Three great days in Fakarava

Our view from the anchorage of a nice bungalow overlooking the lagoon

Some places are best described by the pictures… Fakarava is one of them.

The comment in the previous post from Ellen & David was telling: they said this was their best snorkeling & scuba from several years sailing around the world. I hope this shows a glimpse of what they mean…

A surprise on the way the the restaurant… what’s that in the water??

The cook is filleting fish and throwing the leftovers to the blacktip sharks, swarming like hungry dogs!

Hum… it’s just 2 feet deep, but does anyone want to go swimming? check out the next photo.

Sabby cruising through the blacktip shallows. Turns out they are totally harmless.

The snorkeling in Fakarava’s south pass is a feast for the eyes.

Although the pass itself is 80 feet deep, the steep coral walls rise up to 3 feet deep, making for perfect visibility in shallow water.

Captain K freediving and stoked

Schools of fish congregating around the pier pilings owned by the dive center.

Numerous fish taking shelter under the boats.

A fat Napolean wrasse non chalantly munching on the reef’s goodies.

Next to the coral wall, looking up at the silvery water and the colorful fish.

Besides blacktip sharks, heftier gray reef sharks also patrol the pass.

We attach the dinghy to a mooring ball on the outside corner of the pass, and drop down the mooring line for a SCUBA dive. We keep someone aboard as a dinghy operator, and the divers drift with the current into the lagoon.

Diyana with oncoming traffic. Fakarava’s south pass is famous for its “wall of sharks”. It begins at around 70 feet of depth.

The sharks become so numerous its unbelievable.

Running out of air quickly because our hearts are pounding !

Even returning to the mothership is gorgeous… note the currents in the pass in the background.

The ladies getting ready for a big night at the …. dive center. That’s the only thing around here. The closest town is at the north pass of Fakarava, almost 30 miles away (5-6hrs by sailboat).

What a fine looking crew! Especially with a backdrop of mother of pearl shells. It was time to say good-bye to our wonderful friends Matt, Diyana, and Melanie. They were flying back home the next day, after three weeks on the boat sailing from Marquesas to Tuamotos.