We sail about 450 miles south from the Marquesas to the Tuamotu archipelago. Though both island groups are in French Polynesia, they have separate cultures and languages.
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Our First Atoll! We arrive outside the pass to the lagoon at Raoria, wait for daylight, wait for the tide to be right, wait for the supply boat to go through ahead of us, then cautiously pick our way through the pass. We sail across the lagoon to the windward side of the atoll which is the calmest safest place to anchor IF you are on the lagoon side, not the ocean side. |
So we hop in the water right away to see what is there, plus it is time for a bath after that passage.
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And right away there is this squishy, googley thing. I think Henry had one of these in the bathtub. |
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Lots of small fish with bright colors, strange shapes and wonderful patterns. Lots of fish, trust me. |
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This is a bottle brush anemone. Each spiral is about the size of a thimble and can retract in half a heartbeat. |
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This is the business end of a manta ray (and some of the internal workings.) Debbie took this pic elsewhere but she doesn't read the blog so mum is the word. This guy is about five feet from side to side. |
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This eel swims around in a tide pool on the ocean side of the island. It is about a foot long. |
