A Ring of Beauty

You would think that Xav and I would stop taking holidays after our big trip to Paris and New York. Well..........think again!! It's like we never learn to sit still and smell the roses! Actually we are smelling the roses, only in different countries and places :D. Anyway, about two weeks after we returned from the Big Apple, Xav and I booked a 3-day 2-night weekend to an atoll called Fakarava.

No, not an island. An atoll. There is a difference.

An atoll is a coral reef formation that surrounds an oceanic island that has subsided into the ocean. It's most typically found in tropical oceans like the Pacific Ocean (that's where we are!!). And the oceanic islands in this case are actually extinct volcanoes. Simply put, corals grow around the fringes of the extinct volcano. As these corals grow upwards, the volcano sinks or subsides into the ocean, creating a lagoon in the center of the ring of coral reef. If you have a hard time imagining this, just see it as a thin doughnut – the hole in the center represents the lagoon while the dough indicates a flat land. This is what Fakarava is.

Fakarava is situated in the Tuamotus Archipelago, northwest of Society Archipelago (where Tahiti is). An hour's flight from Tahiti, Fakarava is the second most beautiful (and recommended) atoll in its archipelago, the first being Rangiroa and third Tikehau, both of which are nearby as well. We were anxiously looking at the weather reports the week we were set to leave for Fakarava. The reports remained cloudy and windy and we were afraid that our bad luck with the rain would follow us to this atoll.

We spied thick white clouds floating above the Tuamotus. The density of these clouds blocked our view of most of the atolls. As we strained our neck and head all over the small rectangular plane window (even pressing our ear to the side for hope of a better view), the clouds cleared enough for us to take this wonderful shot of Toau Atoll, which is right next to Fakarava. Just looking at this raised an amazing sense of wonder at the world's hidden treasures to which we have never been privy before. You think: how much more I have neither seen nor experienced!

Fakarava Airport is just a tarmac runway and a small covered area resembling a single-storey bungalow. Any sort of airport security is non-existent and it brings home to us the peace and tranquility the people here live with. The people who were supposed to pick us up thought we were arriving the following day, so we bumped a ride with a friendly neighbour of theirs. Something we learnt in Fakarava: the community is so small (200+ people) that everyone knows each other! So we climbed aboard the back of a small pickup truck, along with the driver's family members (wife and kids). The wife became our unofficial tour guide and told us about each place we passed by. We didn't see many cars (if any) coming from the opposite direction or following behind us. This would be heaven for all those illegal motor racers in KL!

We finally arrived at the Pension Paparara and were greeted with the standard cheek kisses and flower garlands so typical of Polynesian culture. We were led immediately to our pension, something I can only translate as a little cabin. Xav and I were just thrilled with ours!

It was made completely out of wood and weaved dried coconut leaves. The floor was strewn with dried up corals, so sandals are mandatory, unless you feel like a free Chinese foot reflexology session :D. We had everything we needed – a big bed with mosquito net, a large desk, a triangular 4-tier wall shelf and a mirror with a wooden platform below it to hold all our esthetic products. Plus, a little back door led to our very own terrace with a table, two chairs and footstools AND......a view of the lagoon before us. Mind you, every single thing in this cabin is handmade as far as we could see. The mirror had shells glued all around it, the windows were raised open by strong ropes tied to tree branches, the wastepaper basket weaved out of coconut leaves, everything. We felt surrounded by Mother Nature in its purest form.

We spent out first afternoon in Fakarava swimming in the lagoon. We walked further up from our pension to more sandy beaches. In spite of the beautiful environment in our own place, there was not much of a sandy beach to lie on. Xav and I spent about 45 minutes just swimming with the various fishes in the lagoon. Then we rested on the sand with our books for another hour or so. We walked back to our pension as the sun was setting. That was when we discovered another surprise: our little terrace was facing west, so we got to enjoy the sunset every evening!

Dinner was served by the bell. The pension owners ring a big bell when it's time for dinner, and all the guest eat together at one big table. The table is already set when you get there, so you can't very well move your plate elsewhere. It was fun because we got to know the other guests too. Two were from UNESCO. Their job was to look for the most beautiful spot in Fakarava and film it live via satellite to an exhibition in Paris called 'Nuit blanche' (white night). Another pair were French retirees who were traveling through French Polynesia for a holiday. We exchanged entertaining stories throughout dinner. It was splendid.

Day two in Fakarava saw us rising early to catch the sunrise on the other side of the pension. This place was the outer side of the atoll, hence it was facing the open sea. The waters here were a deep blue shade (unlike the lighter green of shallower waters) and waves crashed violently against the reef. The landscape here was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It looked like it was from out of space with all the eroded rocks, broken seashells and dried corals everywhere – not a pleasant sight. Yet some plants thrived from this soil, lending some colour to its otherwise somber surroundings.

After breakfast, we followed a group from another hotel on a day snorkelling trip. Everyone on this boat were foreigners – a couple from Italy, honeymooners from California and a family from Belgium. Our guide, Joaquim, is bilingual, and he answered a lot of questions about the atoll and where we were going, which was a village called Tetamanu, in the southern tip of Fakarava. Apparently, the depth of the lagoon in the atoll is about 40 metres at its maximum point, but right outside the coral reef ring, the depth dips immediately to a startling 500 metres! Coupled with the crashing waves, this is definitely not somewhere you should even get your feet wet.

The boat ride took almost two hours and since it was an open motorboat, we were pretty red by the time we arrived (despite the sunblock!). Our welcoming party at the little deck comprised of a huge Napoleon fish which the villagers lovingly named 'JoJo' and several black-tipped reef sharks swimming calmly around it. They were a sight to behold. At the deck, a fellow fisherman was cleaning the catch for the day, throwing fresh morsels out to the sharks, JoJo, a dog and a cat. Looks like the whole family was there!! :D

Joaquim gave us a tour of the village (which didn't take long). Tetamanu Village is as primitive as you can get, with wooden houses, coconut leaf walls and zinc roofs. The houses were nestled in between glorious heights of coconut trees while the land between each house was lined with palm trees. Winds blew a wicked strength here and if you raised your eyes to the sky, you would see coconut trees swaying almost dangerously with their heavy burden of near-ripe coconuts. People seemed insignificant in the presence of such a rich natural environment.

Despite its initial primitive impression, we were astounded to find a telecommunication center powered by solar energy smack in the middle of all this greenery! We were taken to a church as well, the only brick building in the village. The fact that it's a brick building and beautifully adorned with seashell decorations tells us how seriously Polynesians take religion. A short walk past the church, and we found ourselves facing the Southern Pass, the place where the atoll ring opens to give entry to the ocean. There are two passes, Northern and Southern, both of which have menacingly powerful currents, but are nevertheless, popular spots for dive enthusiasts.

After the brief tour of Tetamanu Village, Joaquim and Matthias (the boat captain), took us to the snorkelling spot. This was truly a waste since we didn't see many fishes. It was dark blue, deep and terribly scary. There were strong currents here, so strong that we had to hold on to a rope extended from the boat! Needless to say, we didn't stay long here. The next spot was a place called 'La Plage du Sable Rose' (Rose Sand Beach).

This little motu (islet) looked like a scene from 'Survivor' – wild and completely savage. The sandy beach was indeed rose in colour. We realized why later – some of the corals are pink in shade and as they dry up through time and wind erosion, their pink colour rubs off on the sand. We anchored in knee-deep waters and stepped carefully around the thousands of black sea cucumbers sunning on the sandy bottom. Joaquim and Matthias had brought some side dish for lunch and left us for about two hours to go fishing for our main course.

When they returned, they brought about 7 or 8 nason fish – these have long, pointed snouts. Matthias built a fire and prepared the barbeque while Joaquim made the typical Polynesian dish – poisson cru (raw fish). Poisson cru is raw fish meat marinated in lime, salt and pepper. You can normally add other things to it, like diced onions and cucumbers as well. When the barbeque was ready, Matthias placed the nason fish onto the zinc 'cooking platform'. While waiting for it to cook, Matthias made a 'table' and 'serving platters' out of coconut leaves. Later, he took the barbequed fish to the shore and cleaned off the burnt skin in the beach water. Then, he laid out the fish onto the coconut-leaf platter and placed this on the 'table', along with the poisson cru, wines and couscous.

Just being there and watching all this happening before my eyes made me feel like we were all going back to basics when it comes to living in the wild. And I thought of how unprepared the more modern people are for this. If stranded on an island, would we be able to do all that Joaquim and Matthias have done? It reminded me of the three most basic human needs for survival – air, water and food. In an isolated place like this, knowing how to send an SMS is a useless skill against the more necessary talents like fishing, building a fire, building shelter. Some food for thought.

We left the rose beach after a couple of hours – such delectable lunch must be followed by an equally delicious siesta! We dropped by Tetamanu Village again just to do some snorkelling with JoJo. We actually got to touch her. We also saw a demonstration of the powerful jaws of, well, mini-Jaws :D. Joaquim hung a few big fish heads on a string and let them hang from an anchor. Several black-tipped reef sharks circled this offering languidly while the smaller fishes nibbled quickly, as though sensing that their opportunity with the fish heads is about to run out. True enough, one shark ripped the fish heads violently from its string (after a few tries) and disappeared into the corals of the lagoon. It was beautiful yet unsettling to watch.

The ride back to Pension Paparara was lighter. We all started speaking to each other since lunch, so we chatted a little bit more, but it was clear that everyone was just dead tired from the day out. Xav and I arrived at our cabin just before sunset. After dinner that night, we spent a couple of minutes reading before falling into deep sleep.

Our flight was in the evening on the third day, so we practically had a whole day to ourselves. Xav and I decided to rent bicycles and do a tour to the Northern Pass. The sun beat down on our heads and blinded our eyes, in spite of our sunglasses. We dipped our t-shirts into fresh cold water and wore it on our swimming suits. The t-shirts dried within the hour. The ride was not so tough actually, since the road is very flat. The Northern Pass is past the airport, and the road from here on in is filled with gravel and loose stones. We stopped a few times on the way, to take photos and trying to do justice to the scenery surrounding us.

It was two hours later by the time we arrived at the Northern Pass. The waves here were huge and we spotted some guys bodyboarding. It's truly dangerous since the currents are strong and the waves crash onto the corals. If the guys were not careful, they might get flung onto the corals as well. We didn't stay long here since there wasn't much we could do – no way was I swimming in these waters! Earlier, we had spotted a hidden beach just before the Northern Pass, so we headed there for a rest.

The stretch of beach had soft and fine rose sand. A lot of coconut trees lined the entire stretch, swaying in the cool winds. This is the type of place we all see on postcards of Polynesia – sandy beaches with low, overhanging coconut trees leaning from the side right out onto the sparkling waters. Xav decided to play Robinson Crusoe and drain juice out of a coconut. He found a pointed coral and scratched away diligently at the coconut skin, tearing it away bit by bit. When he reached the hard surface, he drove the pointed coral into it over and over again, until a tiny hole appeared. Minutes later, fresh coconut juice flowed right into our empty bottle. It tasted good.

We stayed awhile on this little private beach of ours. We dozed in the shade of coconut trees and strolled through the clear waters to stand on hard corals with nothing but the expanse of the lagoon before us. It was so quiet you could even hear the fish making tiny leaps out of the water every once in a while. We left rather reluctantly a few hours later. It was lunchtime and we were getting hungry for more than the apples we had brought.

The ride back was arduous. We were hot, getting close to being burnt (Xav left our sunblock behind at the pension) and coming to the end of our water supply. But something kept us going – maybe the thought of fainting in the middle of this quiet, uninhabited place, scared us out of our wits! Whatever it was, we reached the pension a couple of hours later, just in time for a shower and rest before boarding our flight back to Tahiti.

Our Fakarava trip was wonderful. Being surrounded by nature and all its enduring beauty makes us wonder at the war and cruelty that exist in some parts of the world. Here in Polynesia, we are lost to these negative elements; we are basking instead in Mother Nature's myriad of colours and soothing sounds.