Tuamotu: Rangiroa

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Rangiroa Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago
Feb 20th, 2009
Again the Aranui crew was absolutely capable at their respective duties. We were hauled off the boat at anchor in the lagoon, brought to shore and disembarked on a beach. Some went on a glass bottom boat and some of these went snorkeling, others went scuba diving. Terry and I swam a bit on the rocky, coral strewn beach; not conducive to snorkeling as there was a heavy sea and the water had too much turbulence. Then we were brought by air-conditioned bus to the Gauguin Pearl Farm; after an explanation and a tour we purchased a lovely pendant for my naked gold chain, my souvenir of French Polynesia.
We then swam some more- I say swim, I mean soaked in the South Pacific, walked to the outside ocean away from the lagoon, walked up the beach to Hotel Kia Ora Village, which is a series of beach houses with personal pool or huts on water with glass floor to watch the fish swim by, 1000 to 2000$ Cdn a night!
After our touring, the ship provided a picnic lunch on the beach. We then went back to a better beach with sand and big corral mounds and soaked some more before we returned to the ship for our last night on the Aranui.
I have now started reading about New Zealand, we should be there tomorrow night and we will have skipped a day- but I still don’t get that.
Ship is still rolling, our friends on the top of the ship, in suites, cannot sleep as their bed is perpendicular to the roll and their roll is bigger than ours on the bottom of the ship, he was on the floor this morning. I suggested they get extra pillows and put one on each side of their queen size bed- they forgot! Another couple had their refrigerator come out of the wall. We don’t have a problem where we are under water; we sleep with the roll between a wall and a dresser, so Terry is jammed in place although he did slide up and down a bit and I sleep on 4 pillows as the mattress is a bit hard for my hips and I am good and stuck in place.
This has been a wonderful adventure, Terry is now at ukulele practice, and he performs tonight. We have seen flat atolls and high volcanic islands with fertile valleys separated by very high peaks only accessible by canoes an now the Aranui. People have been nice to us, whether we buy their articles or not, many villages had tables of fruit out for our pleasure. I saw kids eating Tamarin jelly: a small container of brown jelly with tamarind nut. The kids told me to eat the covering of the nut, spit the inside and lick the jelly off my fingers. I went to buy some but only had a big bill; the lady gave it to me, free. That is typical of the Marquesian people.
A great first stage of our trip.
TTY from NZ.

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