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Published: June 12th 2013
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Next stop…Fakarava…and don’t worry if you have never heard of that atoll before reading this blog…Rangiroa…Fakarava…these are the Louboutin and the Jimmy Choo of the diving world….and if you are lost here, it’s ok, since when divers know about beautiful stilettos!
So 45 minutes little hop to Rangiroa, and here I am in Fakarava. This time staying at Marama pension, managed by Jacques. This place is a small world, I’ve been bumping in the same people over the last few days…that said…there are those in the know…and those who are not. Find out today that some people did get charged a huge premium on what I get charged….for diving…for lodging…who say we are all equal in this world…in the Tuamotus…here it’s all about…contacts...good level diving…and speak French…good luck for everybody else, and I know, it’s neither fair, neither right!
So before you get bored of my writing….here are the facts…Rangiroa was all about the big encounters, great food…and Franck, Marie and Lili (few will understand….)!
Fakarava is all about…the sharks…the
sharks…amazing people…and a nice bike ride…
I truly hope that by now I lost you!
They have hundreds of sharks in Rangiroa, but they are all deep…..deep as 50 meters ++…not great for the pics…still great for my eyes!
Fakarava is different…..the corals….even if only hard corals are beautiful…the fishes…even little….are millions…than there are the sharks….by the hundreds….at 20 to 40 meters….perfect for my camera…if only those guys were not shy!
I did 4 dives here with Karine and Serge from Fakarava Dive Center…there is a business model, and there is … a diving model…Fakarava style…
Karine and Serge knew I was coming for months…and the last few weeks we had exchanges few emails…about their diving world…and mine…ready to smile!
On arrival, they explain to me that they had four open waters who had just wanted to dive with them, but hey, I was booked, and it was supposed to be a ride….guess what….they lose money with one diver…but Serge wanted a fun buddy…so they kept me…the open waters could go to Top Dive…trust me, it’s not the first neither the last
I heard that story in a week time!
Serge was ok to lose “some” money, he’s been here for 12 years, and as he told me in Papeete today…after our flight to “the other” world….it’s not that fun everyday…meaning…and thanks a lot Karine and Serge…we had a great time. Trust me, it was the same feeling in Rangiroa with Franck!
So I did my homeworks…kind of lots of them, and nobody could truthfully tell me the difference between Rangiroa and Fakarava. Well, “Fak” is cleaner, the atoll is nicer….but the diving….
Lots more corals…lots more sharks…lots more small fishes….way less diversity when we speak about the good big guys down there under!
How to create a good dive with a lot of sharks? First you have to know, even if you won’t believe me….most of these sharks are just pure cowards…aka, they are shy.
So, many divers…especially without much experience…bring more bubbles…bring way less interaction. I’m not Clooney…I don’t need my privacy…but diving with Serge…only two of us down there while Karine is keeping an eye in the boat…means…not many bubbles…we can hide…and the sharks
can come…very close…and they did.
Now I wanted to have the pic with the wall of sharks…got close to it…but these sharks are still pretty small….so when you have 200 right in front of you…at least 160 of them are actually…not that great on a basic underwater pictures….so I did enjoy the moment, for the quality of the pictures…you can judge! Pretty average is the least I can say!
I believe Fakarava is nicer than Rangiroa…I acknowledge that people actually say hello in the street…way more than in Rangiroa….but that the food was way more “gourmet” in Rangiroa, even if I had some pretty amazing “poisson cru” in Fakarava. Poisson cru being red tuna with coconut milk.
Both islands do get also their fair share of boaters…those guys going around the world on a sail…nice… not for me…I couldn’t deal with my other half being not able to pamper herselve properly…for such a long time!
It’s already time to leave the Tuamotus…Bora bora 0- Tuamotus 1….I’ll be back…but if a girl want to pay the trip, she can still bring me to Bora Bora, I’ll take care of
showing here the other face of those beautiful islands of the Tuamotus…specially down deep under the water. But don’t worry, if you invite me to the St Regis, I’ll still guarantee the serious complementary upgrade! and of course, the bubbles...in the bottle...above, and below the water!
Normally, you would aim for a PADI 5 star dive center anywhere in the world….here they have Top Dive…they give you 4 dives a day…but hey…when you go at 51 meters down on the first dive, than 42 meters on your second dive, and both dives are around 60 minutes…it’s good to be with the “smaller center”…specially when the DM applies the diving model, not the business model, you’ve been warned….I met a young French guy on the way back…well…not that young, another of those “single”, no direction beside the pleasure…but who cares…he was going with the business outfit….so for this, thanks Cindy, you did a great job…as we say in Luxembourg…sometimes…smaller…is way better!
Don’t forget…when you go deep and long for your first dive…than repeat the same thing after a great lunch of local seafood….there is really no need to go for a third dive…because here…deep means
better…and deep and longer…means…what you really want!
I will be back in the Tuamotus…after all, over the last 11 years, it’s only my third time in French Polynesia…but first, I’ve got to finish my list dive wish list…could take me few years…but not that much, so Rang and Fak…expect me before 2020! Way before!
Next dive…without many fishes actually…coming soon…on the way back home! And I just received an email…we need some snow…before I need to change my plans for the coming weeks….smile!
And yes I know, I love this life...and I'm thankful for it...if you weren't already aware of it!
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Patiperro
Daniel Arellano Schwarzenberg
Amazing
Looks like an amazing place to dive. Congrats on the blog and the diving - so many places you've been to I'd like to see some day and dive them. Cheers!