...the rest of it!

well, we kinda let time get away from us and i don't think you could blame us for not putting the blog at the top of our priorities during the vacation of a lifetime. but here's what happened during the last few days of our trip:

on our first full day on bora bora, we ferried to the main island, walked around a bit, and then rented bikes and rode around for a while. it was so beautiful. the island itself looks so amazing, these crazy steep volcanic cliffs covered in lush green. the bike ride was fun, and jeff made friends with a stray dog, who chased us for several minutes before we lost him on a downhill. i submit that he was just being friendly. we ALSO witnessed several dogs SWIMMING IN THE LAGOON. just swimming. hilarious.

we then lunched at a small cafe (service = fail but food was tasty), and bought some groceries before heading back to the hotel. we swam a little, it's hard not to when the water is literally outside your back door. it felt fantastic. dinner was at the fancy hotel restaurant, and included fancy pina coladas/margaritas. delish.

full day 2 on bora bora began with your typical boat tour and swimming with sharks. you know, like you do. we snorkeled around with a crew of reef sharks and lots of amazing fish, then the boat took us to another amazing spot with crazy coral gardens and about a zillion different fish, and THEN to a third spot where jeff got to feed, pet, and yes, even KISS a bunch of sting rays. i sat in the boat due to the cold, and got to see the wonder of it all. jeff is truly the don juan of rays. the boat tour then took us all around the island, pointed out a bunch of cool stuff and other resorts that aren't quite as cool as ours, and ended on a private island. SUCH a cool tour.

the rest of the day was spent mostly talking about how awesome the tour was, and kicking it in our awesome room, where we picnicked for dinner.

our last full day of the trip was lovely and relaxing and perfect. we hung out and watched a movie in the morning, fed the fish that live below our bungalow, hung out in the sun a bit, and then headed up the hill for our hot stone massage, which was SO GOOD. we were in heaven. jeff's first massage ever, and he enjoyed it very much, and their spa is at the top of this hill with such an amazing view. after that we were ready to just chill for the afternoon, and then had a nice dinner at the fancy restaurant again, which was once again fantastic, even with the hurricane-force winds that started blowing while we were eating.

we woke on our last day, somewhat heartbroken that we had to leave, but were still able to squeeze in a great breakfast, a trip to the main island, souvenir shopping, a short walk, and a nice lunch before we were whisked off to the airport. it was a nice end to our amazing time on bora bora.

the trip home was not that cool, standing in lines, plane to tahiti, sitting in airport, more standing in lines, plane to lax, not much sleeping, more standing in lines, etc. but my parents picked us up, and we got to relive the trip as we told them all about it on the way home, and it feels good to be back home even though i think a part of us will always wish we were back in paradise. but the good news is, we're married now and we get to go lots of places and see lots of things and experience lots of experiences, together. which was really the reason why this was such an amazing trip.

Two Lists

Things we've learned about the French from Tahiti:

1. Their light switches are backwards
2. They eat fancy cheeses at every meal
3. Fashion is always first
4. Waiters/waitresses take forever
5. "Les Entrees" are actually appetizers
6. Their women always look angry
7. They are generally assholes

Things we've learned about Tahitians from Tahiti:

1. They are always friendly
2. Their songs sound a lot like Christmas carols
3. Men seldom wear shirts
4. Waiters/waitresses take forever
   
5. Most of them know 6-7 languages
6. Their women always look happy
7. They are generally awesome
   

moorea to bora bora

disclaimer: this post is being typed on a french keyboard, so typos may abound.

our final day in moorea was awesome, just chilling mostly. we breakfasted as usual with a massive buffet, then headed out to snorkel. it was glorious, ive never seen so many different kinds of fish and coral. the water is incredibly clear, no sea weed or crap littering it up, and it was the perfect temperature. the only problem occurred as we were exiting for lunch, i stupidly took off my mask and therefore did not see the giant piece of coral to avoid it, ending up with a decent sized wound on my shin. jeff was a great nurse though, especially considering that the 5 star resort we were staying at has NO BANDAIDS. none.
after lunch jeff went back out, and i continued reading, which i have been doing a lot of, probably too much, but this stupid hunger games series is addictive.
we had dinner at the resorts fancy restaurant, which was great. jeff got me to try raw fish, which im still not a fan of, but hey, i tried it. overall a fantastic final day in moorea.
the next morning we got up, packed, ate our last breakfast, and got on the shuttle to the airport. it was kinda sad, we loved our resort and really didnt know if bora bora could beat it. how wrong we were.
after a somewhat shaky flight, we landed in bora bora, and were greeted by rain. serious rain. but even through the rain you could see the beauty of the area, along with the HUGE boat from our hotel that had come to pick us up from the airport. this thing could carry probably our whole plane full of people, but it was just the two of us that it carried back to the hilton. which is unbelievable. even in pouring rain its the most beautiful resort ive ever seen, in real life or on tv, totally out of control. our overwater bungalow is OFF THE CHARTS, its absolutely beautiful, huge, and includes an upper deck to sit on, a lower deck to dive off of, a giant bathtub, a giant shower, a bidet (which neither of us has gotten the nerve to try yet), two tvs and FOUR little windows to the water below, including one next to the bathtub in case you want to pretend you are bathing with the fish. unbelievable.
we werent up for swimming while it was still raining, so we watched a movie, and then relaxed until dinner time.
in moorea, we got breakfasts included in our package, but here we get both breakfasts and dinners, since the resort is on a motu, a small island off the main island of bora bora. when we got to dinner they informed us that we get an appetizer, entree and a dessert, each. so needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of it. really good food, beautiful sand-bottomed restaurant, wonderful company. it was a great start to bora bora, and we cant wait to see whats next.