Messing around the Gambiers
06 July 2022
Mike
We've been in the Gambier Archipelago for almost 3 weeks now. We had only meant to stay for 2 weeks but we've been too busy to notice. The cooler water meas we have to wear wetsuits when snorkeling, but it also means there is no bleaching of the corals, which are healthy and vibrant, especially the table corals. We mentioned before that the fish are large and approachable as they are not spearfished due to ciguatera poisoning. We routinely swim with 2-3 foot groupers and bright blue parrotfish as long as your arm. Being further south in mid-winter we are exposed to the weather systems as they move by to the south so we have had some windy and rainy days. We took advantage of one of these to ride our bikes around the circumference of Mangareva Island. Saw lots of pearl farms as well as chickens that always seemed to be running across the road. We couldn't help but wonder why they do that.
The supply ship that stops here every 3 weeks came the other day, but we had already stocked up on bananas, pamplemouse and lettuce from a local market garden so we were able to skip the free-for-all that happens when the grocery stores are re-stocked.
We have spent the last couple of days anchored behind the Islet of Mekiro just off of Akemaru Island, hiding from reinforced tradewinds after the passage of a front. More great snorkeling and a nice hike to the top of Mekiro. Yesterday we took our kayak around the leeward side of the island and found a bunch of pearl farm floats. These are really handy for floating the anchor chain to keep it off the coral as the fenders we have been using tend to compress and loose air when submerged. We were also able to scrounge some coconuts that will go into our muffins and banana bread.
As nice as it is here, winter gets closer with every passing front and we are looking for a window to head north to the Marquesas, possibly as soon as this weekend. We'll miss the solitude here but look forward to warmer water and the chance to refill our propane tanks as we are now too low to brew beer. It's one thing to run out of veggies, but quite another to run out of beer.