Anaa, Tuamotu – 22 March 2019
Today was the first time the Aranui had ever visited the island of Anaa. It is a small atoll in the Tuamotu islands with a population of 300 to 400 people. This atoll however has no pass or entry point for boats to get from the outside open ocean to the inside of the lagoon.
As I had not yet adjusted to the time change, I woke up very early. Early enough that I could go to the small exercise room and try out the gym equipment there. Someone else was on the only treadmill for half an hour so instead I tried out the exercise bike, free weights and another multi purpose exercise machine. It was rather interesting trying to exercise with the slow movement of the ship that was still underway to our first port.
Following breakfast, we set off to board the barges that took us on a short 5 minute trip to the local pier on the open water side of the atoll. There were a few locals there to greet us along with a small bus to help transport those who did not want to walk to the main village. Kirsten and I decided however that even though the sun was already getting hot, we would hike the 20 minutes to the city hall. The community and mayor had planned a ceremony to welcome the Aranui 5 for the first time to the island. As we walked along the roads to the city hall, I could tell this was not an ordinary day for the island of Anaa. Everyone was out in there yards and waving to greet us to the island. Kids had taken the day off and were not in school either.
When we arrived at the city hall, there were chairs placed facing the building and for the next hour, there were musical performances by local musicians, dance performances by the kids of the village and a speech by the mayor. The people of the island were so friendly and welcoming wherever we went.
Following the presentation, the Aranui passengers had an opportunity to take a bus tour of the island or to participate in an optional shore excursion we had signed up for a day earlier. We had not selected the 2500 xpf bike rental or 3000 xpf bike rental with tour guide, but decided to take in one of the three 8500 xpf lagoon tours.
Only 7 people had signed up for our excursion and they had arranged 3 boats to take us on the lagoon so every 2 to 3 people had a private boat to take them out on the lagoon. The sun was out and the ride across to the other side of the lagoon was beautiful. The turquoise blue waters of the lagoon reflected on the low lying clouds and as the ancient stories go, the clouds were also highlighted by a green color.
Once on the far side of the lagoon we had a 30 minute hike to the three stones. There was a legend that went along with these three stones that now stand in the middle of the water close to the outside of the atoll.
Our next stop was in Otepipi, an old village also on the far side of the atoll. This village was devastated in the 1983 cyclone that hit the Tuamotu atolls. The Catholic church built in the 1850’s is still standing but not much more than a shell of a building. Around it are the ruins of a number of other buildings made out of coral walls but with nothing else left. Even the old pier that had been built to allow sailing ships to load up with the copra produced on the atoll, was ruined. The entire population was moved to the other side of the island following the cyclone.
Our last stop was across a narrow channel beside Otepipi. A local person had a small cabin on the beach so we motored over for lunch. Here the water was very shallow and 150 meters from shore one of the boat pilots jumped into the water to pull us closer to shore. We still had to walk about 100 meters in the shin deep water to shore.
Within a few minutes a traditional meal was served containing curried muscles, banana and pumpkin poi, chicken, fresh cooled coconuts, raw tuna and a few other things. The meal was delicious but some of the items took a bit of getting used to. For the occasional item that Kirsten did not like she just placed it in the sand. To our surprise and within a few minutes, the hermit crabs discovered that someone had been kind enough to feed them. The hermit crabs not only slurped up some poi, but they also climbed onto our discarded coconut drinks.
We had a short while to cool off in the lagoon but the swimming spot we were directed to was circled by sharp coral and within the swimming area there was no live coral or fish. It was a nice place to escape the heat of the sun and cool off but definitely not a snorkelling spot.
As our tour had come to an end, we headed back across the lagoon to the main village to catch in some of the locals doing some sporting events. While the kids were playing in the water at the end of the inner lagoon pier, the ladies in the village were having a traditional Polynesian competition of trying to spear a coconut high on a pole. They would all take turns tossing underhanded, a long javelin like spear toward the coconut high in the air. Each of the 10 ladies had about 20 spears to toss at the coconut in each round. By the time the round was over there were 3 to 7 spears stuck in the coconut and a few hundred stuck in the ground behind the target.
It was a beautiful sunny Tuamotu day in Anaa. The people were friendly and happy to share their simple life on the atoll. As I was waiting in the shelter by the outside ocean pier one of the locals were asking me what I thought of his island. I was pleased to give him my glowing feedback of the island. You could tell he was not only proud of his island but also wanting to share the beauty and friendliness of it with others from around the world.