Today was a day packed full of so many different things that it's a little difficult to decide what to mention.
This morning we decided to get up early and go ashore straight away, since we knew we had a three hour journey ahead of us and didn't want to leave too late. We also wanted to satisfy our curiosity regarding the strange looking village of Haamene.
The first thing that struck us though, was all the birds we could hear. This was definitely the quietest and most peaceful anchorage we've been in since Salinas, Puerto Rico and the surrounding scenery was very picturesque. The mystery of the bizarre looking buildings was resolved and turned out to be a school and the village administration buildings. The tower that looked like it had a guard on watch was actually the steeple of a church that is being renovated. All in all, it was a delightful little place and definitely hit the mark when we discovered French pastries and ple
nty of
fresh fruit and vegetables for sale.
After leaving Baie Haamene, we thoroughly enjoyed our "sail" around the island, inside the lagoon. It reminded us of Ireland in that every new corner we went around there was another stunning view to enjoy, especially the view of the dramatic spires of Bora Bora. All Elaine kept saying was: "Oh my word, it's just so pretty" and definitely rivals Moorea. Unfortunately we struggled to get anchored near the Coral Gardens, so we changed plans slightly and, instead, picked up a mooring ball in Baie Hurepiti, where we enjoyed sundowners and a light dinner on Nina after their sail over from Huahine today.
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