Fun in Fakarava
03 May 2009 | Fakarava Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Monique
First we hoist our kids halfway up our 74' mast to watch for reefs during our 2 hour lagoon transit, then, we dunk them into shark infested waters. It was so much fun, we are doing it again tomorrow. We can't seem to shake 'em! Logic told us to snorkel with other large human beings. Grin. We duped those black tip sharks today with 7 adults and 2 kids. Folks on Blue Dawn, Loon3, and Zen slowly lowered themselves into the southern pass at Fakarava expecting to see tons of sharks. All expectations were met! As you slither off the dinghy, the slight current takes you for a ride. You are surrounded by beautiful pink, white and purple coral bursting with activity. Hundreds of fish of so many varieties are feeding. Just as your breathing is slowing and relaxation is taking over, you get poked by a kid with a sharp finger pointing behind you. While slowly turning against the 3 knot current, trying not to let your mask or snorkel slide off, you catch the tell-tale s-shaped movement of the big grey fish. Yup, sharks, 3 of them, coming to the shallows near the coral for feeding time. Time for Monique to fumble with the camera to capture a reminder of our insanity. Carrier Clinic (hospital for the mentally unstable) has a suite reserved. Tom looks backwards over his shoulder and spots 5 of them, feasting, moving with ridiculously fast sharp movements. Kids keep plowing forward leading the pack. Guess insanity is inherited? Tom sees a bunch of grouper near the bottom, the spearfisherman in him wants a close-up. He dives down, takes a photo of the dinner he'd like to have, and on his way up, he's visited again by 3 sharks. Hearts no longer pumping, we are accustomed to them by now. The sun streaming into the water makes everything so bright and colorful. We snorkel both sides of the pass in about 90 minutes. Divers' dream spot. Earlier in the day, Cammi and Monique joined a couple of friends to hunt for shells and other treasures on the outer reef. While together, a plan of pot luck dinner on Zen hatched. This evening we feasted on tons of delicious food, had non-stop conversations and said our goodnights with plans to do it all over again tomorrow. Looks like we've stumbled upon some coveted real-estate: great neighbors, one-of-a-kind view, abundant shells, and excitement underwater. This is classic cruising, South Pacific style.