Tahiti 2009 - Taha'a and Bora Bora

Last day of diving, we picked the sites. Returned to the lemon shark dive, then did the reef shark dive. Our dive master stayed closer to the surface with some sardines, so the sharks were mostly above us. Made for some great photo opportunities. Back at the hotel we went down to the pool and spread out in one of the big gazebos, kind of a giant Camp Quizmo. Did some reading while they brought us lunch and tasty tropical drinks. Napped for a while, then caught a golf cart ride back to the room; we were too sleepy to walk. Original dinner plan was to go to Bloody Mary's (on the island), but it was pouring down rain. Got pretty wet walking to lobby, decided to stay put for dinner. They brought us towels to dry our feet at the Sunset Bar and fed us tasty food. A great plan B (and the cute golf cart driver gave us a ride back to the room, bonus!).

After breakfast we booked a jet-ski tour for 9am. We each had a waverunner and our guide led the way. Went all the way around the island. Saw the other hotels, stopped at a ray feeding site, lots of rays came swimming over. Saw a big pod of dolphins near the main channel, played with them for a while. Stopped at a shallow area (2 feet deep), had pineapple and breadfruit (tasty!). After lunch by the pool, went back to the room and read our books. Had a nice "Romantic Dinner" served in our room. They put out candles and wrapped the table in palm fronds. Had Abba(!) playing when we returned from the bar at 7pm. As we ate we saw a reef shark and then an eagle ray swim below our deck. What fun! Rick tossed some meat down to the shark, but then realized that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to teach them to eat at the bungalows.

Had our last early breakfast. Met our guide John at the dock for a private shark and stingray feeding snorkel trip. He took us back over to the main channel where we had seen the lemon sharks a few days earlier. Weather was kind of messy on the way over, we were getting drenched on the front of the boat. Fortunately, things cleared up when we arrived, had fun snorkeling around with the little fish and a bunch of reef sharks. Then we went to the opposite side of the lagoon where we saw a bunch of rays, more reef sharks and a giant barracuda. It was a great time. Back at the hotel, since we didn't leave until 6pm and checkout was at 11am, they kindly moved us to another room where we could shower and hang out until it was time to leave. Had lunch one last time by the pool, then showered and relaxed in the room. At 6pm we headed down to reception to check out. Took the hotel launch over to the airport and checked in for the journey home.