Taking The Plunge
03 July 2014 | South Fakarava, Tuamotus
Tuesday 1 July 2014
Another month kicked in the patootie. Man, why does it go so quickly when it moves so excruciatingly slowly when you're 15 and want to drive or 17 and want a beer (legally) or you're 8, it's November and you've asked Santa for a Red Rider BB gun? (firearm-phobes (Canadians, et al) may ignore that last)
Having anchored west of the pass on arrival yesterday there was an extended dinky ride around a long reef back to it and what little settlement there is on the east side. In 2010 helped Manihi, the owner of a very small motu where he was constructing a small resort, build a pizza oven, so went to pay a visit and schedule dining on - wait, wait, don't tell me - pizza. The place is beautiful and the oven sees a lot of use, but the Swiss watchmaker, Blancpain (don't tell them 'white bread' is a pejorative in America), which employs 40,000 worldwide and makes many of the watches such as Fossil one sees in shops, is having a big 5 day hooha here with the excuse of testing something or other starting Thursday and everyone in the area is slammed in preparation. No pizza until at least next Tuesday unless we crash the big Saturday party.
*** Warning *** The following is not appropriate for children under 4 (at which point they discover Google and advisory becomes moot). To preface, large groups of animals have specific names - for example there is a gaggle of geese, a herd of heifers and a flock of flamingos. One doesn't have an appreciation for one's relative position on the food chain until having drifted through the middle of a shitload of sharks. It's also interesting to note that, although smaller, the cross-section of ones your size coming straight on (a 3-pointed star with teeth) is somewhat more arresting than the larger side view. Fortunately their curiosity wanes within a few meters or so. Passed through three separate groups of 40 or 50. Understand that 650 have been counted at one time just in the main part of channel.
Wednesday
After a relaxed morning and the regular sesqui-centennial (perhaps a bit more often) haircut from my favorite barber, again went out to the open ocean drop- off wall and drifted in, this time, along the west side of Tumakohua pass: fewer, bigger sharks, humongous Napoleon wrasse, thousands of marble grouper (they're apparently having their annual love-in), huge schools of multifarious kinds (particularly a reddish brown fellow with large orange eyes), more colorful reef fish in amazing diversity than is possible and carpets of coral with visibility greater than you can imagine. Please pick 5 or 6 of your most exquisite superlatives and attach them to descriptions of the diving here. Besides that, it's a brilliant setting, quiet, peaceful and doesn't suck in many wondrous ways.
Jack