Bora Bora for those of you who don't know has a population of about 6000 and is really rural, except for those really expensive hotels you've read about. A gorgeous place, even with an almost cloud filled sky. The airport is built on the remains of a strip constructed in 1943 as an American supply base. But the terminal is pure tropics. Walls are unheard of, and the airport itself is on a motu (small island) in the northwest corner of the lagoon. Transportation from the airport to anywhere else is by boat; some big, fancy, high speed boats, some medium sized boats, and the one that met me, a 14 foot aluminum outboard powered skiff. As soon as I met my host, Stan Wisniewski, I knew that I was home!

Stan (FO5IW) is a retired filmmaker who has chosen to make his home on a really small motu (how small? I could walk around the perimeter in under five minutes) which is about a 10 minute boat ride from the airport. On this motu lives Stan, his wife, their two year daughter, Anais, a cat named Vodka, and a dog named Martin. Also there are three bungalows, a dining room, and a ham shack. The resort is called Mai Moana and has been in operation for about seven years. In 1997 however, a major hurricane swept over and through the island and essentially everything but the concrete building which now houses the generator and workshop disappeared. So effectively everything has been rebuilt since then. Words are simply inadequate to describe the beauty, tranquility and serenity of the island and the setting. The colors, the smells, the sounds, the people, everything combines to define the perfect fantasy of a South Pacific desert island. It can be experienced or imagined, but not really described.

Facilities are excellent - not luxurious, but far above adequate. And the food - have I mentioned the food? Truly exquisite. Local stuff, lots of seafood of course, but with a leavening of classic French cuisine and style. I've been fortunate enough to eat some pretty good stuff in lots of interesting places in the world, but I have to say that never have I experienced such consistently good food for so long a period. I not only never had a bad meal, I never even had a mediocre one! Here's a partial list - broiled mahi-mahi served with a local vanilla cream sauce, chicken marinated in lemon juice, then covered in honey, broiled and topped with ground peanuts, Polynesian style ceviche with the addition of coconut milk (yes, from coconuts that fell off the trees on the motu), a classic French charcuterie served with Feta cheese and super virgin olive oil, New Zealand green lipped mussels cooked in white wine and onions, and it goes on and on ...

In conclusion - in retrospect I can think of nothing about the trip that I would change to make it better (except to make it longer of course!) I would highly recommend Mai Moana as a place to go and rediscover yourself and one of the most beautiful places in the world. Stan and his wife and daughter provide some absolutely magnificent hospitality.

My bottom line is that before I left I gave Stan a deposit for my next visit. I'll be back in late May for another stay and will do the CQ WPX CW contest from there. Recommendations don't get any more solid than that.

Thanks to all who worked me, you contributed to a perfect holiday!

73 de Bill, W1HIJ/FO0SCH

Un petit bonjour et tous nos meilleurs vœux de Bonne Année pour ce nouveau Millénaire. Vous nous avez ravis pendant trois jours durant notre voyage de noces en Juillet 2000. Vous nous avez permis de garder un souvenir impérissable des ces instants féeriques passés sur votre île. Vous avez faits deux Marseillais heureux qui ne rêvent que de retrouver la beauté et la vie que nous avons partagé avec vous et votre famille durant ce voyage inoubliable !!! En vous souhaitant encore une bonne et heureuse année pour vous et votre famille, qu'elle vous apporte tout le bonheur et la plénitude dont vous rêvez. Cordialement, Céline et Patrice NOTO

THEY REMEMBER...

Stan,

One year ago we began our honeymoon with a stay on your lovely motu. We often talk about how much we enjoyed Mai Moana, the hospitality that you and your wife showed us, and the wonderful cuisine. So, a year later, thank you again for the memories.

Matt and Suzanne Kennedy

Matt Kennedy

Marketing Project Manager, the Mariner Club

16 Digital Drive, Novato CA 94949

as FO0KUN

operating

from MAI MOANA ISLAND.

(January 2001)