Written by Mia back in July during our stay in the lovely atoll of Tahanea.
We arrived in Tahanea mid morning after a light winded night sail. At one point to get the timing right, we just took down the sails and drifted. We timed the pass perfectly and we entered the pass with two other family boats, Luminesce and Debonair. We compared notes and Luminesce entered 30 minutes before the tide change, they had three knots of current against them. Debonair followed and at ten minutes before, had one and a half knots against them. When it was our turn, it was five minutes past the turning tide and we had half a knot of current with us. It became very quickly clear how in the passes of the Tuamotus as in life itself, timing is everything.
The forecast showed that we could expect some strong winds in the days to come so we motored across the atoll to an anchorage where the palm trees would offer us a little protection from wind and waves. Tahanea is a national park and this is the prettiest water we have seen yet. There are not enough adjectives for this paradise! As we traveled from one end of the atoll to the other, we marvelled at the turquoise water especially where the bommies broke the surface along the way. All of a sudden the cobalt water appears to be brownish where the coral grows up just a half a meter beneath the surface. Moving across these atolls requires careful navigation and as many eyes on watch as possible. Once we were safely anchored, we spent lots of time in the water. There were beautiful coral heads nearby and even took the dinghies out to the closer bommies to snorkel. The rainbow of pretty fish are enchanting and on the way back we chatted about our favourites and the personality they seem to show.
We enjoyed a nice little neighbourhood of three family boats in Tahanea. We were invited to Luminesce for coffee and doughnuts one Sunday morning. The kids got along very well and there is no sound nicer than throng of giggling kids and it has to be said that the adults very much enjoyed their coffee chat as well. Itchy Foot hosted a games night that featured Qwirkle, Scrabble, Ali Baba Buckaroo and Apples to Apples complete with bursts of more laughter. And we went to Debonair to enjoy some dinghy sailing. What a lovely feeling! We even did some boat school ashore together where the kids mapped out one of the motus. They paced out the perimeter and made calculations and notes. They drew up proper charts and then they finally buried treasure for future boat kids to discover. Please contact us if you want the coordinates!
We attended a birthday party ashore for Arlo, a great guy and one of Teo’s favourites. Debonair throws a great party, complete with a scavenger hunt where the two teams of kids built boats, made art and recycled and upcycled stuff from the beach. We munched on popcorn, homemade limeade, mango cake and enjoyed our time relaxing around the bonfire. The kids had a fabulous time and no one was keen to go back home and at one point there was even nighttime swimming, lying on their backs staring at the stars. It was a very memorable day.
We stayed in this paradise with lovely company for a little over a week. We watched the locals farm the wild coconuts for copra and light the husks into bonfires along the the shoreline. They were a family from a nearby motu stopped by to check in with us and take notes about the boat and the occupants. On a clear, calm day I climbed the mast for the first time and it was glorious to peer at the turquoise water and from up there the reef sharks were very clear as they cruised around. Teo showed his independence and took the kayak out on his own to visit his friends. He also staked a claim to a little coral reef behind Itchy Foot and he kept showing everyone “Teo’s reef”.
Once the weather calmed down we moved to an anchorage on the other side of the atoll and went ashore to a gorgeous set of islands. We had a picnic and great explore and even swam between the islands. It is always a special feeling to swim to a neighbouring island for an explore. There was such a pronounced feeling of really getting away from it all in this place. There was special sand that was made up of tiny perfect discs and lots of hermit crabs and sea birds that lay their eggs totally exposed on the sand, a sign of trust and little experience of danger.
Before we left Tahanea, Itchy Foot returned to our first anchorage to retrieve a forgotten hat and we found that the father of the family with a camp there had kept it safe for us. It is a wonderful feeling when human nature is generous. We have a rule or least a tradition for birthdays and anniversaries. We try our best not to be on the move for special dates. Jon’s birthday was celebrated in Tahanea with an afternoon in the hammock, handmade cards and gifts and a bubbles and bonfire dinner on the beach, complete with cookie cake. Tahanea holds some very happy memories for us.
