Us, for sure.
I had tried to reach one highly-rated lagoon tour operator for days with no luck. Saturday afternoon I found a different one who was very responsive so we booked with them. They noted that the weather looked spotty, and that they let us know in the morning if they had to reschedule.
We woke up to rain, but the tour manager said they were going out. We returned the rental car and then got picked up. Thankfully, the boat had a roof and an adequate supply of rain jackets. As we left shore, the rain slowly let up, and thankfully, it stayed clear for the entire time we were on the boat. While on land, it rained in a biblical fashion.
First stop: a pearl farm. Super interesting to learn how pearls are made!
After reaching the western side of the small island, we got out to snorkel. With water this clear, snorkeling is engaging and exciting. There are big fish, little fish, pretty fish, and some pretty boring fish, all in massive quantities.
After the first snorkel stop, we headed to Hana Iti beach. At one point, there was a hotel there, but it was destroyed (twice!) by storms.
Our guide and the beach guardian set up a coconut on a pole ~12 feet up in the air and then showed us how to throw javelin-like spears at the coconut. While I can throw a javelin (overhand throw), this was underhand and not at all intuitive for me.
Off we went, this time to Motu Murimahora. This water was the clearest water I’ve ever seen. With pristine what sand underneath, it was absolutely the stuff Tahitian dreams are made of.
In the lagoon between the motu and mainland, the current can be quite strong. Our guide dropped us off in the middle of the lagoon and then motored a few hundred feet ahead, letting us snorkel and have the current carry us to the boat.
Apparently there are Moray eels in the lagoon. I didn’t see them, and I’m ok with that. I did see tons of fish (of course), sea cucumbers, a vibrant purple sea urchin, and something that was either a pufferfish or a boxfish.
What we found most breathtaking were the clams. In photos, they are plain beige. In real life, they are a dark grey with electric blue or purple right around the edges of their shells. They open and close, as if having a private conversation among themselves. Totally mesmerizing!
Our tour manager lives on the motu, and we headed over there for lunch. The sky looked threatening and that was clearly for a reason. It started raining, then rained harder, then poured, then poured harder. Think New England thunderstorm in August, then take that rain and double it. It was insane!
We had a soggy trip back to the mainland. Our tour driver was super nice and dropped us off at the doorstep of our AirBnB. After much-needed showers, we decided to dig into the bread and cheese we bought at the grocery store for dinner and not try to go out in the rain (plus, there is nothing open on Sunday nights). The sky eventually cleared just in time for the sun to go down (and we were so tired from a day in the sun and water that we didn’t make it much past sunset ourselves).
Vacation Days 