Friends at Fakarava and Toau (May 20 - 25)

We arrived in Fakarava the day before our friends, Francois and Annick, were scheduled to arrive from Papeete.

These two pulled off a Herculean effort to meet up with us (Annick actually flew from Vancouver to Quebec to drop off their young daughter at the grandparents prior to meeting up with Francois in LA!), including bringing 5 boxes of produce from Papeete so that we'd have some fresh items to eat during their stay. Never accused of "underdoing" anything, they brought enough to last the week plus get us off to a good start on our way to the Marquesas!

With exotic destinations to explore, we wasted little time and departed the main village for Garuae Pass, which is considered by some as the best dive location in French Polynesia. The wind was blowing across the lagoon, so it was a bit bouncy in the exposed anchorage. With the pass ebbing strongly and none of us wanting to be swept out to sea, we decided that a land-based mission might be best for the afternoon.

The next morning we snorkeled around a nice reef in front of the boat and dived the pass with a flooding tide, adding a couple of new shark species to Francois' check list. Then it was back to the boat to get ready to make the passage to Toau, an atoll about 15 miles to the NW.

Annick took us through Garuae Pass, the largest in the Tuamotus, then tag-teamed with Francois at the helm for the 3-hr crossing. With gentle winds (8 to 10 kts) and a slight swell (1 to 1.5 metres), conditions were perfect for the passage.

We got to Toau just before sunset, so had to hurry into the lagoon and anchor while we could still see. Otugi Pass was ebbing directly into the prevailing winds, which meant that there were some large, confused seas (large enough to break into the cockpit!) to navigate before reaching the calm, protected waters of the lagoon. Drop the hook, enjoy a beautiful sunset and relax (that was an action-packed day)! We made up for it the next day with slow-paced beachcombing and snorkeling.

The original plan was to head to the NW to Takaroa to drop them off at an airport that was on our general path through the islands. The winds, however, had other ideas, and we were pinned inside the lagoon by rough seas at the pass. There are certainly worse places to be stuck….more snorkeling and beachcombing for all!

We went over all our options and decided it best to return to Fakarava rather than risking another passage in increasingly adverse winds (they could not miss their flight…Annick's motherly instincts had been suppressed for far too long already after nearly three weeks in French Polynesia…what a trooper!). We made it to the village with just enough time to confirm a seat on the next day's flight to Papeete.