We woke up before sunrise as usual and I opened the sliding doors to the lanai to see the sun beginning to light up the sky. The waters surrounding our bungalow also seemed to be very active with fish and other marine life at this hour. We saw another black-tip shark and a ray also said hello before moving on. We also saw an unusual spiky croissant-shaped creature that one might mistake for coral or a rock . . .until we saw it waddling around.
We had a very French breakfast of pain au chocolats, croissants, and some fruit. Afterward, we walked around the island now that the sun was shining brightly and the water was much more vibrant. One never knows if there might be a rainstorm in the next five minutes in French Polynesia, so photos had to be taken promptly just in case.
The clouds did come and go, but overall the weather was very nice today despite weather forecasts indicating storms and dark clouds and the like. We could certainly see the rain and clouds, but they somehow kept skirting our little island.
We lounged on our lanai for a bit while reading. I completed my book about an expat living in Singapore. You never know when you’ll have to uproot yourself and move to Singapore. It’s best to be prepared. For a minute I sat on the steps leading into the water from our bungalow, but a crab promptly starting crawling up my leg, so I relocated back to the real chairs. I felt myself nodding off a bit, and suspected it was almost time for lunch. It was barely 10 am.
As the sun was now beaming down quite brightly on the ocean around us, the water became very glassy and clear, so we decided to do a bit of reef exploration. We were able to borrow some reef shoes from our hosts, but they appeared more like the jelly sandals that 8 year old girls used to wear in the early 90s. Regardless, they did the job.
The water was very shallow, so at times, it was actually easier to walk than swim. We were mesmerized by the colors of the water and the panoramic view in front of us, or behind us, or sometimes to the side. We used one of the posts that are used to guide boats between the coral as a stand for a self-timer shot. This is about 60m from the shore, so you have an idea of just how shallow the waters are surrounding the island.
We had to be careful not to step on sea cucumbers — a creature we first discovered five years ago in the Cook Islands. I mean, as far as things one might accidentally step on in a reef, a sea cucumber isn’t the worst, but the mere thought of squishing one is frankly just disgusting.
After that we sat at the “beach,” which is kind of a misnomer because the whole island is a beach. However, this is a sort of dedicated area for beach loungers with some chairs. Every time I would look up from my iPad or phone, I would think, “Wowzers! That view!” I would take a picture each time. So I presumably have around 100 pictures of the exact same view, but it was never any less impressive as the day progressed.
Interestingly enough, as we looked in the distance toward Bora Bora, it appeared to be stuck in the clouds the entire day. We felt that the “view” that people pay for at the super expensive resorts in Bora Bora was comparable to our view of the peaks of Taha’a across the lagoon. At one point, Nicole exclaimed, “People pay lots of money for this view.” I responded that, “We did too.” My points did assist a bit for this stay, but it still didn’t come cheap. While one might initially think that staying on a private island with what is essentially our own private chef should cost about the same as a Best Western, you might be surprised.
We found ourselves just relaxing back at our bungalow after what seemed like a long day. It was 3:00. We did some more reading and relaxing. It’s very hectic stuff. After what seemed like two days, we got ready for dinner. Was it good? You’ll have to find out tomorrow. The WiFi situation here is somewhat limited, so uploading all the photo-intensive entries I’m doing takes some time. The iPad needs some rest for the remainder of the night, and I need to go befriend the sharks. A bientôt!
passports & pepto bismol 