We have arrived to a new archipelago – the Tuamotu islands and atolls which number 80 in total. This area is the most spread out compared to the other archipelagos we have visited so far. The total population of this area is 16,880 inhabitants within 20,000 square kilometers, but only 775 square kilometers of dry land. Only 6% of the total of French Polynesians live here and have jobs linked to tourism, fishing, copra production, and even nuclear testing by France in the past. Pearl farms produce the most luxurious black pearls in the lagoons, and they supply the market with 98% of the gems. But the real wealth, it is said, comes from the underwater world, also known as their lagoons.
Today's port of call is the atoll of Fakarava, meaning beautiful in Tahitian. It is the second largest atoll, with Rangiroa the largest as well as the capital. There are about 845 residents of this atoll with only 16 square miles of dry land, but has a massive lagoon with 1121 square kilometers. There are 30 kilometers of coral-packed roads on this atoll. We suppose the best way to describe an atoll is comparing it to a string of pearls. The land portion is a ring of coral (the pearls), while the center of the necklace is a lagoon. Much of one side of this lagoon is not a solid coral reef, but consists of a series of motus, making circumnavigation impossible. Many places can only be reached by boat.
There are a few cars, several pick-up trucks, and one wooden school bus like "le truck". There were no HAL shore excursions offered here today, however some folks were able to book something independently prior to the cruise. The tours would be strictly related to the water like snorkeling, diving, or boating. It is reported that Fakarava has some of the best diving in Polynesia with hundreds of reef sharks. Kimberly mentioned that these "harmless to people" sharks have only had 24 recorded attacks here, which is way too much for us. She said these reef and grey sharks are called foxes of the seas. There are also nurse sharks that hang around the shores of the lagoon in the village, as we would find out on our walk.
One thing for sure was that it was going to be a most uncomfortably hot and humid day. Like oppressive heat with little breeze. Nothing like last year's visit where we had record hurricane winds, thunder and lightning with a tropical downpour. Today there were passing clouds, but no rain in sight. It was so hot, we almost wished it would rain. Temperatures reached 86 degrees but felt a lot more than that with the humidity.
Very early this morning, passengers began to gather on the bow to watch the entrance through the north opening of the atoll. It is called Garuae pass and it the widest pass in all of French Polynesia at 1.6 kilometers from end to end. The other pass is in the southern part of the ring of coral and is called Tamakohua. The turbulence created in these passes is massive, causing a rushing flow of water that comes in and out with the tides. It can be tricky getting ships through it. Many times dolphins like to hang out in these passes because the fishing is good. However, we saw none today. Sailing into the center of the lagoon outside the village of Rotoava, they dropped anchor, and we had to use the tenders to get ashore.
We stayed onboard until 10:30am, then headed down to the boat. It was easy boarding as the waters were calm today and the ride only took about 15 minutes to the village. We were all greeted with island ladies handing out the fragrant tiare flowers with the band playing in the backround. We did not choose to go swimming here, but many of the guests did just that. Remembering that there were sharks lurking in the shallows, we were just as happy with a long walk. There were a few shops at the pier landing, but we knew there was nothing we needed. Many of the over-heated guests went inside these shops because they had air-conditioning and fans.
Turning right at the main road, we passed by the primary school and a nice-looking restaurant called Hirinaki Lounge. It looked closed, but may have opened for guests later in the afternoon. Most all of the cafes along the road would not open until dinnertime. And that included the place that had pizza. The shoreline of the lagoon began here, and was already filled with folks swimming and sitting on their striped blue and white beach towels from the ship. It looked like the invasion of the body snatchers. We sure hope these folks knew to wear aqua shoes or flip-flops because it is mostly broken sharp coral and volcanic rocks to navigate to get into the water. The waters are shallow and covered with smooth dark rocks with some sandy spots. If you watch long enough, like we did, you can spot the nurse sharks as they slither over the smoother rocks in search of the small fish. Some of these can measure over 7 feet in length. We spotted one within a few yards of walking the beach. Most people think they are harmless, but we did hear a story from friends that actually saw a nurse shark jump up at a woman who was taking a picture bending over to do it. The shark caught her in the chest, and both the lady and shark had to be pulled out of the water and have its jaws pried off of her. Harmless, don't think so. Never underestimate a wild animal in their own element. As swimmers, we are prey, and out of our element.
Continuing up the road, we passed many homes and a few shops, mostly closed as they always are this time of year. We came across the Catholic Church that was built with coral rocks in 1874. The interior is painted a soft blue and gives one the feeling of coolness even if it was not. On the outside, there were a few island ladies selling some shell jewelry. Some people were checking it out when another lady guest from the ship was going to enter the church with only an open shirt over her swimsuit. The local ladies actually yelled at her and stopped her in her tracks, reminding her it was a church and she should not go inside dressed like that. Sometimes people are clueless.
We took the time to walk to the back of this church to see the old cemetery. People still decorate the grave sites with silk or plastic flowers, since they last almost forever. Also in the back were public restrooms, about the only ones we saw today. Good thing we brought some water with us, as the heat was melting us rapidly. Kimberly had warned everyone not to drink any island water since it is from rainfall. Even the locals drink bottled water.
Going onward from here, we noticed several people had gotten rides in local pick-up trucks and even rented bikes. Some of the cruise passengers rented bikes, but should not have attempted that without some prior thinking. We have seen a man fall while riding a bike a few years back, and when he went down on the coral-based road, he was cut to ribbons. Something did happen later on involving bike riding, but not until we had boarded the tender for the ride back.
So our destination was Havaiki Pearl Lodge where a small outdoor eatery is located by the name of Snack Le Requin. It was noontime by now, and there was a line of eight or more people ordering food and beverages at the shack's window. It was more crowded than we expected, but we were in need of something cold to drink, and while we were at it, we may as well share a cheeseburger and a pile of fries. We had forgotten, but they did accept credit cards here, as long as the internet stayed running. There was a 20 minute wait for the line to move, but we did get some nice seats at a table in the shade to eat our food. Since there were six chairs, a nice lady and her friends asked to sit with us. They did not speak English, only French, but we recognized them from being at the Seaview Pool every day we went back there. By the time we finished our meal, they were still enjoying their drinks.
Heading back, we came across more nurse sharks, and actually got some good photos of them lurking around the many swimmers. Not sure these folks saw the sharks as they blended so well with their surroundings. If nothing else, we could stand in the shade of the casuarinas and palm trees watching these creatures doing their thing. On past excursions, we have gone on tours where we swam with white and black tip sharks and did not really like the feeling of being possible snacks for them. Viewing from the shore was just fine with us.
We did see a little dog playing with what we thought was another fat dog. It turned out to be a small pig, who stopped in its tracks when we whistled. Must have been a pet or next Christmas's dinner, who knows? Many folks were on their way back to the tenderboats like us. The sun and heat could really take a toll on you. While we waited for the tender to take off, a police vehicle arrived with an injured lady and her friend. What a shock to see it was the two ladies that joined us at lunchtime. She could barely walk, and it took three crew fellows to lift her carefully into the tender. It just so happened that one of the most helpful crew members was our waiter Mario. Later on, he told us she had an accident while riding the bike, falling on the coral road. Ouch, that must have hurt. Mario thought she may have broken an ankle because he said it did not look right. Lucky that the police officer had driven them to the pier. Within 10 minutes of getting off of the tender, we heard the call for the medical staff. Hope she will be OK. There is a hospital in Nuku Hiva, but we are not sure how much can be done there as far as complicated broken bones are concerned.
All aboard was 4:30pm, and Captain Paul came on the speakers with the sail away info. The plan was to lift the anchor, then turn around and sail out of the north passage the way we had come. We now have 514 nautical miles to reach Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas in two days from now. The speed needed will be 14.8 knots. Hot temperatures can be expected tomorrow as well. Finally, the clocks would need to advance ½ hour, one of those few places in the world we have to do that. The extra ½ hour ahead will be in a few days, followed by the final hour forward before reaching San Diego.
Sailing through the turbulence was interesting, but not as bumpy as the one in Rangiroa. We had hoped to see some dolphins, but there were none. What we did enjoy was watching the sun go down before the ship turned northeast. There were considerable clouds blocking the full sun, but it was just as nice as a clear horizon.
Dinner was back in the dining room where we were greeted by a new head waiter Koes. He has taken Bayu's place and remembered us from many cruises. Now he will join the band of greeters as we all enter through the doors on deck five. We try sneaking by them, but they see us every time. It's their fun for the day. Mario greeted us with the details of the accident this afternoon. We told him he was a good guy for being such a big help. We ordered one grilled shrimp appetizer (really good), and a bowl of tomato soup (even better). Salads were a panache of greens with tangerines and pear slices. Who knew how nicely they go together? Mains were one Club Orange roasted lamb and one duck entree with smashed red potatoes and peas. Both quite tasty. Desserts were a small slice of a chocolate cake and sliced pineapple…both with a side of a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream. Service was quick because our fellows only had us and another table of guests. Guess the heat got to most everyone today.
There was a show tonight with a group called Gravity, three singers from the UK taking folks on a musical journey. And with the clocks going forward, we called it a night. Really looking forward to a lazy day at sea tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
