Fakarava Atoll, French Polynesia
Happy May Day from the South Pacific!
Another glorious day in paradise for all of us aboard the good ship National Geographic Endeavour. In the early light we sailed through the kilometer wide Ngarue pass into the vast lagoon of Fakarava Atoll which is a 60 km by 25 km rectangle and is the second largest atoll in Polynesia. A double rainbow greeted us as we anchored off the capitol village of Rotoava, located in the northeast corner of the atoll on one of the 7 major islands on the periphery of the coral encirclement. After clearing into French Polynesia (we have actually been traveling with special permission in French Polynesia for days now), we were free to go ashore and explore the village and the island at our leisure. One of the wonderful things about being in this place is that it is classified as a UNESCO nature reserve and all the flora and fauna of the land and the sea are protected.
Ashore, we were greeted by Polynesian music and two beautiful young dancers as well as a host of venders with lovely shell and black pearl jewelry at very reasonable prices. Many of us then walked along the main street to visit one of the first churches in the Polynesian islands which was erected in 1874 and built out of local coral. It was exquisite inside with freshly painted blue walls and ceiling, ornate wooden carvings and mother of pearl alter decorations. We also had plenty of time to just wander the streets and visit with locals or take a nature walk with our naturalists.
After a fine lunch aboard, we had the opportunity to return to the island for an afternoon of exploring on our own, taking a ride in the glass bottom boat, or snorkeling on a small coral reef inside the main lagoon. Some of the snorkelers has a special treat when two large Pacific manta rays swam lazily by as they floated just off the inner reef. Our scuba contingent had an opportunity to do a drift dive in the pass and explore the rich, protected reef on the outside of the atoll. They returned to the ship with great praises for the underwater beauty of this place.
Sunset found us sailing again through Ngarue passage on our way back out into the rolling, sweet swells of the Pacific after a truly memorable day at Fakarava Atoll, French Polynesia, South Pacific.
Happy May Day from the South Pacific!
Another glorious day in paradise for all of us aboard the good ship National Geographic Endeavour. In the early light we sailed through the kilometer wide Ngarue pass into the vast lagoon of Fakarava Atoll which is a 60 km by 25 km rectangle and is the second largest atoll in Polynesia. A double rainbow greeted us as we anchored off the capitol village of Rotoava, located in the northeast corner of the atoll on one of the 7 major islands on the periphery of the coral encirclement. After clearing into French Polynesia (we have actually been traveling with special permission in French Polynesia for days now), we were free to go ashore and explore the village and the island at our leisure. One of the wonderful things about being in this place is that it is classified as a UNESCO nature reserve and all the flora and fauna of the land and the sea are protected.
Ashore, we were greeted by Polynesian music and two beautiful young dancers as well as a host of venders with lovely shell and black pearl jewelry at very reasonable prices. Many of us then walked along the main street to visit one of the first churches in the Polynesian islands which was erected in 1874 and built out of local coral. It was exquisite inside with freshly painted blue walls and ceiling, ornate wooden carvings and mother of pearl alter decorations. We also had plenty of time to just wander the streets and visit with locals or take a nature walk with our naturalists.
After a fine lunch aboard, we had the opportunity to return to the island for an afternoon of exploring on our own, taking a ride in the glass bottom boat, or snorkeling on a small coral reef inside the main lagoon. Some of the snorkelers has a special treat when two large Pacific manta rays swam lazily by as they floated just off the inner reef. Our scuba contingent had an opportunity to do a drift dive in the pass and explore the rich, protected reef on the outside of the atoll. They returned to the ship with great praises for the underwater beauty of this place.
Sunset found us sailing again through Ngarue passage on our way back out into the rolling, sweet swells of the Pacific after a truly memorable day at Fakarava Atoll, French Polynesia, South Pacific.
