More Island Paradise
19 October 2006 | Nosy Iranja
Chris
We sailed 14 miles to Nosy Iranja from Russian Bay. Nosy Iranja is a beautiful tropical island surrounded by aquamarine waters with 70 feet of visibility. There is a long white sand spit in the middle of the island which is covered during high spring tides. On one side of the island is a small resort and on the other is a village and an old abandoned light house.
We sailed around the west side of the island and found a small almost lagoon on the south west side. We were not sure about the depths or if there was a pass through the reef so we anchored outside on a white sandy bottom in about three fathoms. Julie and I put on our snorkel gear to scout out a pass through the reef. Julie made a lead line out of a prop zinc and a small rope to measure the depths. After about 30 minutes we had found a pass deep enough for Cisnecito during high water. We motored in to the lagoon cautiously and anchored in about two fathoms. The water was very clear and we could easily see the anchor set in the white sand.
Soon after, we were joined by Petrell, La Familia, Eagle Wing, and Freefall. The lagoon was just barely large enough for all of us. We had a fun afternoon of wake boarding behind our dinghy. Most who tried got up no problem behind our souped up 9.9 HP Yamaha. After wake boarding we had sundowners on La Familia and then headed back to Cisnecito for a quiet evening. Julie made fish soup with the barracuda and some bok choy which was really good.
Unfortunately the anchorage proved to be a bit rolly that night. It seemed that Petrell got the worst of it. They and La Familia headed out to another island at first light.
We stayed for some snorkeling and a walk on the island. The water was very clear and the snorkeling was pretty good. There is an exposed rock about a quarter mile off the south west end of the island where lots of fish convene. It is called the "Flower Pot" because of its shape. After our snorkel we had coffee and delicious pineapple cake aboard Eagle Wing and then later landed the dinghy on the white sand spit and walked to the resort side. There were a couple of fisherman cleaning their shark catch on the beach. These were the first sharks we have seen here. The picture above is a small house in the village on the west side of the island. The village also had a soccer field which is the first village we have seen with one.
This afternoon we plan to head to Honey River. We have heard that you can trade T-shirts and jars for honey there which should probably not be a surprise given its name.