Lyn's Log, 4th July 2009
Tuamotu Atolls, part 2

Fakarava, Tuamotus
S16º31', W145º28'
24,798 miles.

A rough day in Fakarava, but help is at hand ...

We had a particularly hairy entrance into Fakarava atoll, which is described here.

Fakarava is famed for its dive sites and as a result has a sprinkling of conventional tourists. As a result the village was larger and a little less primitive than those of the other atolls we visited. There were two supermarkets which actually accepted credit card payments, some basic restaurants, jewellers selling pearls and trips to the pearl farms, and a bicycle hire shop. We had a day out with Ann and Keith from Ketchup II, hiring bicycles, and cycled the ten kilometres or so to the north pass that we had entered through earlier. They were real boneshakers and we were seriously saddle-sore by the time we got back. On the way we watched the weekly plane land at the toy-town airport. About 20 people arrived and were duly adorned with floral necklaces while collecting their luggage at the single check-in desk, before being whisked off by minivans to the half dozen or so pensions. We had planned to find somewhere to snorkle, but it is impossible on the seaward side because of the huge breakers on the coral reefs, though we found dozens of pretty cowrie shells tossed up by the waves on the beaches there. The lagoon side was still being buffeted by the strong winds, and the best we could manage was a quick dip.

One evening we went to watch the locals practice their dancing for an inter-island contest. This is the famous belly dancing of Polynesia. There was a band of two drummers, two percussionists with special split logs they hit, and two ukuleles. Sixteen women lined up and started to gyrate their hips to the beat of the drums, all moving the same way, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. With their knees slightly bent, they keep their shoulders perfectly still while shaking their hips, the movement

accentuated by the pareos tied below the waist. It was a mesmerising sight - even the most over-weight women seemed to manage it with ease. When we got back to Sentinel, I tied on my pareo and had a go. Within a couple of minutes I’d ricked my back and spent the next day resting!

Together with yachts Balu and Ketchup II, we decided to sail the length of the lagoon to the southern pass, where there was an abandoned village converted to a dive resort. The main ‘hazard’ on our route was not the coral heads but the numerous buoys marking the pearl farms, which are often based on little huts perched on coral reefs in the lagoon, and we had an overnight stopover off an isolated beach where we made a camp-fire.

The dive area was actually in the southern pass, and it was also excellent for snorkling. We timed our arrival for slack water, so as not to get swept out to sea. What we saw was fantastic. I have never seen so many fabulous reef fish of all shapes, colours and sizes. We swam through and over shoals of them, and every so often a small black tipped shark would lazily come by. This with a beautiful backdrop of coral in every colour and shade. It was easy to understand the attraction of this place. After several swims, our picnic lunch and a foray on shore to see the ruined village, it was time to head back to our yachts. That evening, 4th July, we prepared for our departure to Tahiti.