The heart shaped island

The digital age we live in allows for many photos to be taken, shared, and saved but never see the light of day past the computer hard drive. Even fewer ever achieve the coveted spot of becoming printed. In keeping with the theme of love, I thought I would share a couple photos I snapped of Tupai, the heart shaped island in French Polynesia. We were lucky enough to fly over it on our way from Moorea to Bora Bora, but I was in such awe I only was able to snap these two mediocre photos. I find aerial views of the world fascinating don't you?

Le Meredian Turtle Sanctuary

One of the neatest things were able to do while we were in French Polynesia was visit the Turtle Rehabilitation and Preservation Center.We were able to witness everything from a regular feeding, to the care of sick turtles and lastly the opportunity to swim with them. We were cautioned to not stress the turtles by touching them or getting to close and we learned how in a turtle's lifetime they will flip flop between a vegetarian vs. a meat diet over the years. I was surprised how quickly the turtles grow as most of these turtles were somewhere between 1-3 years old.

Above is where they housed the sick turtles, there was everything from injury to lack of appetite held within these pens. It was heartbreaking to watch the sick turtles as they administered food to them. It was much like you would force feed medicine to a sick child, they literally pried open their mouths and using a syringe forced the food in. I am grateful for all the biologists who commit their lives to helping these adorable creatures and the enormous strides they are making in the preservation of such a beautiful species.

I finally found a use for the baby pocket on my t-shirt.

Cameron happily waiting to catch the boat back to our hotel.

On our trip I became obsessed with these bikes. Every time I saw one I wanted to snag it and ride around for the day.

Several of the hotels had these ponds with the most vibrant purple water lilies.

I loved how they had these longitude and latitude signs throughout the property. This is the closest I have ever been to the equator.

Keeping up with Kardashians...... without even trying

What makes someone a celebrity? Do they have to do something wonderful, scandalous or unique? Is a socialite really a celebrity? After pondering this point, I decided a celebrity is when you have not personally met someone, but you still know their name.

Waiting in the L.A. airport to board our flight we witnessed the arrival of none other than the Kardashian clan. Truth be told, I am not a fan of the Kardashians and they seem entirely overrated, but it was still fun to see someone you've seen on t.v. in the living flesh. Aside from sitting in first class, being spoon fed pate and overall fawned over the entire trip, I am certain our vacation was just as grand as theirs. The water was just as blue, it rained at their hotel too and much to my delight, almost everyone who was not American said, "who are they?"

Rumor had it that Lady Gaga was also in Bora Bora, but she could have been dressed as a sailboat or swam by as a fish and I would have never even noticed.

What did you do in Bora Bora?

This is undoubtedly the most popular question we have been asked over the past week. So here is a pictorial account of some of what we did while we were there.

4 x 4 safari in which they caution against anyone with back problems going along for the ride. This ride was not for the faint of heart and after experiencing it, we realized what they meant.

Unfortunately, it poured rain almost our entire ride, which made for extra memories and the opportunity to sport bright yellow rain slickers.

As part of our tour, we were able to witness local artisans painting pareus. Needless to say, I am a sucker for local artwork and I really wanted to buy one of these for each of my friends.

I could have stood there all day long and watched them work, what an ideal spot to be creative.

The ruts were so deep at a certain point that our driver slipped into the passenger seat and allowed the car to drive itself.

Due to the angle, and the choice apparel I love how Cameron looks like a little kid next to the WWII cannons.

Lots of swimming and snorkeling at the coral gardens and around the motu.

Shopping in Vaitape at the craft market. I really could have gone crazy here, but after a good half hour I settled on a pareu and a scarf.

Do you know the way to the tell the difference between a plantain and a banana on the tree? The flower on the banana tree grows upside down and the flower on the plantain grows right side up.

Lots of walks to Matira Beach in which with no sidewalk and no lane markings, we almost got ran over every time we ventured down that way.

Zipping around the island by boat, whether to eat, go to the beach or visit other resorts.

Taking loads of photos from dawn to dusk. This particular time we were trying to capture all the crabs nestled on these rocks.

Looking out the windows both on the walls and on the floor in our bungalow.

Enjoying the many sunsets and sheer magnitude of all the beauty surrounding us.

Double rainbow

Dark clouds rolled into Moorea on our last day, which made us happy to be heading off to Bora Bora. Bora Bora lies 150 miles northwest of Moorea, so we boarded our plane and off we went. Once you get to the outer islands (anything other than Tahiti) there are no security check points, metal detectors or x-ray machines at the airports. They operate with the belief that people are inherently good and this is such a novel and refreshing perspective of the world.

Things are real casual there, you just hop on your flight and go.

Bye Bye Moorea.

Forty minutes later, hello Bora Bora. We were staying on the second "motu" or island to the right of the propeller.

This place looks unreal.

The airport is also located on a motu, which means your hotel picks you up via boat.

As luck would have it, once we landed the sky went grey and it started to pour.

Then the sun had had enough and made an appearance.

There are two Sofitels located on Bora Bora. One on the main land and one located on a private motu. I chose the hotel on the motu because there are only 32 bungalows and it was a short 10 minute boat ride to the main land. I thought that way we could have the best of both worlds. The best coral garden in Bora Bora was located right behind our hotel, which proved to be the perfect location. We could just jump in the water from our overwater bungalow and swim or kayak over to the coral gardens.

Upon arrival there was music and they sounded the conch shell as our boat made its approach. Talk about a warm welcome!!

Our welcome drink. Is it just me or do flowers or fruit on the side of your glass really adds a touch of class?

Making our way to our overwater bungalow, with Mt. Olemanu in the background.

Our deck.

This was our water taxi, which took us back and forth on our demand.

Our bungalow.

Sitting area complete with a window overlooking the water.

More double sinks and a bathroom almost as big as our bedroom at home.

Restaurant and bar.

It only seemed fitting to end the day with a rainbow.

If you walk up to the top of the motu there is an overlook, which is the perfect spot to watch the sunset.