South Fakarava - A Highlight in the Tuamotus?

People told us that in the month of April, the weather in the Tuamotus would improve. People also told us that the south part of Fakarava is very nice and a must-see in this archipelago. People were right on both accounts! The weather has been perfect the last week and a bit: sunny skies, and a constant breeze of about 15 knots out of the east. And south Fakarava? It is a wonderful and beautiful place to be and every morning I wake up and I look outside, a smile as bright as the sunlight appears and I am eager to start the day… Let us be reminded how great it can be to live on a sailboat in the South Pacific!

Some of the motus on our horizon

We left the remote eastern anchorage of the atoll a few days ago and had a fun and fast sail over to the south part. Irie flew on a beam reach in the flat lagoon water and arrived on the southern end around noon, a perfect time to see all the coral heads scattered around the anchorage SW of the pass. With some concentrated conning, we found a place amongst the dark spots, two connected floats keeping the chain above the coral head closest to Irie, our anchor set well in white sand 16 feet underneath. The water is crystal clear, seven black tip reef sharks constantly circle the boat and the view to shore consists of a string of palm fringed motus with sandy beaches – the first ones we have seen in the Tuamotus. Exploring the waters around them by dinghy makes for fun excursions. Jumping in the water for a shower is always an exciting event.

Part of our resident family of sharks

The main reason people visit this part of Fakarava is to dive or snorkel the pass, where hundreds of sharks reside: white tips, black tips and greys. The visibility is reported to reach 100 feet at times and when we floated by, the abyss and groups of divers were spotted at least 70 feet underneath. It is an eerie and thrilling feeling to see the coral wall go down so deep, where fish turn into little specks and where “tiny” sharks rest on the bottom with their fins spread wide. Everything at those depths looks dull and dark from above and the amount and distance of the sharks we encountered was not exciting enough for me, except, when one approached Mark from behind while he was towing the dinghy. His reaction when I pointed out the grey animal near his feet was classic!

Keep a close eye out!

When we approached the shallower area near shore (where a dive shop and resort are located), it became very interesting. The fish were colorful and abundant, the reefs vibrant and the increased shark population moved about at eye level! Mark stayed at a respectable distance, but how cool it is to snorkel alongside these mellow but vicious looking creatures! For the sake of a picture and a movie, or even without those excuses, it is worth the thrill to swim amongst their midst and I didn’t know where to look first. A place to come back again and again. Even when you wade around in the sandy shallows, the sharks keep you company as if you were their best friend. Families with kids – locals and tourists – don their masks and fins and observe these sharks in their beautiful and natural surroundings.  How many North American parents reading this are raising their eyebrows at this very moment? J

Sharks of the deep blue

And of the not so deep blue

Now, we’re talking!

Don’t wiggle your toes, Mark…

Mark and I are very happy to have come to this place and to finally enjoy ourselves a bit. The location and the atmosphere are inducing to do boat projects and the schedule “work in the morning and play in the afternoon” suits us well. To us, cruising really is “living and working on your boat in exotic places” and for now, while being in a comfortable place, we don’t mind it at all!

Church of the small village of Tetamanu

Abandoned house from the time Tetamanu was the capital of the Tuamotus

Idyllic setting for a resort

Bridge to part of the resort

Turtle in Fakarava’s South pass – at least 50 feet down

Back to our area – motu land!

Clearer water than in the San Blas

Paradise found?

Visiting the motus and their sand banks

Time for our honeymoon… Can we pretend to be rich and stay here?

White tip reef shark

Snorkeling in south Fakarava is gorgeous

Another shark encounter…

(Our excuses for the granular pictures. Blogs are posted via email over crappy 2G connections)

Last Weeks in Kuna Yala

Loyal It’s Irie blog readers might have noticed that there was a bit of a time gap between New Year and canal blogs, earlier this month. Mark and I were so busy with a family visit, boat projects and canal preparations, that – before we knew it – the date of our transit came and went. And, afterwards, I had to report about it, of course. J So, let’s back up about a month, back to the time we spent our last weeks (ever?) in the gorgeous San Blas islands. This time, my cousin and her husband got to enjoy it with us.

Griet and Wim arrived on Irie from Belgium on January 4^th and were in for a very diverse and special Panama vacation. The first ten days of their holiday, they received a good taste of the San Blas islands, followed by a great sail to mainland Panama, a short stay in Portobelo, and a totally different “chores” stop in Colon Harbor, with a side trip to the ruins of Fort San Lorenzo and its marvelous view over the Chagres River. Then, they transited the canal with us, to conclude their vacation with two days Panama City. We called their experience the “Best of Panama”!

In Kuna Yala we sailed around and stayed in different anchorages between sandy islands dotted with palm trees. Our guests arrived in the East Lemmons, where they explored three of the four islands. A record amount of over 30 anchored boats made us leave the following day. Yansaladup had us remove and re-install one of the emergency hatches (thanks for helping us clean all the old caulk of, guys!) while in 5 feet of water, and do laundry on shore with water from the well. We also managed to relax one afternoon in the hammock and have a fire on the beach, accompanied by drinks and snacks, a gecko and our German friend Stefan, who we had to say “goodbye” to.

A highlight for many visitors to the San Blas islands, is the river tour with Lisa, a – locally – famous master mola maker and transvestite. Mark and I had never done this daytrip before and figured that having family over was a good opportunity to go. We were accompanied by Vicky and Larry from SV Rocinante. Lisa and a helper picked us up in the anchorage of Salardup for a day of fun. With her motorized boat we drove up a pretty river, where we disembarked into the jungle. She showed us her Kuna family’s traditional cemetery and led us through the dense rainforest, crossing the river a couple of times. While she charged ahead, we - the tourists - lagged behind to have a good look at fauna (Griet, Mark and I spotted some howler monkeys) and flora.

After an hour or so and a short climb, we reached a pretty waterfall with refreshing pools underneath. We all jumped into the gorge, some from a bit higher up than others, and had a chilly swim around. After lunch, it was time to really get wet. Walking stick in hand, stumbling over and – sometimes – falling onto the slippery rocks, we followed the river for a good way back to the jungle trail. Once in a while a jump off a cliff, a short swim, or a slide through the water was needed. It was an interesting and enjoyable experience!

Irie’s freshwater tank was empty, so we stopped briefly in Rio Azucar, to fill up with fresh water from the mountains and to buy a few odds and ends, like freshly baked bread. It was Griet and Wim’s first encounter with an authentic Kuna village. The process went quicker than expected and we managed to sail all the way to the Coco Bandero Cays – another pretty setting of four palmy and balmy islands - the same day. More beaches were explored and refreshing swims were had. The wind had picked up a lot, and so had the amount of visiting sailboats. As a result, we had to skip two favorite anchorages and the morning turned into one of sailing and motoring instead of relaxing and snorkeling. We stopped in the East Lemmons again, where we did have a wonderful snorkeling experience on the reefs in the afternoon.

Then, we started planning our trip to the mainland, so we headed for the Chichime Cays. The first night, we anchored “inside” behind the impressively breaking reefs in 10 feet of incredibly clear water. Diving in was a delight; as if you were in a swimming pool, but with over a knot of current. Showering was a bit challenging to say the least, but we had fun being swept towards the beach, snorkel mask on our heads, then walking back past Irie on the beach and floating back again. The island we were anchored off also had an easy trail, a beautiful beach and some kind of bar. Griet collected many shells and sea beans. The 16 foot waves in the ocean might have been the cause of all the extra flotsam and jetsam.  

Our last night was spent on the “outside” of Chichime, from where we staged ourselves for the 55 mile sail to Portobelo, mainland Panama. We had our last Kuna Yala snorkel and our last cocktail in our – so far – favorite island group. To make the evening even better, Becky and Denny from SV Kokomo joined us in the anchorage and for dinner, drinks and great stories. More friends we had to say goodbye to. L And then, we moved west… to keep moving west!

Griet and Wim filled their suitcase with Belgian goodies for us!

Fixing the emergency hatch: Mark inside, me outside in 4.5 feet of water

Doing laundry with well water on Yansaladup

Pretty surroundings of the East Lemmons

 
Carrying Mark across the river to keep his shoes dry!

Lisa shows us her family's cemetery

Lunch near the waterfall, before we follow the river back

Sometimes walking, sometimes swimming, sometimes jumping and sometimes sliding...

And sometimes falling...

I finally used my hammock, the way it is supposed to be used! :-)