April 29, 2006. 18º 17” S; 142º 11” W; Ravahere Atoll. Sunny and calm.
Since we were unable to land at Pukurua, Expedition Leader Tom Ritchie sought permission from the authorities in Tahiti for an alternate landing. Being French they, of course, denied every request. Tom decided to confine our activities to water sports (Snorkeling, SCUBA, the glass-bottom boat). As we don’t have to land to do these things, he figured that would be OK. He picked Ravahere Atoll, an uninhabited atoll in the center of the Tuamoto Archipelago. The ship found calm water in the island’s lee and set about station keeping. It was only ½ mile off the reef but the bottom falls away sharply and the depth was 14,000 feet.
Paul went snorkeling on a shallow part of the reef, where fish were in abundance, the water crystal clear and the current minimal. It was probably the most spectacular snorkel site he’s ever seen. You could get quite close to the live coral and watch the reef fish feed and play.
Since we are close to our next scheduled stop, Raroia, the plan is to do water sports in the morning and afternoon, until everyone is sated.
April 30, 2006 Raroia.
The ship arrived early in the morning and commenced station keeping just outside the only break in the coral reef that surrounds the large lagoon. It is a 2.5-mile Zodiac ride through the entrance and to the small community. The tide is going out and the current has set up a surf in the race with whirlpools and standing waves the look to be 3-4 ft. high. Tim, our Zodiac driver, navigated through the surf with no (or hardly any) spray coming aboard. We had a dry landing at a small concrete pier where some men were butchering sea turtles. We needed to stay clear of turtle entrails that threatened to tangle in our props.
The community ashore is small. Some youngsters on bicycles told us there were 50 people … but I think that may be wrong, judging by the number of neat homes. Almost each had a solar array charging a bank of batteries to provide electric power via an inverter. Some had noisy diesel generators in sheds. A lot of satellite dishes were in evidence. The children showed us where Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon Tiki had washed ashore. There is a new landing strip and the governor of the Tuamotos is scheduled to arrive tomorrow to inaugurate it. There are new telephone booths and signs indicate that service will commence on May 3rd (four days from now). Actually, two islands in the chain that surrounds the lagoon are populated. The other is mostly a fishing village.
I found a craftsman who was building wooden skiffs. One was framed out in the traditional style; the other was already planked in plywood. They seemed sturdy.
The locals are planting new coconut palms alongside (actually in) the roadbed. Since the road is already lined with tall mature palms, this must be a form of urban renewal.
I bought two shell necklaces from a roadside vendor. She was also selling black pearls, but wanted $200 for a pearl similar to the one I bought for $5, two islands back. In retrospect, I think there might have been a language or translation problem. I suspect she meant $20.
May 1, 2006, Fukarava Atoll 16º 03.68” S; 145º 37.548 W
We took the early morning Zodiac ride into town. The ship had entered the lagoon and was at anchor 500m off the pier, so it was an easy ride through calm waters. A small band met us, with little girls doing the hula. A Polynesian lady gave out Frangipani flowers, which we wore behind our ears.
The island is long and narrow, serviced by a single concrete-surfaced road (complete with speed bumps). The ocean is on one side; the lagoon is on the other. The whole Island measures 37 miles by 16 miles, but the part where we landed, in the village of Rotoava, is quite narrow. It seems modern, with underground electric service, a satellite ground station distributing UHF television, and even a new, not-yet-in-service telephone booth. I bought Rosemarie a necklace with three black pearls in a shell setting resembling flower petals. The homes seem neat and mostly well kept, with lots of flowers. Rosemarie (along with a lot of our group) took refuge from the sun in a Catholic Church, beautifully decorated and quite ornate. For her, it was a place to sit down after a long hike
After Rosie returned to the ship, Paul set out with a group doing a nature walk, led by John Kernan. When that was finished, he found a nice black pearl, unset, that he bought for $10. It is smoother than the $5 pearl, but not as shiny!
A cold beer in the lounge tasted good back aboard the Endeavour.
May 2, 2006; Makatea 15º 49.39” S; 148º 17.07 W; calm and sunny.
Makatea is not only the name of this specific island in the northwest of the Tuamotus, but is applied generally to a type of island in which coral formed on an undersea seamount which then was raised by geologic/volcanic action. Makatea is about 80 meters, 260 feet above the sea, the edge a sharp cliff rising from the sea. Tom’s handout said that the exposed cliffs represent “hundreds of thousands of years of coral growth before the island was uplifted.” Henderson Island in the Pitcairn group is also a makatea-type island.
Deposits of phosphate were found on the island and, until 1966 were mined commercially by an English-French group. We anchored off the concrete pier where the phosphate was transferred by crane to boats. The bases of the cranes are still visible, though much battered by the sea. There is a very steep road leading to the upper island and climbing it was a serious exertion. Some people were able to get rides in rickety pickup trucks to the top. Our daily activities sheet said the hike along the top would be about 1.5 miles. I walked with a gentleman whose hand-held GPS said we went more than 2.5 miles under a broiling sun. I’d brought a half-bottle of water and wished I’d packed more. Many were without water and became dehydrated. There is no “town,” just a small string of ramshackle houses, a fairly modern police station and communications building with a big satellite dish. We met a young lady who took us off the main road to meet her father. Some of the passengers were able to communicate with them in French. Along the way, we spotted a Makatea fruit dove high in an unidentified fruit tree and everyone dutifully stopped to try and get a photograph of the elusive bird. The tree turns out to be a pistachio. The seed of the fruit is processed to make the familiar toasted, salty nut.
The cold beer back aboard ship tasted wonderful.
We have taken aboard some French Polynesian Immigration authorities to clear those who will be leaving the ship in two day’s time in Papeete. We, of course, and quite a number of others will be continuing. Some people plan to stay aboard for the whole four segments.
Bora Bora Wednesday May 3, 2006; 16º 29.44’S; 151º 43.89W
We are held outside of the lagoon of Bora Bora for a tsunami warning. An earthquake was reported in the Tonga trench. Nothing materialized and we entered an hour later. The MV Paul Gaugin followed us in and anchored nearby. They hadn't heard about the tsunami warning until our captain radioed it to them. It was deep in the Tonga trench and turned out to be a non-event although Prof. Jim Kelley, the geologist aboard kept hoping he’d see something. He later downloaded graphics from seismic sites and produced a number of Power Point presentations on this tsunami and the one a year and a half ago in Indonesia.
We all Zodiaced ashore to tour Bora Bora in an air-conditioned van. We saw their modern facilities, hotels (all like thatched-roof cottages, the Club Med, shopping, Bloody Mary’s restaurant (where Paul had … what else … a bloody mary) and Rosie browsed the paraeos and tee shirts and decided she didn’t like any of them. The island is decidedly commercial with an airstrip, bustling seaport and construction everywhere.
In the afternoon, Paul took a Zodiac out to a “motu,” an island astride the fringing reef that Tom negotiated for our use. It is Motu Tabu (from which our word, taboo, is derived). Apparently Lindblad has used it before, but new owners were balking. According to Tom, when enough baksheesh changed hands, he had secured its use today but not for Friday. It is a lovely motu, about 250 meters by 100 meters, with a white coral-sand beach (Parrotfish-poop, Dennis keeps reminding us.) The parrotfish eat at the living coral, grind it up and excrete it as small particles that eventually form the beach sand. There were coolers of beer and soft drinks, lounge chairs (not enough) and lots of picnic tables. Most of us donned our snorkel gear and waded out to a little, pretty battered, reef. While the coral was not much to look at, we did see lots of fish, parrotfish, surgeonfish, transparent pencil fish swimming near the surface and willing to brush up against us. There were lots of fish that none of us could identify, but it was fun watching them. The rest of the afternoon was spent in a beach lounge, beer in hand watching the passing scene against the tropical backdrop of the peaks that form Bora Bora.
Tahiti (called Otaheiti in Cook’s and Bligh’s journals because when they asked the natives the name of the place they said “It’s Tahiti.”) The “it’s” is the “O” in Polynesian and therefore in their recording of the name.
Thursday, May 4, 2006; 17º 32.22S; 149º 34.21W. Tahiti
Everyone has to disembark here. The 68 passengers who are leaving and the 40 of us who plan to continue. After a morning tour, which included an excellent museum, we lunched at the former Beachcomber hotel, now an Intercontinental, where Lindblad had arranged day rooms. We should have taken advantage of their beach and pool, but elected, instead, to visit the Paul Gauguin museum. Basically they have reproductions of his works, the originals of which are in "richer museums" around the world.
It felt good to get back to the ship a 6:30 pm. We enjoyed a birthday party of one of the British ladies, Margaret Bennett, joined by a Swiss couple, Bert and Reina Van Messel, and another pair of Americans. The waitstaff sang their familiar "Happy-happy, happy Birthday" that we remember from previous voyages, and the wine flowed freely. We undocked at 1 pm, heading back to Bora Bora.
Maketea Island. Comprised of a thick layer of coral that sits on top of a volcano which has risen from the sea
Solar cells power inverters for electricity at each individual home on Raroia
Dr. Jim Kelley, Geologist, Oceanographer, Zodiac driver and Power Point whiz
The beach where Cook landed
Paul enjoying a Bloody Mary at Bloody Mary's on Bora Bora