No one on boats enjoy passages, they’re uncomfortable, slow, and kinda dull. And most of the animals are smart enough to stay permanently on their islands, so no birdies. And we hadn’t seen dolphins in a long while, too.

But anyways, there we were. On a five day passage to the Tuamotus, which – although I didn’t say it – I was very excited to see.

The Tuamotus are exquisite. Really, truly astounding, with completely crystal clear water. When we arrived, it astonished us. We couldn’t even see the island until we were practically on top of it, which really isn’t good when you’re a tired sailor.

Our first landing point was Fakarava, one of the Mainer atolls around us. When we pulled in, we noticed how beautiful the water was. It was very clear and filled giant “bombies” or large coral clumps everywhere. We dropped the dinghy and went in search for foods, which we found at a little bakery/convenience store.

While we were in Fakarava we found lots of our friends, like Chris and Sterling from Dérive who we met in Tahuata. We traveled around various anchorages that were in the massive atoll, and one was so amazing.

Right at the far bottom right end of the corner of Fakarava is the shark wall. It’s a snorkeling experience that blows your mind; you swim through a practical wall of sharks and fish, with very bright coral and magnificent breaking waves. We did this pass about three or four times, it was that amazing. We also went for a pizza night with some other kid boats, which was supper fun. Get it? Super? Supper? Dinner party? I’ll stop.

We also saw nurse sharks! Nurse sharks are really incredible since they are one of the only shark breeds that can sleep, and they also have smooth skin. Both of these are really uncommon for sharks!

We got to go to a pearl farm and see how pearls are formed, too. A man called Gunter showed us everything about pearls, and he even gave us a little baby one fresh from it’s shell!