you while you sit at the table.  There are no menus. 

I chose one of the more exotic fish selections with the agreement that Tam would take half of mine, and I would take half of whatever SHE ordered.  She selected the chicken.  Pretty good meal.  Neither of us are really big fish fans.  With my limited appreciation for food, I have a problem paying this much for food.  However, I know that Tam enjoys this.  I do want to mention the bathrooms.  (Yes, I am strange)  They were the neatest bathrooms I have ever been in.  I actually went back out to get the camera.  The pull chain for the urinal was a carved wooden penis!  The sink was a small waterfall, and there were no actual interior walls.  It was a neat idea, and well executed.  Our meal ended and we drove back to our hotel… enjoying the incredibly clear and clean night air.  The stars were out in full force.  I am saddened to realize that our trip is ending so soon… I know that we are about to start an adventure getting home -- and am not looking forward to the stress that I am sure we will be enduring soon.  Seeing Papeete airport should be very interesting tomorrow.  Our honeymoon has certainly taken a turn these past two days… it is hard to be too carefree when knowing what else is going on in the world.