Arcobaleno
I heard English today. Proper American (oxymoron? I think not.) English. It was weird. I think I’m going crazy. French is ok for a silly language, (Muahahahaha) but hearing nothing but French for eternity (a week) is a bit much. I went into a dive shop looking for a mask and snorkel and this guy responded right away in English. I tried speaking some more French to him to see if I could fool him into switching languages; but the force was strong in this one, and he stood his ground. I ran out of French words and was forced to reply in English. That’ll be my final test - when I get him to speak French to me I’ll know I’ll have mastered it.
So anyways, I bought my mask and the chef picked me up (we’re good buddies me and he). Since we both had our day off he offered to take me on a tour of Vaitape - the main town on bora bora, which lasted about 30 sec since its 3 shops and a restaurant. Anyways, this chef - I wish I remembered his name - speaks no English whatsoever, so I can insult him all I want… except first I’d have to find something to insult… cuz really, he’s the coolest chef in the world. He’s a little man whose always nice to everyone and never raises his voice…. He’s married to a Tahitian and every time I see him he’s cleaning the kitchen… dont ask why, Im still trying to figure that out myself. Anyways, he was called back to work cuz the sous chef is having a baby, and a bunch of other people didn’t show up to work. So he took me back to the hotel and I went snorkeling.
First of all, you don’t really need a snorkel in Bora Bora… all you’ve gotta do is wade into the water and look down, and you see perfectly fine… but it looks more like youre trying to find a lost watch than snorkeling. SO, I decided to do the cool thing and get geared up. I found a pair of flippers in my back yard that are about 4 sizes too small and set off to the beach. Next to the beach the coral sucks. Its all bleached and ugly… but the fish… whoa. There’s millions of the tiniest fish in a rainbow of colors… there’s blue, green, yellow, black, orange, red, striped, spotted, purple zigzag checkers with tiny fluorescent disco lights… everything.
Go a bit offshore and you find bigger fish, just as colorful… and they’re not scared of you. If you float with them for a minute and let them get used to you then they’ll just swim all around you as if you weren’t even there. And randomly scattered on the bleached coral are little shells filled with neon blue green thingys that retract into the shells when you get near… I’ve gotta get a photo of those. I spent 3 hours in the water. My fingers were pruned beyond recognition and I couldn’t feel my feet anymore, but it was worth it.
So anyways, I bought my mask and the chef picked me up (we’re good buddies me and he). Since we both had our day off he offered to take me on a tour of Vaitape - the main town on bora bora, which lasted about 30 sec since its 3 shops and a restaurant. Anyways, this chef - I wish I remembered his name - speaks no English whatsoever, so I can insult him all I want… except first I’d have to find something to insult… cuz really, he’s the coolest chef in the world. He’s a little man whose always nice to everyone and never raises his voice…. He’s married to a Tahitian and every time I see him he’s cleaning the kitchen… dont ask why, Im still trying to figure that out myself. Anyways, he was called back to work cuz the sous chef is having a baby, and a bunch of other people didn’t show up to work. So he took me back to the hotel and I went snorkeling.
First of all, you don’t really need a snorkel in Bora Bora… all you’ve gotta do is wade into the water and look down, and you see perfectly fine… but it looks more like youre trying to find a lost watch than snorkeling. SO, I decided to do the cool thing and get geared up. I found a pair of flippers in my back yard that are about 4 sizes too small and set off to the beach. Next to the beach the coral sucks. Its all bleached and ugly… but the fish… whoa. There’s millions of the tiniest fish in a rainbow of colors… there’s blue, green, yellow, black, orange, red, striped, spotted, purple zigzag checkers with tiny fluorescent disco lights… everything.
Go a bit offshore and you find bigger fish, just as colorful… and they’re not scared of you. If you float with them for a minute and let them get used to you then they’ll just swim all around you as if you weren’t even there. And randomly scattered on the bleached coral are little shells filled with neon blue green thingys that retract into the shells when you get near… I’ve gotta get a photo of those. I spent 3 hours in the water. My fingers were pruned beyond recognition and I couldn’t feel my feet anymore, but it was worth it.
posted by aLEX at 4:19 PM
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