Here is a shot I took of a Moray Eel, I am not sure what kind, but it started to come out of it’s hole after me, so I really didn’t stick around too long to see how big it was! This was taken as we snorkled about 50 yards from our overwater bungalow on Bora Bora, on a Motu actually!!!

And this is a Manta Ray that we saw close by after we padded around the moto one day to snorkle!!

And here is just a shot of some clear water and little fishys!

Tiki Bar TV - Watch Tiki Bar - Forbidden Cocktails In A Swank Pad

Another new episode!! I am so happy, I think I am crying….

Sharon posted a test, so I had to take it too, here are my results:

I was bored and put together some details from our big trip last week, here it is:

Air Tahiti Nui was very standard as far as airlines go, but the seats were narrow and close together (for a big 6 footer). I asked for better seats, window or exit row at check-in without success. American Airlines mileage can be used for flights but cannot be accrued on ATN. My knees hit the seat in front of me. On the trip home, as I was reading the menu, which was printed on a small piece of paper, when the girl in front of me put her seat back, it smashed the menu in my hands. When they served the meal, the steward asked her to raise her seat back and when she did, it took my tray with it and dumped my cola down my leg, fortunately I had shorts on. />
Marama travel “met” us just fine in Tahiti. The system is for all of the ‘meeters’ to be in one place, each with a little stand with their travel company’s name on it and their travelers listed on a white board. They took their vouchers and gave us a lei and put us on the right shuttle for the hotel.

Check-in went fine in Tahiti, and our room was ocean/lagoon facing at ground level which was great. We had a very short walk to the edge of the water.

On Friday we took a circle island tour and had a great time. We had the driver drop us off at the shopping center in Tahiti (Papeete) since it was our only time to shop.

The Seafood buffet was fine on Friday night, but our seats were the worst possible for the show. Two support columns and a tree blocked my view (from the last possible row of tables). The food was mostly OK, there were several non-seafood options. But, the French don’t always cook their beef as well as us Westerners do. So, I could not chew the
meat enough to swallow it. I did have enough to eat however. Diane said the lobster was tough. The show appeared to be first class and I did take some photos with my telephoto and (powerful) flash.

Saturday morning, Marama tours had a little booth in the lobby of the Intercontinental and got us to the airport for the Bora Bora flight. That went fine too and we were met on Bora Bora (at their little booth) by Sofitel for the trip to the Motu. The Air Tahiti flight seemed to have slightly more knee room and hip room!!

Check-in was very unique there, there were three couples checking in and they put us all in the bar of the restaurant and brought us each a large coconut with a straw in it to drink the coconut milk. When it was our turn, we signed everything we needed to and were escorted to our overwater bungalow. Ours seemed to be one of the better ones (there were two levels of overwater bungalows: standard and Horizon but we could not find out what the differences were.) Our
bungalow was on the end, and we had a view of over 180 degrees. We could see another big Motu, the main island other bungalows and the ocean hitting the coral reefs in the distance.

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was very minimal and not too good. The eggs were always runny (a French thing?) and the service was visibly lacking overall. My theory was since they don’t work for tips they do nothing out of their way to please the customer. This was true in every restaurant. Plus many of the waiters/waitresses did not understand English. During a dinner at the Sofitel Marara I ordered a steak, medium-well, the waiter heard “medium-rare” apparently - it was singed on the surfaces but raw in the center. The steak went back for more cooking.

On our last day, after we checked out of the hotel at noon and before our flight out was at 5:30, we rented some bikes and had cheese burgers (again) at Bloody Marys, the best food we had over there! We went over the the other Sofitel for a col
d drink at the bar. We were in no rush. We sat for awhile and enjoyed the breeze and I finally went up to the bar to order the drinks even though the waitresses should have asked us at our table. I ordered two ice teas, the waitress looked like a doe in headlights. Like I was speaking a foreign language (I was). I said it again and she then points to a drink in the sink (that was there for washing) and she said “like that”? I said yes and she asked me to go sit down and she would bring the drinks to us. We were in no rush. So, after about 15 minutes she came over to us and said “you wanted juice?”, I said “no, we wanted 2 (two) ice teas”. We were in no rush. She remembered and left us. 15 minutes later she returned with 2 ice teas. We enjoyed the drinks and later, when the girl returned we ordered two more. 30 minutes later she returned with the ice teas. We were able to shower and change our clothes, thank God at the Sofitel Motu and were ready for the long 8hr trip home.

The return
flight was uneventful, except for the seat in front of me.

I parked at LAX at Park-One (which has a new name now) which is right next to Terminal 1 and costs $14.95 per day, but with a Southwest Airlines card I received 20% off. That was a good deal, and they are really close to the terminals.

Carlos: has tagged me, so now I must write a blog with 8 facts/things/habits about myself. And, away we go.

1 Have worked for over 30 years

2 Were unemployed for 2+ years

3 Married for 30 years

4 Love to take photos

5 Worked for Picture People two years ago as a lark!

6 Known Carlos for about 9 years!!!

7 Commute over 23000 miles per year for the last 15 years

8 Have a new crack in my windshield from a rock/lugnut that hit the edge of my windshield yesterday, the crack is 6 inches long, it grew another 2 inches today!!

I took a test, rare for me, courtesy of Carlos

You Are 16 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what’s to come… love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You’ve had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You’ve been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

We have returned from our trip to Tahiti and Bora Bora. We had a wonderful time and I wish we were still there. The link above is just a sample of the 400 shots I took there. Our overwater bungalow was the best. We snorkled everyday by just taking the stairs down to the water. It rained one day from midnight to noon, so it wasn’t too bad! The biggest problem was the food, and the language. Everything is French, which wasn’t a total surprise, but the amount of people not knowing any Engish was a surprise.

More later!!