Position: Fakarava South Pass

The deeper the dive, the more sharks you see...

...the bigger they get too!

We’re still here because the snorkeling is so great. But today, we went a step further and did a scuba dive. They have a dive where one instructor/diver takes two novices (that’s us!) down the pass underwater. Wow! We thought the snorkeling was amazing. At 30 feet under water it’s an even more amazing, even surreal experience. You’re cruising along with the current a foot or two above living coral, watching the amazing reef fish swim by and then- the sharks. The cool thing about being deeper than snorkeling is you get to go through the “gauntlet” of grey reef sharks that sit down low in the current. Good thing we were getting used to the blacktips because the grey reef sharks are BIG! We cruised about 15 feet past one that was over six feet. Yipes! And there are dozens and dozens of them (actually some of the certified divers that go a little deeper report there are hundreds sitting down there. We only saw dozens).

So how did we get Ann and Bob in diving gear and down 30 feet? It was fairly simple as it turned out. First a 15 minute lecture on safety and dive physiology. Then we suit up and head for some shallow water where the instructor watches to make sure we’re breathing correctly. Then before we know it we’re heading out over the reef into the deep blue water. The dive master is managing our BCDs (Buoyancy Control Device) which is a vest you wear that you can add or subtract air and thus manage your buoyancy. He sets them so we can’t go too deep by accident. But I can tell you that 30 feet is plenty deep. You look up through the deep blue water and see the sky and clouds so far up to the surface. It’s easy to get a little anxious, but you soon forget about it because there’s so much to see. It actually went by too fast!

All in all, we drifted in on the flood tide through the pass and into the atoll for about ½ mile. It was a 27 minute dive. On the one hand, it went by in an instant. On the other, it felt like we’d been diving all day. In total we were in awe and I think Ann may become a dive convert and get certified. At the end of the dive, the dive master inflates a bright orange balloon the goes to the surface and signals the boat to come get us. Once we got to the surface we inflated our BCDs and floated comfortably waiting for our ride. The other thing I was amazed at was how far we had gone during the dive. There we were, the three of us just floating in the middle of nowhere (or more exactly a looong way from the shore) waiting for the dive boat to pick us up. An amazing day. Again.

It’s looking like we’re going to stay here another day and then leave the Tuamotus for our next step: The Society Islands. Still in French Polynesia, the Society Islands include Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora among others. A new island chain, a new experience. The trip from here to Tahiti is about 250 miles which should take us about two days give or take based on the wind. Right now the conditions look favorable for 140 mile days, so we should be able to cover the distance pretty easily.

The Marquesas were all about landfall and lush green jungle hiking. The Tuamotus were all about the turquoise water and fabulous snorkeling. Looking forward to the Society Islands ….