3 weeks cruising and sailing French Polynesia
Holy Fakarava, we’re not in Tempe anymore! On Friday, May 13, my husband Peter and I embarked onto the Wind Spirit yacht for a 10-day sailing through French Polynesia, departing from Papeete, Tahiti.
We were sailing to the Tuamotus, specifically the atoll of Fakarava. It is home to the second-largest lagoon after Rangiroa, and has been named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve for its rich marine environment. The snorkeling was amazingly vibrant and the water crystal clear. The water’s salinity was so high, Peter could practically take a nap while floating — he usually sinks!
Pearl and copra (coconut) farming is how most of the 800 inhabitants (2012) make a living. Tahitian black pearls are desirable, and here they were in quantities unimaginable. We were buying from the locals whose creations with pearls and shells were overwhelming.
The next day we were at Rangiroa. This is a diver’s paradise and everything is huge. There were tuna, hammerhead sharks, napoleon fish, black-tip sharks and more. The current moves quickly, and if you can grab onto a rock or get under an alcove, you can watch the undersea world go by. The end of the day brought a double rainbow that was breathtakingly gorgeous and seemed to begin and end in the ocean.
After a full day at sea we arrived back at Huahine in the Society Islands on May 19. That day would have been Peter’s mom’s 100th birthday. She had inspired us to see the islands.
That evening on the way to the small casino we confirmed our extended stay only to find out it’s an 11-day cruise. We were so excited! And then Peter lost $50 at blackjack — bummer. But he put down the $100 chip he had and said, “Come on Mom, bring me a blackjack!” The casino got quiet, the dealer reconfirmed Peter’s bet, and dealt blackjack!
The last day of the three-week cruise brought us to Moorea, an island we had visited many times in the ‘90s. There was a favorite local woman, Linda, who worked at the property and got to know us over the years. We thought it would be fun to find her, and only needed to ask one taxi driver on the pier who happened to be our friend’s niece. She reunited us with Linda. Talk about serendipitous!
The writer lives in Tempe.