Chablis chic

We woke up to the light switching itself on in the room. There is a timer, connected to the fan but neither of us had used this so it’s a bit of a mystery.

We went down to breakfast early and it was lovely to be able to have the space all to ourselves. It’s a great hotel with great staff and we’re sorry to be leaving it.

We left for the airport an hour before our flight; the journey took about fifteen minutes. Another airport, another chicken. No one seems that bothered that chickens are roaming free in the ‘terminals’ here. We checked in, boarded our flight and ten minutes later we were in Bora Bora, the ‘Pearl of the Pacific’.

We’re the only ones from the plane going to our hotel, so we got the boat transfer to ourselves.

They had bad weather here yesterday. Today, with the sun shining, it is as if someone’s turned the colour monitor up. It’s insane.

Arriving at the dock, there is a happy chap playing the ukulele… just for us 🙂

Our hostess showed us around the complex. It’s all very different here – Le Meridien is a five star hotel. It is busy, mostly with French and American tourists, here to be seen. We looked slightly shabby in comparison. The staff are very friendly but it is a little more impersonal (in our last two hotels, we never had to give our room numbers). We signed up to a loyalty scheme which will give us 10% off food in the restaurants in the evening. There are two restaurants and two bars on site; we’re told we need to book for dinner!!!

We explored further on our own. There is a shop selling souvenirs (beer mat anyone?); a pearl shop and an activity desk. We looked at the options on offer and booked a couple of activities for the forthcoming days. My credit card’s now feeling a little sorry for itself.

As our room wasn’t ready, we sat near the beach. A great place for people watching. There was a man sitting on a deckchair by the beach playing with his drone. Hammocks and rattan sun pods scattered about – I suspect these get snatched early in the morning.

Our room… is a private overwater bungalow. We have a dressing room. We have a bath! I don’t know when I last saw a bath. We have a glass floor and in theory we should see fish, but maybe due to yesterday’s weather, the water’s a bit choppy and not that clear today. Let’s hope things improve over the next few days. We have a sun deck and steps to the ocean. We have a spectacular view of the island’s iconic square-topped peak.

We had a quick swim, and ordered room service. We’re having an early dinner, so we shared a mozzarella and tomato salad. Andy got himself a pineapple juice; I ordered a glass of Chablis.

We spent the afternoon swimming straight from our deck, and drying out on our deck chairs. A tern flew by a few times, his under-wings picking up that incredible turquoise colour from the sea. That same turquoise colour that I’m looking at from my ‘working desk’.

We walked along the beach on our way to dinner. No idea where everybody was – just us on the beach… and an iridescent cloud.

We’ve only been here a few hours but Bora Bora? The verdict is out.