Bora Bora
Bora Bora Holiday
Islands don't come any more beautiful. Ocean waves brush the barrier reef, the lagoon beyond shimmers in hues from amethyst to turquoise, lapping the perfect silver crescent of beach. A strangely emotive volcanic peak scrapes the wispy clouds."The Pearl of the Pacific", as it was called even before the advertising men heard about it, lies about 250 km (155 miles) northwest of Tahiti. It forms part of the Tahitian group called the Society Islands, or more poetically, "Sisters of the Wind". Other main islands are Moorea, Raiatea and Huahine. Bora Bora amounts to a mere 38 km (25 miles) in circumference. The population hovers around 5,800, hardly enough to make a crowd. They live in three villages, Vaitape, Anau and Faanui. Incidentally, "Bora Bora", the way Captain Cook spelled it, is a bit of a bore for the locals to pronounce, since there is no letter B in their language; Pora Pora is more like it.
When you see a photo summing up Polynesia, the scene is usually Bora Bora; islands don't come any more beautiful. Ocean waves brush the barrier reef, the lagoon beyond shimmers in hues from amethyst to turquoise, lapping the perfect silver crescent of beach. A strangely emotive volcanic peak scrapes the wispy clouds."The Pearl of the Pacific", as it was called even before the advertising men heard about it, lies about 250 km (155 miles) northwest of Tahiti. It forms part of the Tahitian group called the Society Islands, or more poetically, "Sisters of the Wind". Other main islands are Moorea, Raiatea and Huahine. Bora Bora amounts to a mere 38 km (25 miles) in circumference. The population hovers around 5,800, hardly enough to make a crowd.
In the absence of a written history it's impossible to confirm the various versions of Bora Bora's beginnings. Some say it was an isle of exile for Tahitians who broke the sacred taboos. Another theory claims that Bora Bora lost out in rivalry with Raiatea for religious supremacy of the Leeward Islands. Before the Europeans arrived there were at least 40 marae (sanctuaries), several of which have recently been restored. British missionaries arrived early and by 1822 there was a church at Vaitape. To this day Bora Bora has a higher percentage of Protestants than the average of the isles.
The greatest upheaval in Bora Bora's history was its "discovery" by the US Navy in World War II, when it was used as a supply base in the Solomon Islands campaign. An airstrip was built, and within days an American base took shape, complete with barracks, infirmaries, clubs, offices, even a cinema. Though they were destined to play no great part in the war, the GIs, who outnumbered the natives, had no complaints: they were surrounded by friendly people in a lovely refuge, and the battles raged thousands of miles away. The navy stayed four years and left behind at least 80 children of mixed race. Bora Bora's prosperity continued in the immediate post-war years, thanks to a thriving world market in copra and vanilla. And then came tourism.