We
are finally back in the Tuamotus, where life is isolated to say the
least! Only other atoll we had been to was Fakarava in May of 2016,
but it has a marked channel and a population. The atoll of Tahanea
is uninhabited and unmarked. Since our friends Birgit and Christian,
on Pitufa, have spent several months each of the last 4 years
in this atoll, we asked them to show us around and give us the trick
for staying safe out here in Never Never Land!! I keep waiting for
Tinkerbell and Peter Pan to show up to the boat!
We
followed Pitufa across the atoll leaving around 10:30am.
It
is mostly deep (from 100 to 50 feet), but it is important to cross
inside the lagoon at the height of the sun so you can easily see the
bombies. These are individual coral growths that can be like a bomb
if you hit it with your hull. The water changes color and sometimes
they even stick out of the water.
Liward
sails right on by us (waterline!)
We
went past an island in the middle of the atoll that was covered with
lots of flying nesting birds. Too many to count!
On
the South side we anchored behind the C reef (looks like a C from the
satellite photos), and next to a large motu inside the outer reef.
Lili
and I went shell hunting on the motu.
We
found all kinds of interesting things, like this huge iron nail from
who knows how long ago!
We
also found a baby Boobie bird hiding from us. We did not get too
close but he sure was cute in his down feathers.
We
saw another nest with an egg in it, but no one sitting on it.
This
bright colored crab was escaping us into the water.
Somehow,
etched in the coral, was a heart with a happy face. I knew then life
is good!!
We
saw several birds. This one is the Curlew, which flies all the way
to Alaska and back every year, just to nest in the South Pacific!!
This
is the small sandpiper that is now endangered. They were very
curious and walked right up to us unafraid.
This
Fairy Tern flew down right in front of us, landed on this branch,
gave us a few squawks and then flew away. He was only a few feet
from us.
There
is another motu further past the one we were walking on. We'll
explore that one later.
This
was the score of a shell collection we picked up. The big thing at
the top is a skeleton of a type of urchin. It is about 4 inches
long!
We
had another sunset beach party, this time on the low tide sand bar.
The
sun was setting right behind Avatar! Beautimous!!
The
next day Mike and I went snorkeling. The crystal clear water was
awesome! Seemed like each little reef outcrop had it's own
protective grouper to guard it.
Grouper
hiding in a hole in the rocks.
Marbled
Grouper swimming by.
Blue
Spotted Grouper swims past a clam.
This
Blue Lipped Clam was a fabulous color. They can be anywhere from
brown to green to dark blue to brilliant turquoise.
A
large area of the C reef is too shallow for us to snorkel in, but not
for the fishes!
This
is a Bird Wrasse. I guess because it looks like he has a beak.
A
school of large Parrot Fish were checking out the reef. I had never
seen a Red Headed Parrot fish, and the book said they are fairly rare
to find.
Of
course this red head was quite enamored with the red headed parrot
fish!! We are rare indeed!
