Fakarava
Rotoava village
11.06.19- 14.06.19
The weather is closing in, strong winds are forecasted and we may be stuck in the same place for another 5 days… we decide to move to the next atoll on the list , Tahanea, never got there… the wind is too strong and in the wrong direction, close to wind, maybe not all night. so we go back up to the northern pass of Fakarava, at least the wind is behind us, there are 3 anchorages in the atoll so if the bad weather persists we can move from one to the other. Jollydogs is on its way so we jump in its mooring buoy. We are parked by Rotoava village, 3 shops, a post office and a church. And there is internet. We spent a bit of time ashore, when it is not raining. A full day riding bicycles, over 50 km, down the single road. That was great fun especially as the road stops at km 18 then it is paths only. There are quite a few coconut groves, newly planted or old. The exposed side is buffeted by the wind and waves mercilessly. The island is quite narrow in places and the noise of the surf is everywhere. We ended up on a sandy beach for lunch, watching a sailing boat coming back up. We stop at pakara anchorage on the way back to check it out, nice and calm here. We had a brilliant day, and we did not get wet.
Quick restock of vegetables, the supplies boat was in yesterday. We found tomatoes for 10 dollars for 2 kg… we have not seen tomatoes for weeks, I know, outrageous. Carrots are 4 dollars per kg, potatoes a little less… not cheap.
We try to get down pakora anchorage on the Friday morning. The wind is too strong, we cannot make any progress… back in we go, fortunately our buoy is still free. We have our first meal ashore for months, with Bruno’s Girl and Banana Girl, beautiful steaks and the company was fun too.
