Ia orana,
We have been in Fakarava, between the North and South Pass for a few weeks. Still having problems with the boat, some very serious, of course due to improper installation by our builder. We are trying to do a temporary fix, we call "jetinhos" in Brasil, so we can get to Hawaii safely. We can't stay in the French Polynesia because of cyclone season soon approaching. In the meantime, while we waited for parts which we had to get from the US, we had been getting Mauliola ready for the long crossing to Hawaii, and diving in the South Pass of Fakarava, which is divine. It is like being inside an aquarium without the glass. It is hard to describe the amount of fish that lives in the pass. There are "mountains" of fish, not schools of fish. In some dives we saw hundreds of grey sharks, calmly swimming by us who were pretty excited as we had never seen anything like this before. It was impossible to capture in photo what we saw, with my little camera, but I have a good video of a dive. Right under Mauliola, at our anchorage, we had at least 10 black tips, a large barracuda, and a good number of remoras, parrot fish, and many other reef fish. The sharks are a problem as it is difficult to land any fish. They are fast and take the fish out of your spear the same moment you shoot.
Tetamanu is a small village, I mean it, in the pass with a total population of 9. There is one small pensione and in another motu (islet) nearby there is another one. It doesn't have any stores, internet, nor sports bars. You have to be self sufficient to be there. And we are. Mauliola array of solar panels provides us with all the power we need while we are at anchor, except for cloudy days. And we have had very few of those. We have lots of food, make our own bread, from whole grains, to focaccia, to pizza. I thought I was going to be a fat sailor but I am glad to report that I was wrong. Mauliola crew is lean (but not mean).
Here in Rotoava, the village in the North pass, we can get provisioning, pretty good for dry goods but not so good for fresh veggies and fruit, nor for the other essentials like wine and chocolate. I have been practicing a new way of shopping, which I call it "if you see it, grab it and ask the price later" (and the prices are pretty steep). I guess this is common amongst cruisers to do this. In the atolls, where soil and water is scarce, you can't grow much. Supplies come from Tahiti once a week, and only once a month in other places. It is such a disparity with the Marquesas, where there is such an abundance of food, and fruit (mangoes, plumpomousse, lemons, bananas, papayas, tamarind) litters the ground in many places. We have met many of the local people, which are super friendly and helpful as it is typical of the Polynesians. Margaret, a lovely kiwi lady, who owns the bakery and one of the 2 stores is super. She bakes delicious French baguettes everyday but Sundays. The village is very clean, and every house has a small fragrant garden of tiare gardenia and plumerias of many lovely colors.
Soon we will be leaving this wonderful corner of paradise, heading to another one. We will be going to another atoll called Toau, just 25 miles from here. From there we will be sailing to the Marquesas and then home to our loved Hawaii. Aloha to you all