We're still in Fakarava.
It seems that the pace of life here has finally got to us, and no entry to our Blog has been made for several days. Well, what does it matter - there is always tomorrow.... (And I guess that's why not a lot happens in these sorts of places).
We started by going ashore at crack of dawn (at least the skipper did - Ed) to reconnoitre the little town. Fresh baguettes and pain au raisons got the crew off to a good start, and a determined effort was then made to explore the town properly. We started at the harbour end. There is a longish quay where the supply ships tie up, and a proper enclosed fishing harbour. Unfortunately there are no fishing boats to use it, and yachts don't really bother. This is partly because there is no need as the anchorage is anyway sheltered, and also because when the west wind doth blow, both the harbour and the quay are untenable. We found a post office, a football pitch, another shop, no bank (getting cash here is a real challenge - the locals use the post-office and everyone else is expected a. To pay cash, and b. To make their own arrangements to get it), and a place called the, or le, snack. This turned out to be an excellent and stunningly placed restaurant with a French chef. We had a quiet afternoon before our friends from Harmonie (Anne and Don) and Petra and her crew from Viva joined us for drinks at sundown.
The next day, the Skipper went off for a day's diving. It was supposedly going to be with ex-Quasar Barry, but whilst he seemed to be expected at the diving place in the North of the Island, he went straight to the South where there was also a diving establishment right next to where we were going to dive. Anyway, off the skipper went in this highly powered RIB with a shark's mouth on the front, and spent a very uncomfortable two hours hammering down to the South Pass (a journey which is taking us two days). Here he had two wonderful hours drifting out through the entrance on one side, and back through the other (two separate dives - Ed). The pass is deep, and a myriad of fish play and feed in the current. This includes an enormous population of sharks - they say 200, but to be honest, I did not count them, and at one point we stopped at the side and marvelled as they cruised around. They look menacing, but they show no interest at all in the passing divers (we taste rubbery, apparently - AWA please note). Towards the end of our second dive, we drifted over a shallow coral garden, with amazing varieties of corals and lots of multi-coloured tropical fish to admire. Lunch was spent on a tiny Motu (the word for the little islands that form the atolls - hence Tua-motus), with a silver sand beach. This had been used as a burial ground for the nearby village, and there were skulls and skeletons to be found amongst the trees. But it was surprisingly unspooky. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the crew had a quiet morning before toddling off in the dinghy for another decent lunch. But they had also found time for a much needed hull clean for Cleone and a bit of guitar practice.
So by mid-morning yesterday we were ready to set off down the lagoon. Half way down, and we have anchored off a silver beach lined with cocoa-nut palms, with crystal clear water teaming with tropical fish playing amongst the coral heads. The night was wonderfully quiet and calm, and today we will complete the last few miles before anchoring off the little village at the South Entrance to this wonderful lagoon. We hope to nip through the entrance at slack tide tomorrow morning and be on our way to Papeete, a voyage of some 250 miles or so. We expect to arrive there on 28th April.
All well, and best wishes to everyone.
Yacht Cleone
Fakarava
Tuamotus Islands