Written by Mia, we were in Fakarava back in August and loved it, read more below:

We loved Fakarava so much that Teo and I made up a song about it and I can only tell you that you are very fortunate not to be subjected to our singing it over and over.

We entered the atoll using the north pass and were happy that it was a wide and easy entry, in fact we probably didn’t need to get the timing just right as we did with the passes into Kauehi and Tahanea. It probably would have been navigable at any time, maybe even in the dark, although once inside we prefer to have the sun high in the sky making our path through the water clear. We still shudder to think about moving around these atolls in the dark.

We picked up a mooring ball in front of town and considered ourselves very lucky since as we were approaching another boat was just leaving. We gave the town of Rotoava a good explore and we even have our eye on a two story house with a dock and a lot of promise, we might have to fix the roof before moving in, but then again it doesn’t rain that often. We were charmed by the town and the friendly locals. We walked to the windward side of the atoll which was probably a distance of a block or so and were impressed by the pounding waves of the Pacific. The church in is beautiful and adorned with long strings of shells. Teo and I were climbing a tree in the sunset and we had nice chat with a very sweet grandma who gave Teo one of her strawberry yogurts. There are a few options for buying supplies and some cafes ashore. One evening we joined the families from Caramba and Luminesce for crepes and ice cream which is a treat for us. One morning Jon paddled ashore and came back with fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, yum yum yum!

Since arriving in French Polynesia, we have struggled to get enough internet for our tasks like paying credit card bills and taxes, let alone communicating with friends and family and keeping on top of the blog. Being internet free is not usually a problem, in fact a break from constantly checking our devices is one of the things we chalk up in the pro column of this lifestyle. However, some things just require internet and it is sometimes very tough to make that happen when we are faced with a deadline. Everyone assumes everyone is connected at all times and it seems that when you explain that you cannot get online people don’t believe you, not really. We had high hopes for Fakarava and it didn’t really play out the way we had hoped.

We keep pinching ourselves when we see how clear the water really is, even along the coast of the town quay. You clearly see the reef sharks and coral bommies even standing on the shore. We also have lovely fish swimming around the boat. Most of them love the oatmeal we were happy to share with them while the oatmeal lasted. In Fakarava we actually ran out of many of our reserves. There was a dangerous few days where Itchy Foot did not have the ability to make pancakes, I am getting choked up and can’t really tell you much more than that. We planned to stock up in Tahiti and we stayed longer in Fakarava than we planned, partly because of enjoying it so much and partly because we were waiting for good sailing weather.

Fakarava is one of the larger atolls and because we don’t move very quickly while we are keeping a close eye out for coral bommies and because we prefer to move during the hours of the day when the sun is highest in the sky, we stopped halfway down at a place called Kakaiau. The atoll is narrow here, probably 20 paces and all night we could here the waves pounding the shore. We had this gorgeous place with clear, navy blue water to ourselves and used a few days to take care of a disturbing boat job and in the end we were happy we had a weevil infestation. Is anyone else amused by the last sentence?

We moved on to Harifa in the southeast corner and the water was the beautiful turquoise of our dreams. There was kite surfing going on a sand bank nearby and a big throng of kids, including some locals really enjoyed building forts ashore and of course building bonfires. We took a few long walks and explored the made a couple of treks to the windward side of the atoll. One day we walked through a shallow lagoon and it seemed that the sharks dropped their kids off for nursery here. The baby reef sharks are actually really cute. And then the terrain turns almost lunar as you approach the barrier reef. We waded out to the edge where you can clearly see the drop off. We were impressed by the dunes of dead coral that were five meters high. We sat there and envisioned the storm that sent the coral up that high. The next day we walked the other way and did some amazing rock pooling, picking shells and checking out the hermit crabs feisty enough to be on violent windward side. We really enjoyed those three anchorages and our exploring.

But by far the highlight of Fakarava was snorkelling the pass with the beautiful coral and incredible reef fish and the sharks. Did I mention we were snorkelling with sharks? It filled me with dread to begin with and then when you see their nonchalance and attitude towards swimmers it is clear they  do not consider us yummy in the slightest. We snorkelled the pass four times and just drifted along with our dinghy. It was incredible and at times really quick like a roller coaster. We nicknamed a certain part to the trip the “superman sector”. We hung out with a half Norwegian half Colombian family from Singapore there and the kids got along really well. One afternoon we explored the tiny  town that used to be the capital of the Tuamotus island group. The little church has an altar out of mother of pearl and was decorated with the same strings of shells. There are some beautiful cabanas for rent as Fakarava south is a world class dive site. Everywhere we visit we are impressed by the attention to detail and the small things the locals do to make themselves and their surroundings things of beauty.