Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Docked at Makemo - yesterday...

Sorry, I should have updated the blog yesterday, but we were busy having too much fun!

After a night of sailing around the atoll dodging rainstorms, we were able to motor through the pass into the Makemo lagoon. What a ride - I thought we were in the Bermuda triangle! We were a little early on our slack time estimate and the waters from the lagoon and the sea were churned up for sure. But, Doug did an excellent job of manning the wheel and guiding us through the pass (which was surrounded by coral!).

The lagoon is beautiful and huge - 40 miles long and 10 miles wide. If I didn't know better, I would think we were in the Bahamas. Amazing, but there is a dock here that we are allowed to tie up to for free and we had lots of help from other cruisers (thank goodness) parallel parking Moondance in very small spot. As always, Doug was calm and cool!

We spent the day catching up with our friends on Evergreen and Calou, plus meeting other cruisers. You know you are in a wonderful place, when one boat introduces themselves and hands you a bag of fresh Marlin and another gives you a fresh baquette. Gotta love cruisers!

Makemo is just what you picture when you think of a South Pacific island - clear turquoise waters, white sandy beaches lined with coconut palms, and lots of coral - the snorkeling should be excellent. We explored the village of Pouheva and were surprised to find a well-stocked grocery store, bakery, and the locals very helpful. The bakery even delivered our order this morning - fresh chocolate, apple, and plain croissants. Delicious!

We are going to be here for a few days - resting up, provisioning, and exploring. Plus, since we are docked, it is a good time to send Doug up the mast to see if we can rescue our spinnaker halyard.

I should be able to post pictures soon. There's internet here - who knew!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wish we were there to enjoy the island breezes and the beautiful blue waters sounds so nice stock up on some of those fresh breads and enjoy later in the trip Pops ask what is your eta in Hawaii? Let us know Love Mom Dad

Sarah and Darrell said...

OMG! WOWZER! Those pictures were worth the wait. El Tiburon just may have to cross the pond after all.
ENJOY! sarah (Darrell is stuck in Cabo waiting out the weather)