Another Atoll

New photos on … because we have internet for a day!

After a pleasant, almost full moon, two night passage we arrived at daybreak at the north pass of Fakarava Atoll. We sailed the entire way and it was a pretty comfortable passage – only bad news was NO fish. We made it into the pass at Fakarava yesterday (Sunday) on the morning tide. It is a large pass so the timing was not quite as critical. In fact, we rode in on the last of the incoming tide – actually we "flew" in – hitting a new speed record on Astarte. At one point, the boat was hitting 8.8 knots over the bottom thanks to the tide shooting us in. Michael still had steerage though – so all was good. The channel to the village is well marked so we made an easy passage to the anchorage and set the hook. These areas are tricky because of the scattered coral heads everywhere and you just hope you aren't around one with your chain. It is too deep to really see the bottom here – so you take your chances.

The town is pretty – again quite modern structures with underground power. There is a small airport here as well. We went into the village bright and early this morning knowing there was a boulangerie here (bakery) and hoped to score some baguetttes. Unfortunately, unless you ordered them in advance there were no extras. Luckily though, across the street there is a small grocery that had a half dozen breads left and we snagged two. We did get some yummy chocolate croissants at the boulangerie and a few local tangerines. The first fresh fruit we've had in several weeks- so much enjoyed.

We are able to get internet here (about $4 an hour ouch!). But we've got some photos on and some parts ordered as Barbara's brother is coming to visit in Tahiti in a few weeks. Our poor guests always have to pack as much stuff for us as for themselves!

We'll explore the village again later today when we are not just driven by fresh bread!