Heaven is Fakarava
Last night was another rough passage. In the early hours of the morning we slowed the boat right down to 3 knots as we realized we were going to get to the pass before daylight, which we did. At first light we saw the low motos lying ahead of Mayaluga and palm fringed beaches, so we “hove-to” for a couple of hours a mile or so off the entrance. The interesting thing for me was the fact that we were hove-to in water more than a mile deep just within sight of the beach. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon in the cockpit and watched the sunrise, always spectacular in the tropics! The “calculator” that is accepted down here for “shooting the passes” indicated that slack current would be at 1005 hrs. Breakfast was done by 0700 hrs and we noticed a huge 70 foot charter catamaran ploughing under full sail for the entrance. We raised them on the VHF and when they told us that they knew the entrance, we decided to follow them in. We should have known better! Anyway, we made it one piece, but it was adrenalin packed for about 100 meters with large standing waves! Once inside everything calmed down and we motored the 5 odd miles to the northern village and picked up a free mooring bouy by 1000hrs. They are very concerned about the coral being damaged so it is free to moor. Very civilized!
What an incredible destination! WOW ….. amazing! In fact, let me say that backwards! !gnizama …. WOW. THIS WHAT THE SOUTH PACIFIC IS ALL ABOUT!! Its impossible to describe the colours of the water! From deep indigo in deep water to azure, to turquoise, shallower than 20 feet. And we are at the less desirable northern area just off the village and will go south within the atoll on Saturday. We went ashore and beached the dinghy close to the general store and tied it to the branches of an overhanging tree. We prepaid and ordered three loaves of bread to be picked up in the morning. Further down the road we found the “vegetable lady” and got some fresh stuff for salad tonight with the Wahoo fish which Karin will sear to perfection as usual. Before climbing back in the dinghy we waded out and swam in this crystal clear water among the coral on a pure white sandy bottom. Total bliss!! NOW we are actually “Living the Dream”!
We bumped into Johan and his wife off “Bird of Passage” out of Sweden, having previously gotten to know them in Nuka Hiva. And lo and behold just a few hundred meters away from us is Mabrouka with Roy and Mark aboard. Mark was our crew member from Mexico to the Marquesas, so they came aboard Mayaluga for sun-downers and we caught up on their news. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? ————————————————- Do not push the “reply” button to respond to this message if that includes the text of this original message in your response. Messages are sent over a very low-speed radio link.
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