The Tuamotus Diaries #54, Day 112 – September 17th 2016
After writing yesterday’s post, I realized that visiting the surrounding motus was much more a matter of attitude than anything else, for the wind wasn’t going to subside. We then decided to get on the dinghy and face the wet ride across the bay and up to the motus. And I am glad we did so, otherwise, look what we would have missed:
The beginning of the ride was wet indeed, going against the howling wind, which sprayed us with seawater incessantly until we had reached the lee of the motus. But once we got there, what we found were five or six very small sandy islands, peppered with palm trees and surrounded by crystalline waters that sparkled under the strong sun light. Postcard-perfect.
Two of these motus stood out in particular. What looked at first like a mid-sized motu was in fact two smaller ones separated by a narrow inlet. Winding in between the two motus like a stream, it reaches all the way to the atoll’s edge, where the ocean rages. The purest, deep ocean water flows constantly and delicately through this stream, forever setting the two beautiful motus apart. The tall palm trees lined along the banks of the stream reduce the howling trade winds to a quiet and comfortable breeze, thus adding to the perfection of this setting. If there is such a place as Eden, it’s got to be there !
We stayed there, soaking in the great views, vibes and utmost piece of the place, until our bellies started to remind us breakfast had been a long time back already.
Later in the afternoon, while watching the sunset on deck and looking at the strength of all that wind that kept on blowing as if the world was coming to an end, I wondered: was that place indeed so beautiful as to stand apart from everything else we had seen here in the Tuamotus so far? Or was it made “more beautiful” because it was harder to get? I mean, had the weather been fine, with just a low breeze and flat waters, and the motus easily reachable to us as we pleased, would we have been equally impressed by it?
Well, I guess we will never know.
But that this place is truly amazing, it is!