A Beautiful Day in Rangiroa
03 July 2015 | Rangiroa lagoon
Bill
The beauty here is almost overwhelming. All of our senses are involved, as is sometimes the case. Below everything is the almost subliminal beat of the surf on the reefs outside the lagoon. It's always there, below all the other ambient sounds, but on a quiet evening it becomes the dominant background.
Rangiroa, like all of the islands that we've visited, has a distinctive aroma of dampness and flowers and fruit. Before we came here, I would not have even understood the idea, but it's true.
The water is, of course, all shades of blue, from the deeper blue of the deeper water to the shades of turquoise as the water shallows. When we motored to shore, the water was so clear the we see coral down 20 feet. We watched two rays and a black tip shark patrol the shallows.
We enjoyed fresh baguette, sweet New Zealand butter, Fakarava honey, and fresh papaya for breakfast, then lolled around the boat for a few hours, completing a few chores and enjoying "hanging". We motored to shore and went shopping for a few necessities, the returned to stow them. Conni had found a location called Green Lagoon that was nearby on the other side of the pass, so we hopped back in the dinghy to go explore.
A quick motor and no local knowledge found us deeply lost in a coral bed. Damn! The prop hit and I pulled the thankfully undamaged motor from the water and deployed our oars. What a place we were in! The water was so shallow and so clear that it was like snorkling in an aquarium tank, but we didn't get wet. We slowly paddled our way out of the reef and into Green Lagoon, all the while ogling the multicolored fish and coral. It was one of the healthiest coral areas that I've ever seen.
The locals, of course knew the route through the coral, so we watched a few boats go through, the followed a local carrying bags of copra. So heavily loaded was the boat that we were able to stay with them through the coral. We made our way back to the boat to sit through the hot hours of the day, then went off again to travel toward Tiputa Pass. We made it as far as the airport where we found a much-needed ATM, then Conni took the helm and we motored back to the boat, just as the sun was setting in time for cocktails.
We had planned on moving Wings to Tiputa since Top dive is there, as well as some nice restaurants. When we awoke this morning, it was a different seascape than we had enjoyed, with 15 kts winds kicking up seas in the lagoon. With reefs nearby, we decided to pull the hook and leave early.
After motoring to Tiputa, we tried the hook once before a manager from the local Dream Charter-Tahiti motored by and offered a spare mooring for our use. Well, OK! Thanks. We're inside the main wind line so we're out of most of the breeze in 25 ft of water.
We motored ashore and walked the now-familiar rode to town. We bought a fresh baguette and strolled to the main wharf to see if Chez Lilli, the great restaurant run by the lovely Madagascar woman was still in business, and it is! We also made arrangements to eat tomorrow night at Josephine's, the local elegant restaurant.
Weather dictates that we leave for Huahine on Tuesday morning, and from there to Raiatea.