Bora Bora or First Born Island

When will we three meet again,
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurly-burly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
- Shakespeare's Macbeth

Pack of Three on Bora Bora

On a full moon-lit night we were greeted by a pack of three at the entrance to our lodgings. These were gentle beggars. They very discreetly inquired after snacks and when none were forthcoming, dissolved back into the night.

Mystical Three

I saw three packs of three dogs on the three islands we visited. This fascinating idea of three can be traced back to remote antiquity and farther still to primitive man. It occurs naturally and simply. There is a father, mother and child, sun, moon and stars, land, sea and water, birth, life, and death, past, present, and future. In humankind, there is a homogeneity of mind when it comes to three.

Ancient Egypt’s divine triad was Osiris, Isis, and Horus. There is the Germanic triad of Wodan, Thorr, and Donar. The great Hindu trinity is the Trimurti of Brahma, Siva, and Vishna. In Taoism, there are three pure ones.

Speaking of Religion

I was shocked to read the following.

“Jesus is saying who can enter the city of God. Just listen to this – ‘Without are dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters, and whosoever loveth or maketh a lie’. You see the company dogs are supposed to keep?”

“Travels with my Aunt” by Graham Greene.

Three More

And so it is with dogs. There is harmony between three dogs. They are relaxed and content living their lives the best way possible. They love and care for each other. Dogs help me adjust to human life in a foreign place. They indicate the degree to which I can trust or feel comfortable with the native population. They act as ambassadors.

The dog in the middle is a mother. The dog on the right has a bad limp. They are on the main street of Vaitape.

She reminds me of the dog roaming the resort in Punta del Este. Maybe these homeless dogs all take on the same appearance after a while. Maybe this is the ‘Third World Street Dog’ breed. You might say that this is not the third world with its $12,000 a night over-the-water bungalows.

This 2-story bungalow is $12,000 per night. For the record, it can no longer be called a bungalow, can it? These pictures were taken while touring the island in a boat piloted by Captain Dangerous.

And I would agree that this is not third-world material. However, many homes on these islands, away from the glitzy tourist hubs, would fit right into a slum in Fortaleza, Brazil, for example, like this one.

Our Humble Abode on Bora Bora

We stayed in one of a series of small one-room bungalows on the edge of the sea, which was so calm that Google registered it as a lake. And that is why the Pacific Ocean is called the Pacific Ocean.