We are STILL in Fakarava atoll. My humans do not seem in much of a hurry to get anywhere.
It is a BIG atoll. Over 30nm long. Protected lagoon waters, anchorages off of palm fringed motus and some excellent snorkeling and diving. What is there not to like……as long as I get lots of runs ashore.
SOUTH PASS “TUMAKOHUA PASS”
When we last left you we were anchored just East of the South Pass of the atoll.
It is here the humans did a lot of diving and made you the ‘Grouper Spawning’ and shark video.
Between dives the humans had to amuse themselves, and they got it in their heads to make a fish trap.
Of course, it never caught anything. At least they were a little luckier at night with their fishing exploits. They brought some friends along.
All in all, the anchorage here is great with lots of things to do. The reef and motu (small islands) offer little protection of the wind, but then you get great views of both the sunrise and the sun set. Sun rise over the motu and sun set over the lagoon.
Sometimes we had company in the anchorage, and sometimes we were all alone.
The only trouble with the anchorage is it is exposed to waves if the wind turns Northeasterly. After almost 4 weeks the forecast of Northeast winds was a signal to go off and explore somewhere else.
HIRIFA
With a shift predicted in the winds the humans sailed us over to the Southeast corner of the atoll.
This is a very sandy corner and a popular anchorage for cruising boats.
The humans went ashore to explore all this pink sand.
All this open sand makes the area great for KITE BOARDING. For novices and those without kit aboard there is a Kite Boarding school here.
I am always off looking for adventures that keep my four paws firmly on the ground. I found a trail that led through the motu.
The trail led through to the outer reef side of the motu.
When the tide was low the humans went out shell hunting. They are always on the look out for examples of new shell species.
And the humans can never stop working on the boat. This time it is cleaning the waterline on the coppercoated bottom.
A hard earned sundowner for the humans.
Next stop?
UTUKAIGA MOTU
Sometimes it is nice to explore somewhere new. The availability of good GOOGLE EARTH charts does spark interest in uncharted places that look interesting. My humans decided to put their ‘water reading’ skills to the test, along with the forward looking sonar as back up, and decided to try a new anchorage along the Eastern shores of Fakarava Atoll.
In an atoll that is ‘renowned’ for being popular with cruising boats, Spirit of Argo found an achorage all to themselves.
Here there were some excellent beach combing and snorkeling.
In the evenings we had fires on the point and watched the sun go down.
Administration duties called and we had to leave our little paradise for civilization again. That and we were running out of fresh food and propane.
Off next to Pakokota Yacht Services.
PAKOKOTA YACHT SERVICES
Mattheiu, at Pakokota Yacht Services, acted as our agent to import our boat into French Polynesian waters. With international borders all closed in the South Pacific, the humans decided they would like to ‘hang out’ here in French Polynesia until things ‘settle down’.
Full moon rising
So, I am imported into French Polynesia and now the boat is. What of my humans? Well, pre-Brexit they were welcome to stay as long as they would like in French Polynesia, but now they have to apply for long stay visas. Stay tuned for that debarkle!
For now the humans have enough to do as the auto-helm was playing up and the water maker is leaking. Boat jobs just never end aboard Spirit of Argo. They also need to get up to the village in the North as a supply ship is expected carrying fresh veggies.
The adventures aboard Spirit of Argo just never end!
