3 months
have passed since we entered French Polynesia in Mangareva, part of the Gambier
Islands. The first Polynesian island we have seen had a mountain (almost 500m
high) and was very green and full of flowers and fruits. Gambier is a huge
atoll with many green islands (the largest one of them being Mangareva) as well
as “motus”, little flat coral islands on the outer reef of atolls with more or
less palm trees on it, located in beautiful clear turquoise water. From the Gambier Islands we sailed to and through
the “Tuamotus”, many atolls with motus and no inner island. The Tuamotus are a
place to find peace, to relax and to enjoy unspoiled natural beauty while
snorkeling. There is no distraction there, hardly any town and if there is one,
it is small with an average of 300 people. The only activities in the Tuamotus
is fish, swim and snorkel (if you have no fear of sharks) , walk over millions
of dead corals on the motu (if the island is big enough), sit and read or
sleep. After almost 2 months of solitude it felt a bit weird when we came to
Tahiti and went shopping at Carrrefour. People, many people there. But, our
anchorage in port Phaeton was not too busy and we enjoyed good food which we
did not have in 2 months, and internet. Tahiti is part of the Society group of
archipels all surronded by reefs and is very green with mountains up to 2000m high. I have to admit
that I am really enjoying our time in this group of paradise archipels; where
green mountains and waterfalls meet coral reefs with turquoise water; where anchorages can be found in bays
reminding me of Brasil and in front of motus on the outer reef surrounding all
the islands; where you find friendly stingrays who will swim up to you to see
if you have food, dolphins and turtles swim by your boat at the anchorage, dolphins
jump out of the water, wales surf in the waves, fish enjoy a wonderful coral
garden; where fascinating waves constantly break over the rounded reefs; where
you can smell the trees and hear birds sing on your boat. I cannot imagine a
place to be more diverse than these islands here. The only “negative” is that
you can hardly hike by yourself, you have to hire a guide because the trails
can hardly be found and are not marked or are too dangerous. People have reported to have gotten
lost in the mountains.
You can
see on the pictures that each one of the islands has its charme. Huahine for
sure is the most original one, where most of the archeological sites (“marae”,
kind of temples originally in their culture used by the Polynesian people for
different kinds of meetings and funerals) can be found and the people are super
friendly. Tourism has had its effect on all islands. On all islands besides
Tahiti you can see empty resorts and hotels being shut down, often already
falling apart. Local people have had many negative experiences with tourism and
in places with lots of tourism causing exploitation they are not so friendly
any more (understandable). We have heard today that two boats have been robbed
in the marina in Urutoa (Raitea) at the (free of charge) citiy harbor. Raiatea
is a big hub for charter boats and that obviously creates “wantings”.
The last
week we have been mostly cruising with State of Mind and Saliander joined in
Raiatea. We met up with State of Mind in Huahine, enjoyed the SW-bay Aavea, the
town of Fare with drinks and dinner at the Fare Yacht Club restaurant (we never
found the Yacht Club though), rented a car together to see the island. We sailed
together to Raiatea where we anchored in the Baie Faaroa and made a Dinghy
excursion up the river at the end of the bay,
went to the southern cut to
anchor there and have dinner on State of Mind together with Saliander.
Next day we all sailed to and along the west
coast. Saliander and State of Mind anchored at a motu in the SW, between the
two cuts and enjoyed a lovely day there at the reef while we sailed up to the
town of Uturoa to do the final stock up.
On the way
we were able to take wonderful pictures of the breaking reef waves
Here: Bora Bora in the background
....and of a wale who enjoyed his time just at the borderline of the surf:
Baie Hutuopi on Tahanea gave
us shelter for the night before we moved on further up to the NW where there is
gorgeous snorkeling at the “Coral Garden” around and behind 4 motus.
In the
afternoon we met up again with our friends to celebrate 2 birthdays.We had a
“pot luck” party on Saliander with good food as always. Oh, life can be so
good. Today, after we all went snorkeling again this morning, we had to say
good-bye. We don’t know if and where we are going to see the two crews again,
but latest in New Zealand. Meanwhile we all keep on enjoying the wonders of
nature and hope that we all arrive safe and sound in NZ.
Now we're in Bora Bora and it's drizzling rain. Most likely I will rent a bike tomorrow to ride around the island and hopefully be able to post pictures then. We hope the weather gets better to welcome our new guest, Klaus, on August 4th.Have a great day everyone! Michaela
