Paradise Found

We are now at Maupiti. It is a small island to the west of Bora Bora, and
tourism hasn't quite reached here yet! Although the narrow pass into the
lagoon looked shocking at first (big surfable breakers on each side of the
entrance), it was very well marked, and an easy trip into the lagoon.
And...what a paradise we found inside!!

We dropped our hook between numerous bommies (coral heads) in about 25 feet
of water, and quickly jumped in to explore the coral surrounding us. We
first took the dinghy to the beach to find a beautiful sand and coral beach.
Then, we explored the coral surrounding the boat, and found more fish than
we'd seen in all the Society Islands. My ID skills are weak, but even I
could identify several butterflyfish, the moorish idol, trumpet fish,
triggerfish, surgeonfish, wrasse, parrotfish, angelfish, and forceps fish
(one of my favs). But the big treat was a HUMONGOUS moray eel. I don't know
which species. All I can tell you is that it was big enough to make me gasp
into my snorkel and quickly rise to the surface!

Today we went to town, where a lady rented us two bicycles, and we toured
around the island. We found it to be a peaceful, idyllic paradise. School
children playing soccer were barefoot, or wearing flip flops. Tahitian was
the language we heard most often, instead of the french we're so used to
hearing. Everyone was so friendly, shouting 'Ia orana' (hello) from their
front porches as we rode past.

Tomorrow...we'll hike to the top of the mountain.

Our current position: 016 27.15 S, 152 14.84 W

[labels: french polynesia, sightseeing, Maupiti, fish]