Holiday Cruise XIV

Greetings from Rangiroa,

Well, here I was thinking, heck, it is just another atoll in the middle of the South Pacific.  Oh contrare, mon ami.  Rangiroa (meaning Vast Sky in Tuamotuan) is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and one of the largest in the world.  It is part of the Palliser group.  

Rangiroa is about 80 square kilometers and houses about 2500 people.  The atoll consists of about 415 motus (tiny islands), islets and sandbars and is surrounded by some of the most beautiful water we have seen so far.  Even my photos can’t capture the gorgeous shades of aquamarine that are here.

The lagoon we are anchored in has a maximum depth of 105 feet (just slightly deeper than Possum Kingdom Lake) and its surface is 1146 square kilometers and is so large it has its own horizon.   Rangiroa is a major underwater diving destination because of the lagoons clear blue water and exceptionally diverse marine fauna.

Vicki and I tendered in to shore and went to a little restaurant on the water’s edge where we fed the fish bits of French fries which they loved as you can see.  The grilled shrimp was really good but we didn’t share.  Nor did we share the four (two each) rum punches that you can see below.  They just don’t feed us enough on the ship….we were famished.  Right!

We are at latitude 14° 58.50’ S and longitude 147° 38.54’W and will be heading south for a return trip to Bora Bora.  Hope the weather is as good there as it is here.

Until next time, God Bless you all.

Jud and Vicki