On the motu near Aitutaki

Only one way to get there. By dinghy over shallow coral reefs

You have to walk in the last 100 yards or so. Too shallow for the motors/props

We got to see live giant clams

Some great snorkeling

Even some big fish

Lots of fun

That’s the name of the Motu that we dinghied to with Orcinius and Sockdolager today to go snorkeling. There’s a marine preserve there, so we weaved our way through the bommies (i.e. coral mounds) for an hour to get there. But was it worth it! The water was turquoise and warm and the snorkeling was great. But more fun was the camaraderie of three couples tripping across the waters in their silly dinghies out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. At several points on the way, the water got shallow and we just got out and walked the dinghies. Finally we found the marine preserve area and put anchors in the sand in about three feet of water right on the edge of the reef. We were then able to walk a few feet over and slide into the deeper water where we were met by giant clams! They could easily grab your whole leg they were so big. Beautiful too. So many colors. I swam over and poked one just to see if it would close all the way. It didn’t fall for my bluff. It flinched a little but then realized it could just about swallow me whole and that was that. We finished the dinghy part of the day with a picnic lunch with our three dinghies tied together and anchored over the sand several hundred yards off the island in the middle of the lagoon. Nothing but clear, ice blue water all around. Simply wonderful!

Since we got up at 0700 to get started on the day, we were done snorkeling by 1300 or so. This gave us time to go motor scootering some more. Oh, I haven’t mentioned that the best mode of transportation on the island is a motor scooter and we rented one! $25/day. What a bargain! There are not a lot of roads here and half of them are dirt anyway, so scooters are the favored mode of transport. Very few cars, lots of scooters. We have been having a blast scootering around the island on the main road and off road as well. You see so much more on a scooter than when you rent a car. So scooter some more we did.

As much as we could easily spend a month here, having a fairly deep draft boat, we have to live by the tides. Unfortunately tomorrow is the last day we can leave here in the daylight for at least two more weeks. So, regrettably tomorrow we’re heading out. Ann and I have both commented how easy it would be to just stay here, period. It’s such a relaxing place. I imagine this may be what Hawaii might have been like 100 years ago. The people are unbelievably friendly and while there are some resorts, they are very small and tucked away so you don’t even notice them. There are no high rises and locals claim there is no crime. You literally cannot pass someone on the street without saying, “hello”, even on a motorbike. Since I am not proficient enough yet to take a hand off the handlebar to wave, I have a head nod that says “hi” that seems to be working as everyone who passes us when I nod either waves or nods back. And I mean everyone. Even in cars. You just can’t pass without saying “hi” or waving or in my case a head nod.

So I’ll end this in the spirit of Aitutaki and say; “Hi, how are ya?!”