February 3 – Fakarava, French Polynesia

We arrived mid-morning to the large atoll that is Fakarava.  It is the second largest atoll in French Polynesia.  And it is very flat. 

You can barely see the far side of the atoll in the distance.

French Polynesian official boarded the ship to process everyone that would be disembarking in Papeete, Tahiti.  The processing was to start at 9:00.  By 8:00 there was an absolute mob in the foyer outside the Living Room where the processing was to take place. 

The ship had done nothing in terms of setting up any line management or crowd control.  The line eventually extended out onto the running track on the top deck.  From later stories, it sounded like some people stood in that line, in the sun, for an hour and a half.

We were lucky in that when we got to the foyer we were directed the wrong direction to the “end of the line”.  So we ended up near the front.  We were processed and out within about 20 minutes of them opening up the line.  But what a mess.  Many people had almost no time on the atoll.

Once we were processed, we had to go to the Cabaret Lounge to get our tender ticket.  We didn’t have too long before our number was called and we were on a tender.  The atoll has limited sights to see and the cruise company offered no shore excursions.  Some people had apparently made arrangements in advance with people offering tours and boat excursions.  The area around the harbor/tender landing site.

We didn’t plan anything, so we opted to walk over to one of the nearby beaches...  

and hang around in the water for a while.  An Aussi we met said they refer to it as it Tea Bagging…as in bobbing around in the water like a tea bag in a cup of hot water. (We later found out that "Tea Bagging has a rather naughty meaning to the younger generation in the US.) 

The water was very clear and we could see the coral...

and fish.  

Blue-Green Chromis

Blue-Green Chromis

Blue-Green Chromis

Three Stripe Damselfish

The welcoming area. 

We were back on board in time for lunch and spent the day working.

The interesting wave action at the end of Fakarava as we were leaving.  

That evening they had a performance by a chorus of cruisers, performers from the on board ukulele classes, and dancers who took Polynesian dance classes during the cruise.  Was a fun performance.

We hung around after the show to see the Liar’s Club.  Five virtually unknown words were presented, a panel of five each gave their definition of the word, and then the audience tried to guess who was correct.  These are always a great deal of fun.