Bora Bora

Once the competition ended, we had one final meeting to celebrate with the team over lunch. They had many stories to tell and relive of their experience. And then Yves and I took off to go visit his sister, Desirée, who lives on the island. Mario took us in his boat and as we were on our way -we saw one lone pirogue still coming in long after all the others had made it to the finish line. I admired their perseverance.
When we pulled up to dock at Desirée's home, I saw that it had a stunning view of the main mountains of the island. She was sweet as can be -allowing me to shower at her home. (Or maybe that was to keep the flies away.) Then she loaned Yves and I the car to take a little tour of Bora Bora. We passed through the main town -which was incredibly small for a place of such world-wide fame. But I guess you don't go to Bora Bora to hang out in the city. :) This island looked incredibly small to me. Also, I didn't see that many hotels -which I knew were there from pictures I've seen.
Later Yves told me that the surrounding little islands were also part of Bora Bora. Those had hotels -which had rooms or living areas -some of which go for more than $3,000 a night. I suppose that's not a problem when you're Vince Vaughn.

When we got back to Desirée's home, she must have noticed that I looked tired. She encouraged me to take a nap in a lawn chair in her yard. So I tried. But it's difficult to close your eyes when you're in such a beautiful place. At first my chair faced the ocean. But then I turned it to face those beautiful green mountains and just drink in the beauty. Then, lo and behold, Desiréé brought me a cup of coffee. I began to wonder if I had died during the race -and was now in heaven.
Then Yves and I talked about the goodness of God. I really felt -almost overwhelmed in that moment by the blessings of God. It has been a year of many tears. But suddenly I didn't have the words to express how blessed I felt. If you persevere long enough, seasons actually do change.
Then, as it was getting dark, we went to take the boat to the airport. The boat ride was just about 15 minutes and Yves pointed out some of those fancy hotels along the way. But I was honestly convinced that I'm having a much better experience here than an actor would -filming a movie. They may have a simulated adventure -but I was having the real thing.
Once at the airport, I discovered that Yves and Mario were on a different plane than I was -flying back to Tahiti. But mine flew out just 20 minutes later -and many of the team members were on my flight. When the pilot announced that he was glad to have them on the flight, the plane cheered -especially the team members. :)