Our last couple of days in the Tuamotus have been pretty special and a nice ending to our trip.
We've been anchored in the largest atoll, Rangiroa, which is also the most populated. We arrived on Jayne's birthday, so had birthday celebrations with others that evening.
Then yesterday we went on a tour to The Blue Lagoon, run by a group of very enthusiastic Polynesian's. They took us across the atoll on a speed-boat to a smaller shallow lagoon set within the surrounding land. It's used by sharks as a nursery (the smaller sharks can't go into deeeper water, or they get eaten by bigger sharks!). We waded, swam and sat in the shallows of the lagoon whilst dozens of baby reef sharks swam amongst us 🦈 Amazing! Meanwhile, a delicious bbq with beer and rum punch was being prepared on an island in the lagoon 🏝 Pretty idillic. We ended the day in what the locals call 'the aquarium'. A patch of crystal clear turquoise water full of coral and thousands of fish of all different sizes, shapes and colours 🐠🐡 Amazing! The sobering thought from our guide was that the coral and fish have declined significantly in the last 10 years, due to increasing sea temperatures and over fishing from Tahiti.
Today Bill and I had breakfast watching dolphins 🐬 leap the waves in the pass (where the current gets up to about 10 knots, which the dolphins love) and are now exploring Rangiroa by bike. There's about an eight mile road, along the narrow atoll, from the docks, where we're anchored, to the main town, Avatoru. Around 3000 people live on the atoll and all seem very friendly. Outside a supermarket we got chatting to an old Tahitian man who now lives in Rangiroa. He's interested in traditional polynesian crafts and learnt the art of making rope from coconut husks (coir) in the museums of England. Bizarre! He showed us some of his work, which was very intricate, and gullible me ended up buying some. Think Bill thought I was slightly mad (and probably ripped off!) But it's a rather lovely memento of the place.
We're now sitting having lunch in a restaurant on the beach 🌴 and looking forward to a wine and rum tasting session in the local distillery this afternoon
We've got one more day here tomorrow, then we're off to Tahiti.
Love and hugs to all
Amanda xx
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Hello Amanda.
An amazing place to be for the last few days of your trip. Stunning photos, sunset is incredible. Even though you’re looking forward to being back in land sure you’ll miss the incredible places you’ve sailed to. We will all miss your blogs and photos/paintings.
Almost getting to be Spring here in Reno, spent the past week in the warm weather south of here. Camping in the trailer and cycling lovely quiet roads pre-tourist season.
Love to you both Sarah and Bruce xxx
Yeh, you’ve made it to Tahiti! Congratulations, see you soon!
Fabulous photo's, we have loved following your adventures, safe travels home x
Your faces say it all, looks like you having a fabulous time as you reach the final few days of your adventure. So looking forward to seeing you but I can’t help but feel a little sad for you that you’re nearly at Tahiti and your flight back home… time has flown by! Lots of love xx