After our eventful sail to the atolls of the Tuomotus, we
were ready for some fun in the sun.
That’s exactly what we got as we traveled throughout three of the
atolls. In the Marquesas, tall
mountains drop straight down into the sea along the coast, making anchorages
very deep. The scenery there was beautiful,
but we found that we didn’t do much swimming in the deep, dark waters. (If we can’t see the sharks clearly, then
that means they can’t see us clearly and might mistake us for dinner!) But inside the atolls, we found beaches with
crystal clear, shallow anchorages, reminiscent of the Bahamas. Our shallow draft catamaran could nestle
close to the palm tree-lined shore, offering shelter from the winds.
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| The kids LOVED the shallow, clear water! |
Tahanea was our first stop.
The entrance was fairly wide and deep, but we still had to monitor the
tidal currents to ensure we would be entering at ‘slack tide’ (the calmest time
as the tide changes direction). We did
not want to be pushed through the pass, losing full steerage, or pushed against
strong current, losing momentum.
Thankfully, our friends beat us there and could offer first-hand
knowledge to get us inside safely.
Tahanea is not a well-known atoll, so we nearly had the
place to ourselves. Our time here was
low-key and rejuvenating. We built
bonfires on the beach at night with friends, collected shells and coconuts, and SNUBAed.
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| Mark teaching a SNUBA class to our buddy boats! |
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| Turning a quiet anchorage into a paddle board playground! |
The next atoll was Fakarava, where we entered through the
southern pass and exited out the northern pass a little over a week later. This place was full of reefs, and Mark had
to be the lookout on the bow to prevent us from hitting any of the hard
coral. At one point, he tried to bring
us across the reef, dodging coral
heads. Our friends on s/v Dafne who were
following us saw where we were heading and opted to go around the reef instead… hmmm.
Meanwhile, we wound between coral heads until we couldn’t go any further
and suddenly, frantic hand motions from Mark (along with a few choice phrases)
demanded a quick reverse and pivot to back up.
Around the reef was better
after all. As we pulled into the
anchorage, I used the hailer on the VHF radio (basically a bull horn on deck) to
lighten the mood. “I LOVE YOU, MARK
SILVERSTEIN! I LOOOOVVVEEE YOU!” To which my dear coral cowboy responded with
a tropical ‘bird’.
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| Watching for "bombers" as we head to our anchorage |
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| Reef sharks swimming around our boat |
In cruiser guides and blogs, we had read about
fantastic diving at the southern pass, and it didn’t disappoint! This was the best snorkeling and diving we
have EVER done. It was like swimming
around in someone’s aquarium but with sharks, too! Now, I’ve never been too fond of the idea of
swimming with sharks. We’ve watched
documentaries, listened to lectures, and heard personal accounts from other
divers about how beautiful and harmless reef sharks actually are. However, to hear all of that is one thing,
but to be swimming alongside them with two small children is quite another! The first few moments underwater were full of
prayer... earnest prayer... prayer without ceasing.
The kids and I held onto the rope from the dinghy (the current wasn’t
quite slack yet) and bobbed in the water as shark after shark passed by, not interested in us at all.
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| Reef Shark hanging out on the sea floor |
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| 'Selfie' by E |
Eventually,
we stopped paying so much attention to the sharks and started to look at the
fish that swam underneath us. So many
fish! Tiny, electric blue-colored fish
popped in and out of the coral. Boldly
striped butterfly fish meandered through the current in pairs. Crowded schools of schoolmaster snapper
swirled around and around each other in a wall of silver and yellow. Elizabeth is becoming quite the underwater photographer these days! Most of the photos you see here were taken by her!
But then we saw the most massive, most unusual fish we’d ever seen.
A Napolean Wrasse.
It was deep turquoise with shades of bright
green and vibrant purple throughout, but the color was not what made it
unique.
It was its
size.
From head to tail, it
was at least 3 feet long and about 2 feet tall (bigger than the pillow I sleep
on at night!).
As the woman on shore
dropped chunks of baguette into the water, its mouth telescopes out like in
Alien with Sigourney Weaver.
It was bizarre and creepy - and absolutely
amazing!
It was hard to drag ourselves away from that spot, but we
had to move on. The last atoll we’d see
on our way through the Tuomotus would be Toau.
Tahanea had offered rest and rejuvenation, Fakarava had offered
underwater wonders, and Toau would offer us a connection to the people of the
Tuomotus that I will never forget. In Part Two, you'll meet Gaston and Valentina, our new friends who live on a tiny piece of paradise...
Here is a video of our time in the Marquesas. Enjoy!
We met your Napolean Wrasse's cousin, the Humphead Maori Wrasse, in Manta Ray Bay (top of Hook Island, Whitsundays) only yesterday. Took some convincing to encourage my 8 year old daughter to get in the water after she saw him from the dinghy but she was totally captivated once she was in. On the outer reef you'll find some Grouper up to 3m long....awesome to swim with.
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