View from the Dinghy

We didn’t step on land until yesterday, our fourth day in Bora Bora. Instead, we relaxed on the boat and enjoyed the water from the comfort of our swim step. We explored in the dinghy, ducking behind motus and between passes, weaving in and out of the thatched-roof bungalows housing honeymooners on the island.

The tourist infrastructure is more developed here than elsewhere. Jet ski tours round the island like rows of baby ducks trailing after their mothers. A helicopter circles the mountain daily. Paragliders hang high above the water, and dive boats mark the best snorkel spots. Two cruise ships pulled in last night, one is a four masted motor-sailer we’ve crossed paths with a few times already in the Society Islands, the second is a standard cruiser like those we saw in Mexico.

We think of the arrival of cruise ships as a talisman for our departure. We have a few more errands this morning, a move to a more scenic anchorage, another round of dinghy repairs scheduled for this afternoon, and an exit from Bora Bora in the increasingly near future.