Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Pacific Atoll: Fakarava

Hey everybody,

I've spent the last few weeks in Fakarava, an atoll near Tahiti.

But first... I had to leave Australia. I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little bit on my last day in OZ. Flying out of Sydney and seeing the sea cliffs and the harbor from above just as I did when I arrived last December made me nostalgic. Even if I never make it back, I'll never forget that view. Coming to OZ was a major leap in my life; I booked a one way ticket, I packed just about all my shit worth keeping. I had no idea what to expect. I abandoned the whole life I had built back in the bay area to embark on this no plan journey down under. Sydney looked so beautiful the day I arrived. I was excited about all of the possibilities of the trip. I was excited surf in warm water, go rock climbing, party like an Aussie. Maybe I would land a sweet job and just settle there.

No such luck; the Oz leg of my trip is over. It didn't last as long as perhaps I had hoped but in the end I accomplished just about everything I set out to. I didn't really fall into the job of my dreams and enjoy any of that good Aussie money. Instead I spent most of my savings financing an epic road trip around that giant hunk of land. As far as my 'balance sheet' in life, I'm probably worse off than when I left: I have a lot less money, a big hole in my resume, no job, apartment or girlfriend. I might be in a bit better shape physically but even that is hard to say. All told that's a lot of 'cost' for this trip. But shit, that's life and the journey was incredible and life changing. I'm truly grateful for all of the experiences I had in OZ and especially the people I met along the way.



Now I'm off on the next adventure. After 2 days of air travel and an interesting night spent in the Papeete airport, I arrived on a remote atoll in the Tuamotus Islands called Fakarava. This 'island is actually a sunken volcano that has left behind a ring of sand and coral that is 20 or 30 miles across. The scenery is straight out of a magazine: Lush palm tree's, pink coral sand beaches sitting atop the bluest water on the planet. The island is pristine (apart from the disconcerting amount of plastic that has accumulated on the windward shore).

I touched down in Fakarava on the evening of my second Friday the 13th in a row. I hitch-hiked into town. I easily spotted Tusitala from shore and knew Dave and Briana must be nearby. I wandered around until I ran into them at a tiny grocery store that sold pricey but refreshing bottles of beer. We knocked a couple back and got all caught up before loading up their dingy with all of my luggage and schlepping it to the boat. It was good to see them and the boat in good condition this far down the road. They have sailed from San Francisco to Costa Rica to the Galapagos to the Marquesas to here. Both Dave and B are salty vets of the cruising game now and have a pretty mean tan going.

I spent the first couple days getting situated and helping with a bit of boat work. Then we did some grocery shopping, I had a nice long run with Dave and we went to a pearl farm which was a cool experience for sure. I learned a lot from an interesting German ex-pat who had been in the pearl farming game since the 70's. Turns out, even with modern techniques, it's difficult to produce a perfect pearl. After getting an in depth rundown of the process, we visited their boutique. The quality of their best pearls was stunning. Given the difficulty to produce these shiny nuggets and their beauty, it's easy to see why they fetch such a premium.

Once we were done with town stuff in the north we set off to the 'South Pass', some 30 miles away at the other end of the island. The passage was smooth sailing on the inside of the atoll with flat water and a nice consistent breeze. There was still some excitement: a nice windy rain squall would pop up here and there; we also had to have somebody on deck keeping an eye out for rogue unmarked coral bommies. Fortunately the water is so clear you can see them from a mile away. Halfway down the island we threw out an anchor near a nice little beach. We paddled ashore and set up a sweet little slack-line between two palms. It was good times, save the mozzies and sandflies that showed up in force at dusk.

The next day we arrived at the pristine anchorage next to the 'South Pass'. The anchorage is protected on one side by a shallow sandbar and then a 'motu' or strip of island on the other. Immediately after dropping anchor we see a couple of small but intimidating fins cruising along the surface. Blacktip sharks. The's fella's aren't particularly dangerous but they can get up to about six feet and they aren't afraid to get close to you (especially if you've speared a fish... more on that in a few).

This place is great and there's no shortage of fun stuff to do. The first day we went to the 'South Pass' to snorkel. The pass itself is a few hundred yards wide gap in the reef. Simply put, the diving and snorkeling here is world-class. We jumped in the water outside the pass and let the current sweep us past a half mile of amazing scenery. The water clarity is stunning: you can see the bottom clearly in 50+ feet of water. The coral is vibrant and colorful, interestingly similar to in appearance but quite different in formation to the Great Barrier Reef. The wildlife, however, was on a whole 'nother level. In the shallows there were a brilliant array of reef fish of various sizes; this was a very healthy and colorful ecosystem to be sure. Towards the center of the channel is where things got interesting. There were dozens of massive schools of fish, swimming in unison, avoiding predators etc. Oh and the predators... laying in wait on the inside of the pass were dozens and dozens of sizable sharks who were having a grand time snacking on the fish passing by. We also saw a couple of big barracudas, which were both odd looking and intimidating at the same time.

Seeing all of this fish made us hungry. Dave was keen to put his sweet spearfishing rig to use. We spoke with some locals about where was good hunting and which fish were good to eat (many fish are contaminated with algae called siguetera). They told us to avoid the pass because it was too sharky and pointed us in the direction of a few bommies inside the atoll. We cruised over, suited up and jumped in. Spearfishing, as it turns out, is really good fun. It goes like this: You snorkel around and look for a good fish to shoot. You hold your breath and dive down deep while trying to relax and equalize the pressure sinus's with the depth as you go. Then you try and sneak up on the fish by hiding behind coral heads, playing dead etc. Then, if you're lucky and you get close enough, you shoot the fish in the head. Now's the fun part... within seconds there will be a half dozen or more sharks worked into a frenzy vying to get a nibble of your kill. At this point you can either, hold the spear and fish out of the water, which confuses the sharks since they don't know where the dying fish went. Or you can swim like hell to the dinghy trailing the speargun and fish with a long leash so that at least if all hell breaks loose with the sharks you are a little ways away. Most times I chose the latter.

For the most part our spearfishing was successful and uneventful. Unfortunately, on one occasion, I was a little over aggressive with my free-dive and didn't equalize properly which resulted in a bit of a bloody nose. I was fine, but this meant I needed to give the freediving and spearfishing a rest. Good thing the wind kicked up for the next couple of days. At long last, on borrowed gear, I was able to give kiteboarding a try for the first time. This is something that I've been wanting to do for ages, and now that I've done it, I just want to do it more. The first day went surprisingly well. After 10 minutes of getting dragged around by the kite in no particular direction and swallowing a lot of saltwater, I found myself skimming across the water, in near silence, at breakneck speeds!! My sailing speed record is officially shattered, I musta been going 20 knots. I haven't quite figured out how to ride on port tack since I'm terrible at surfing with my left foot forward. On day two I got a little carried away on starboard and ended up a mile or two downwind in the atoll and had to be scooped up by Dave and our other friends in the dingy.

All in all our time in Fakarava was amazing. We hung out with other cruisers on the beach and barbequed our fresh fish, crabs, konks etc. We did loads of fun activities. Dave and I played lots of chess. I also had ample opportunity to reflect on my previous trip and my life in general. I was tremendously grateful for the change in scenery. Next stop: Tahiti!! Stay tuned :)















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