Bora Bora, French Polynesia

What a fun day four-wheeling through the beautiful island of Bora Bora!

Bora Bora is the main island in the Society of Islands chain in French Polynesian. Pam looked high and low for an explanation of why they are called the Society Islands, but could not find an answer. If you know, please tell her! The island is 24 miles around, surrounded by a lagoon and barrier reef. We don’t need to say anything about the views – the pictures speak for themselves. This is what Bora Bora is known for, and is easily the most beautiful water we have ever seen. In the early 2000s there were 17 resorts on the island, many of them with the huts built out over the water like you see in all of the tourist brochures. All but one of these resorts were closed during the economic crisis, leaving 600 people without jobs. Tourism is the only source of income on the island, so you can imagine how devastating those closures have been for the people here. Two new resorts are being built now, but the companies building them are bringing workers in from France instead of using the workforce, which is pretty sad. The lack of employment opportunities has led many of the island’s youth to join the French Army, creating a concern for the long-term future of the island.

We had a fun and knowledgeable guide who took us up incredibly steep “roads” to amazing viewpoints. Scrambling up the sides of volcanic hillsides in the back of an open-air jeep with a tailgate that keeps swinging open and no seatbelts made for quite the adventure as we all hung on for dear life to avoid sliding into each other or flying out the back. It was hilarious!

The entire island of Bora Bora is run on one diesel-fueled generator (yes, for the whole island), water is provided through a de-salinization plant, and there is no hospital. There is a small medical clinic on the island, and if someone needs more extensive medical care they can be flown by helicopter or small biplane to Tahiti. The ride itself is only 15 minutes, but there aren’t a lot of readily available helicopters or planes, so a person can wait 5-6 hours to be transported. No babies are delivered on the island. Women who are expecting spend the last month of their pregnancy at a birthing center in Tahiti. There are no husbands or family members in the delivery room. The woman delivers and the husband receives a phone call telling him he’s a dad.

Until two years ago there was no high school on the island. Kids would be sent to Tahiti or Papeete, leaving their homes on Monday morning and returning Friday night. Those with families who lived farther inland would only come home once a month. Education is free, but it was the family’s responsibility to arrange room and board for their student, a tremendous hardship for families with many children. As a result, many children did not continue their education beyond grade school. Having the high school on the island has been a very big deal.

The last viewpoint our guide took us to had an old cannon positioned at the top of it and the remnants of ammunition bunkers. The U.S. placed eight cannons around the island during WWII to protect against an attack by the Japanese. When it was all over the Americans returned home, leaving the cannons and 126 children behind.

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