Sting Rays!
08 July 2007 | Moorea - Point Tehau
Steve and Susan
We are still anchored in Oponohu Bay, with a brief trip to Cook's Bay to drop off David for his trip home. We also picked up Anne and Kara of the sailboat Magnum, who had come over from Papeete on the ferry and spent a night in the hotel, while Uwe is in San Francisco. We sailed (motored in light air) back to Oponohu Bay to re-anchor. A front moved through and gave us heavy rain showers and gusty winds, so we were boat-bound for the day. Games passed the time, but Kara would definitely have rather been swimming. The next morning dawned lovely and quiet, so we had our beach time before Anne and Kara returned to their boat. We headed west in the dingy this morning to explore some of the shallower areas of the the lagoon. It is very disconcerting to be flying along in the dingy in shallow water that is crystal clear; every coral head looks like it is right on the surface. After a few miles you get used to it, but the sight is still impressive. A large portion of the lagoon is a nature preserve and a portion of it is designated for messing with rays and sharks; the water is about 4' deep and the bottom is sand. It is spectacular; it's like feeding pigeons in the park. The rays are not shy and come right up and make contact; the little black tip sharks hang out on the edge. Susan snorkeled off the little motus (small islands that are part of the fringing reef). We had lunch at a little place on one of the motus: fresh shrimp in garlic and a mahi mahi baguette sandwich. It doesn't get much better than this. It is lovely.