Today's port of call is located in another archipelago – the Tuamotus. These are the low islands consisting of numerous coral-ringed atolls with lagoons in the center. It is a less traveled area of Polynesia, but is part of the Natural Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Some of the larger atolls such as Rangiroa, Tikehau, Manihi and Fakarava are major scuba diving sites.
The atoll of Fakarava is the second largest in Polynesia, as well as the former capital of the Tuamotus. There are two main villages – Rotoava and Tetamanu. The reef crown is 37 miles around, and 15.5 miles wide. The center lagoon area is massive with 2903 square miles and has two passes. The north pass, Garuae is the largest pass of French Polynesia. The total population of all of the Tuamotus is 16,880 people.
The population of Fakarava is 845 inhabitants with the main village being Rotoava. As well as exceptional diving, there is a strong concentration of grey sharks and groupers. But their biggest claim to fame has to be the pearl farms which produces some of the highest quality black pearls in all of Polynesia.
There were no ship tours today, although we do know that some folks had pre-booked independent lagoon tours online. There are plenty of white sand beaches inside the lagoon to enjoy the warm waters. Watch out for the large nurse sharks that tend to swim along the shallowest part of the shoreline. They do bite when least expected.
The skies were full of back clouds when the Zaandam entered the north pass of the lagoon around 7am. We had some passing showers and even saw a rainbow from our veranda. The winds had picked up enough that we doubted we would be able to tender shore. The cruise director came on with the agriculture warnings in both French and English, as he has been doing since we entered French Polynesia. However, we were not cleared to tender ashore until closer to 9am. The Captain had to find that "sweet" spot for the safest tendering first. Obviously, he found it.
We left the ship by 11am, right before the open tenders were announced. We had to wait for the first boat-full of guests that were already coming back to the ship. A few people were soaked from the rain and complaining all the way to the elevators. Had they stayed, they would have found a dry rest of the day onshore. Oh well. The ride over to the landing was not as rough as we thought it would be. At the tender pier, there were greeters handing out tiare blossoms. Native musicians were beating their drums under a tent.
We headed for the coral-base main road lined with some shops, homes, cafes, and schools. A must-see here is the Catholic Church, which was built on 1874 using coral. We were about to enter the doors, when a nice couple stopped us and asked if we were Bill & Mary Ann. Yes, that's us. They said they had been following our blog for many years, and decided to do this cruise based on some of the information we had written. That was SO nice for both of us to hear. It makes the time we take creating the blog well worth it, even though it really is a diary of what we see and do everyday. We thanked them as we all went off exploring.
Visiting this unique church is almost a pleasant experience. The interior is simple, but the ceiling is painted blue, like the sky, with a most cooling effect. There are wood carvings and seashell chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. In the back of this church is another small open-air chapel, equally decorated with thousands of tiny shell necklaces hanging from the low ceiling. At the very back of this property is a good-size cemetery with many of the graves draped with flowers. If you continue walking past this cemetery, you hit the ocean waters since the coral ring is quite narrow.
Continuing up the road, we passed by large numbers of folks that had come over here to spend some time on the beach and in the water. We searched for those nurse sharks along the shallow banks of the lagoon, but did not see any. Darn…..it is exciting to see them so close up, unless we were in the water with them. Usually you don't notice them until they move quickly. There are rocks that are about the same size, and the sharks blend in with them quite well.
There was some traffic on the road, such as small cars, pick-up trucks, and bicycles. Many of the local have electric bikes now. When we got off of the tender, we saw a pile of bikes that were being rented to the guests. We hope those folks that rented these bikes were careful because we have seen the results of many falls and collisions over the years. The coral rock road us not kind to the elbows and knees if you accidently fall.
Usually, we stop and take a break on one of the many cement benches along this road. Today the snorkelers had the benches full of their belongings. The further up the road we got, the fewer people were hiking there. Another mile past the paved road was the graveled road. That led us to the Havaiki Pearl Lodge and their outdoor café Snack le Requin Dormeur. We found a table under their covered patio and quickly took it. There is a counter in the food shack where you order and pay for your food. We had two large bottles of Hinano beers, which we brought to the table. We ordered and paid for a cheeseburger and fries, taking the little buzzer that lets you know when to pick up the order. Even though they were busy, our food arrived pretty quickly. And it was good. The beer could have been colder, but we were thirsty and it did not matter. This outdoor eatery has several wooden picnic tables that are located in the shallow water off of the little sandy beach. People take their food and drinks and sit in waist-high water under the umbrellas. Our fun is watching the nurse sharks that come close and circle the tables. Today we watched for an hour, but did not see one shark. Darn……
Ready to head back, we took our time checking out the few tables of treasures some of the locals were hawking. Of course, most every item was seashell based and very affordable. One tiny shell necklace that matched recently bought earrings in Moorea was added to the collection.
Stopping at the Catholic Church, a pickup truck turned into the driveway. Two men got out with boxes and an ice chest, and introduced themselves as the pastor and his priest colleague. We never would have known they were priests until they told us. We had a nice short conversation and before we departed, the pastor blessed us. Another memorable moment of this trip.
Back at the pier, we had to wait until the tender boat was secured enough to be able to board it. The wind was acting up now, and getting on the boat was dicey. We had a few minutes, so we ducked into one of the portable shops that were selling more shell jewelry. Their prices were double of what we paid. Always a good idea to check prices out before buying.
Our timing had to be just right to board the boat. It was going up and down like a merry-go-round. Once safely seated, we were tossed around so much we thought whiplash was possible. Luckily, the boat filled up fast and we were on our way to the ship. That was about 3:30pm. All aboard today was 4:30pm.
Sitting on the veranda, we could see there were still three ship boats in the water at 4:45pm. Captain Smit came on the speakers explaining that one of the tenders had a rope wrapped around the propeller and we would have to wait until they were able to bring the boat back to be loaded. The disabled vessel had to be towed back by another tender boat. It wasn't until closer to 6pm by the time we were on our way out of the lagoon. We were treated with a nice sunset as the ship headed west, then took a right turn to exit the North pass of the lagoon. The pilot, who has been with us since Raiatea, got off of the ship safely. Then we headed northeasterly towards our final port at Nuku Hiva, Marquesas.
Dinnertime snuck up fast as it always does. Tonight we ordered pot stickers and two different salads. They still have lettuce, so we need to order them every night and at lunchtime as well. Our mains were veal cordon blu with veggies. Very good, but also an ample serving size. We suspect these were created here and not frozen. Dessert was a scoop of vanilla ice cream and one orange sorbet.
Even with the ship rolling with the deep swells, there was a performance by the Zaandam Rep Co. with "Dance". A new Indiana Jones movie was shown in the Wajang.
The clocks went forward ½ hour this evening. We will go ahead the other half hour when we leave Nuku Hiva.
And we do have one sea day tomorrow……much needed by all.
Bill & Mary Ann
