What a day on the water!
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| Morning rainfall over Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia |
We left on our snorkeling adventure at 9:30 a.m. local time in the rain, but the rain didn't last for long or spoil our moods. We were ready to get wet! There were 8 to 10 people in each boat, and three boats headed out.
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| Plays, sings and drives all at the same time |
At our first stop we interacted with rays in water so shallow that we could stand as at least ten rays circled us. Often they would slide over our feet. One had very large barbs that the guide snapped off using his snorkel. Interestingly, rays are very soft to the touch. The one the guide picked up is pregnant! Really cool.
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| Big Ray |
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| Rand feeling the soft skin of the ray |
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| Dangerous looking barb |
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| Pregnant Ray |
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Barb removal
Our next stop was a coral reef where we encountered a huge Moray eel. The guides 'kissed' and patted it. Clearly these guys return to this same spot daily, and have developed a friendly relationship with the fish - but an eel! It was crazy. The most unusual species that we saw on the reef were colorful clams, which I had never seen before. Electric blue, green and more!
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| Large Moray eel |
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Stunningly-coloured Clam
At our final stop, sharks! Both lemon sharks (10 - 12 feet long), and the somewhat smaller black tipped sharks ( 3 - 5 feet in length), circled the boat and divers. I definitely stayed out of the way as they were being fed. Would you believe the guides held the large sharks' fins and swam with them? This extraordinary day can only be adequately described in photographs.
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| This one looks a little sinister |
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| David, up-close and personal with a black-tipped shark. |
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| David and shark-perhaps too close for comfort? |
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| Lemon Shark |
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| Black-tipped sharks (very orderly) |
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| Sharks circling the diver. |
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| Closer view of the black-tipped shark |
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Diver feeding the sharks -here they come
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Following the excitement with the sharks, we returned to the hotel for food and relaxation.
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We could either enjoy lunch on the beach where locals welcomed us with gardenias and showed us local crafts, or could return to the Four Seasons Resort for lunch.
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| At dinner......some gorgeous colour on land as well as in the water...this in the form of a mango and raspberry sorbet |
The Four Seasons Bora Bora has a lovely lagoon for snorkeling. A marine biologist showed us how to graft coral. We saw a small octopus and many more marine species; the lagoon was absolutely teeming with fish. After a final snorkel in the local bay, I was 'done in'. I had so much fun today that I want to do it all over again tomorrow.
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| Doc Hunter surrounded by fish |
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