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| View of Bora Bora from Motu Piti Anau |
Bora Bora Lagoonarium
Located near Motu Piti Anau
Typically our goal is to NOT swim with sharks or rays. However; there is something about being anchored in the shadow of the mountains of Bora Bora that makes you feel a bit more adventurous and brave or a little stupid. During our travels in French Polynesia we heard there was place in Bora Bora where you could actually swim with sharks and rays. The Beach Snobs are not your typically sailors in that we had not been drinking... so we can't blame our quest to intentionally swim with sharks and rays on being drunk.
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Making Friends with a Sea Turtle |
After two days of sailing we were ready for a good swim and a day on the beach. We were anchored between the Le Meriden and St. Regis Hotels in the Bora Bora Lagoon. Both hotels had great beaches... for the guest, so that left us without a beach. Desperate to find a beach, I grabbed the binoculars and searched the Motu's (small islands). One one of them we noticed a good looking beach, checking our charts we thought it might be the Bora Bora Lagoonarium. We climbed into our dingy and headed toward the Motu to get a closer look.
The closer we got to the Motu, the nicer it looked. The turquoise water around the Motu is crystal clear and bottom is white sand. Arriving at the Motu we saw the sign, Bora Bora Lagoonarium, Open 8:00 - 3:00 pm, closed on Saturday. Fortunately we arrived during the week so it looked like we might be in luck and on the trail of another unique beach destination.
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| Nice Beach Area |
Ashore we discovered a well kept beach area with picnic tables, shade and lounge chairs. The lagoon and beach area was your ideal South Pacific setting with an unbelievable view of Bora Bora. This was going to be a no brainier decision, great beach, good facilities and great view... we were staying. We wandered toward a small building near the beach where we found a pleasant lady who was cooking chicken and fish on an open grill. Talking to her we found out that we could use the beach all day and have lunch all for a "reasonable" charge. Remember we were in Bora Bora, so nothing is really reasonable as compared to the US; but considering the scenery the beach and how good the food on the grill looked we were sold.
After paying the lady a Polynesian man escorted us to the beach area for a brief orientation. Now I have to admit, I had never been to a beach that required an orientation but we soon discovered why it was needed. He explained the Bora Bora Lagoonarium was unique in that the lagoon was populated by sharks and various types of rays. To my surprise the sharks were in the lagoon we were going to swim in and not behind a protective fence. Immediately I thought REFUND, but then I noticed a man wearing a bathing suit that looked more like a pair of his wife's underwear than a man's swimsuit. He was swimming in the lagoon with his wife, two children and the sharks. Now if the guy swimming in his wife's panties could swim with the sharks, then I was not about to give up my man card and chicken out.
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| Black Tip Reef Shark |
Our Polynesian host went on to explain that these were Blacktip Reef Sharks and they would not hurt you. Here is what Wikipedia says about the Blacktip Reef Shark, "Timid and skittish, the blacktip reef shark is difficult to approach and seldom poses a danger to humans unless roused by food. However, people wading through shallow water are at risk of having their legs mistakenly bitten". I did not get an opportunity to read this information until latter, so I made my decision to swim with the sharks based information from a Polynesian guy and a man card challenge from a man swimming in his wife's panties. While not the best sources and reasons to make the decision it turned out to be the right decision.
The sharks.... yes they did swim in the same area we were in: however, they appeared timid (for sharks) and stayed at a "comfortable" distance. Soon we became enough at ease to float in the lagoon and actually enjoyed watching the sharks and rays swim in the lagoon. And what a great lagoon to float in... floating around on our swim noodles enjoying the view of Bora Bora... not a bad way to spend the day.
After a nice swim, it was lunch time! (For us not the sharks). Our island hosts set up a very nice private lunch in the shade of one of the beach cabanas. The grilled chicken and fish were very good and complimented by rice and a raw fish salad. The chicken, fish and rice were all very good, and the raw fish salad a local delicacy while good is just not my deal. I prefer my fish cooked. Of course the man in his panty style swimsuit was wolfing his raw fish salad down like a hungry hound; however, I did not feel a direct challenge to my manhood, so I passed on the raw fish. The lunch accompanied with Polynesian music was GREAT and get's thumbs up from the Beach Snobs.
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| Sting Ray |
After lunch our Polynesian host escorted us to the separate lagoon and let us pose for a picture with a sea turtle. Then to top off the show he swam out in the lagoon and captured a large sting ray and put the ray's tail in his mouth so the ray could not barb him. This was a really large ray and our host told us that the ray could not barb him while the tail was held in his mouth. It must do something, we all survived... however; I declined to put the ray tail in my mouth.
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| Holding an Eagle Ray |
Our experience with ray's continued with the opportunity to hold an Eagle Ray and pose for our picture. I must admit I was not too excited about holding the Eagle Ray. But after a young woman rushed at the opportunity to hold it and pet it, I definitely felt a challenge to my man hood. So here is our picture with the "friendly Eagle Ray".
Our day at the Bora Bora Lagoonarium was a really unique day at the beach. While the Beach Snobs rarely pay admission to a beach area this one is worth the price of admission.
When you go to Bora Bora be sure to take a trip here it is well worth your time and it is BEACH SNOB APPROVED.
On our recent trip to Athens, Greece and the Greek isles we stayed at the Westin Astir Palace. This is a really nice resort located on a private peninsula about 15 miles from the center of Athens and worlds away from the traffic and crowds of downtown Athens. This is a great place to stay if you want to enjoy the beach and still be close enough to see the sites in Athens.
