The highlight of our day at Bora Bora was a visit to Bloody Mary's bar and restaurant (I have finally learned how to spell that). This is built of jungle timber, bamboo and palm thatch to look like the old Polynesian buildings described in so many stories about the South Pacific. In fact, it is named after the character in Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" and the movie "South Pacific" based on the book. The bar was built in 1979 by a guy called Baron George and has become one of the "must visit" places on Bora Bora. It has been visited by lots of international politicians, astronauts, celebrities and bands and they are listed on panels on either side of the entry; they should add my name as well now. Inside it is like something from a movie about the old days in the Pacific. The floor is sand, the seats are cut from logs and windows are just open areas that can be closed by thatch flaps. I found some strange totem poles in the courtyard, you can tell the size by comparing with the small bear (me) at the base of this one. I also found a rather disturbing element. In the picnic area just across the road there are lots of large crab holes. I tried to lure one out by tossing gravel down the hole and I had a big rock to bash it with if it came out, but it didn't so Mum didn't have crab cakes that night. Something new to me is the number of pairs of wheels on the sides of frames in the edge of the lagoon. These are winding wheels for lifts that raise fishing boats clear of the water so that marine bugs and borers can't attach themselves to the hull. There is always something interesting to see on the Pacific islands.
Labels: crabs, cruising, South Pacific, Tahiti
# posted by Bart Bear @ 4:07 pm
