Very early this morning, one of us watched from the veranda as the Zuiderdam sailed into the massive lagoon of Fakarava. Mostly cloudy and blue skies were on one side, but on the other side were the most ominous clouds ever seen in these parts. Eventually the rain arrived, sometimes light, then with a vengeance. Yep, it is going to be another wet day, and we will just have to make the best of it. Little did we know how bad it would get…..
Here is some info about this very different port of call. Fakarava is the second largest atoll and ex capital of the Tuamotus Archipelago. There are two main villages and the total population is about 845 people. Their main industry is tourism with some resorts, restaurants (seldom open), but no big hotels. Their next industry is pearl farming where 98% of the black pearls of French Polynesia are produced here.
Along with the six nearby atolls, this atoll has been named a National Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. And that is due to the deep dives that can reveal colorful corals, groupers, dolphins, moray eels, leopard, manta, and eagle sting rays, and barracudas. The sharks found here are grey, nurse, lemon, tiger, hammerhead, and reef sharks, as well as a million of the smaller tropical fish.
The circle of dry land surrounding this lagoon measures only 16 square km. The lagoon is 1121 square km. The old name of this atoll was Havaiki, and is still commonly used for businesses. There are two passes into this lagoon, the north one being the largest opening in French Polynesia. The southern one is smaller. We assumed we entered in the north or Garuae passage and passed by the airport on the way into the main village of Rotoava. This is where we would tender later.
With the rain falling, we decided to wait until after 10am to go ashore. We had been informed by our good buddy that very few guests had shown up to get tender tickets. One of the reasons for that was that there were no ship tours here today. Instead, people opted to go to the dining room for breakfast because the line went down the hallway before 8am. We found that to be the case when we went to deck one to walk down to deck A and board the tenderboat. There was only a handful of us waiting to go down after some guests were already coming back. Guess it was open tenders already. It wasn't hard getting into the boat, and soon the entire quota was met, and we were on our way.
It seemed that mostly the dedicated snorkelers, the hikers, and the beach-seekers were on the single coral-based road in the village. In the area of the tender landing are several small shops selling souvenirs from t-shirts to pearls. As soon as we left the tender, it began to rain, so we skipped the shops. They were already crowded with folks trying to escape the rain. Also in this area was a small grocery store, a gas station, and a snack shack, where we dined on French fries and ice cream one of the last times we were here. Going up the road, we soon found where some of the snorkelers had gone into the water. There are no real beaches here, but strips of sand mixed with coral. The roadside has somewhat of a grass, but that is loaded with coral too. Once in the water, you really just stay in it. Even in the rain.
Did we mention sharks? We had just begun walking up the road, watching the water, and there it was – a six foot nurse shark, moving along in the shallow water. The dorsal fin was the first clue, then you could see the rest of the body and the elongated tail. A few years back, we did see some locals feeding about five of these sharks, actually stroking them as they came close. Treating them like pets is not a great idea, but the locals will do it for the photos people like to take. The one we saw was probably trolling for a handout. Luckily one of us followed the shark taking photos, until a hut or something was blocking the water's edge. As much as we tried, we never did see another one today.
We came across the first Catholic Church that had been built out of coral rocks back in 1874. But first, we went around the back to pay a visit to their local cemetery. Every grave had bouquets of silk flowers decorating them. Great idea, as they last far longer than any other flowers. Then we entered the small church which has a baby blue ceiling giving the impression that you are in the cool clouds. This church has been maintained beautifully. Despite the darkness in there, the photos came put surprisingly bright.
The waves of rain continued to wash over the atoll, actually stopping at times. It did not hinder the snorkelers that were in the water offshore. Wonder if they knew many nurse sharks were circling those same waters? A few other beach-goers were along the slender stretch of coral-laden beach. Dodging major puddles on the road was challenging, but it would get worse.
Most of the road walkers had turned back at this point, but we continued up the narrow, but flooded dirt road to the Havaiki Pearl Lodge and the Snack Le Requin Dormeur. The last few times we were here in Fakarava, this resort was closed for the season. What a nice surprise to find it opened, which had been confirmed by Diane and John who were just coming from lunch. By now the rain was more than showers and we were glad to get a table in the center under their thatched-roof palapa. Every possible chair was taken. Some were on the outside under umbrellas, but that did not last long when there was lightning followed by major thunder. Like right over our heads. Thrilling to say the least. Now getting food here is like going to a fast food place. You order and pay for it at a counter, bring your beverages to your table, and wait for the buzzer to go off for your food. Then one of you goes to the window and brings it back. Easy peasy…. We split a huge cheeseburger on a homemade bun with a pile of French fries and a small portion of coleslaw in the center. The beers were Hinano, of course, but the 50cl. size.
More thunder and lightning occurred, then the deluge began in earnest and did not stop. We did stay protected from the driving winds under the protected hut, which was a miracle. But at some point, we knew we had to head back. To say we got drowned in cyclone-like rain with 44 knot winds is an understatement. Sure the umbrellas helped, but the water was blowing under them as well as over them. The dirt road had flooded, so we skirted the side of the road as much as we could. Taking refuge at a little bus shelter along the road, we decided we knew why this was happening. It was the fact we missed doing the King Neptune ceremony the first time we crossed the Equator. He was getting his revenge on us now….
The deluge was so encompassing, we could not see the ship from the shore. The driving rain hit the metal roofs so hard, it sounded like dump trucks coming. Ducking behind the biggest casuarina trees helped to block the blasting winds…no kidding. The longer we stalled, the more flooded the road got. Puddles were ponds now, especially around the houses. Everything was flooded. We did pop over to the church again, but even they were under water in the front. Very near the tender area, the entire road was under water, and we had no choice but to slog in water over our ankles to access the waiting tenders. Guess our shoes were getting washed, like it or not.
By now, there was a brief stall in the rain, of course. But it didn't matter, we were as wet as could be right down to the bone. What an exhilarating adventure we had on Fakarava today. Unlike our previous visits, we will remember this one the most. The tender boat was bobbing quite a bit with the swells, so once we had about a dozen people in it, the driver left. It was good to get back to the ship.
And here's another story of the day. Ever since last night, we had no cold water in our bathroom again. The bad news is that the hot and cold both ran scalding hot, with no chance of taking a shower. We called the front desk, where they offered to provide an empty room we could use until it was repaired. Getting a key for the room up the hall from us, we never did have to use it, since the temperature was fixed before our dinner time at 8pm. Just in case it went wrong again, we kept the key overnight.
We hung all of our wet clothing on the veranda, until it could be bagged up for the laundry. By now, it was already time for the ship to leave, and Captain Frank came on with his talk. His speech was filled with apologies beginning with the unfortunate bad weather conditions today. We will have to tell him our theory of missing the King Neptune Ceremony, and that might take the blame off of his shoulders…. as if he has control over that anyway. Then he addressed the failure of the internet onboard informing us that HAL was sending a technician to Nuku Hiva to help solve our problem. They are suggesting giving the ship a hotspot that is on the island already. How they will manage that remains to be seen. In the meantime, all of us will have loads of emails to answer, emails to send, and people to contact as far as airlines and rides are concerned. Thank goodness we thought to secure our ride home in October, knowing that we always have internet problems sailing from Nuku Hiva to San Diego. Captain Frank made everyone laugh when he said if he tried to make light of the bad weather and internet problems, we would think he was on drugs. He did, however, promise us better seas and weather ahead as we sail north-easterly towards the Marquesas.
Leaving the lagoon through the north passage, the Zuiderdam sailed through the turbulence of the warmer lagoon meeting the cooler waters of the Pacific Ocean. The currents create a turbulent churning of the water which can be treacherous, especially for smaller vessels. A small boat followed from a distance to pick up the pilot once we were through the pass. It was most impressive as we all watched from our aft verandas. With the backdrop of the sun setting, it was surreal.
Dinner in the dining room revealed a nice menu, which had a few repeats, but many new items too. Both of us had the arancini appetizers with salsa, one salad, one bowl of soup, and mains of wahoo and small veggie tacos. A vanilla pudding resembling a flan and one scoop of orange sorbet finished the meal nicely. The clocks went forward ½ hour this evening, and we will do the next ½ hour after leaving the Marquesas. Dance Fever was the show tonight, but we were more than ready to call it a day….and what a day it had been.
Bill & Mary Ann
