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The only gas station in all of Rangiroa is located 12 kilometres away and taking a $20 taxi ride to get $21 of fuel seemed rather pointless. We had been zipping around Ahe and Rangiroa harbour so much that we were now motoring with only a splash of water left in our tank and were getting nervous that we would soon be paddling our way back and forth to the dock. This morning one of our local friends offered to take Dailin and I into Avatoru for a scenic drive as well as to get some gas for our Dingy which was greatly appreciated. We arrived at the gas station at 11:15am, only 15 minutes before they closed for the afternoon. It takes some getting used to with most locations closing between 11:30am and 2:30pm for a relaxing afternoon. After filling up our tank we continued on a circular trip around town to see where the local sports complex, post office, shops and docks were located.

As parked his vehicle on the dock our friend saw what he thought was one of his friends fishing in their boat by the adjacent motu across the Avatoru pass.  He quickly pulled out his phone and and finally reached his friend who confirmed that he was not in the boat we saw but rather just around the corner of the motu across the pass. When our friend requested about twenty dollars worth of fish the person on the other line said that he would come right over. Within a few minutes we saw another motor boat round the bend of the island and head over to where we were. There were about 4 people in the boat including one young 10 year old boy. Our friend pulled out a plastic grocery bag from the back of his car and brought it over to the boat that was now tied up to the pier. Inside of the boat was what looked like a chest refrigerator. As he pulled open the lid however we could see that it was filled with seawater and a lot of fresh fish. It was the perfect container for the days fresh catch of fish.

One by one he pulled out fish after fish and slipped them into the bag that we had tossed over to them. There was one bright red fish and a variety of other fish that I did not recognize. One, two, three two foot long fish were placed into the bag and he kept filling it up. I don’t know if it was because these men were such good friends or if it is just the price of fish on the island but I counted 23 fish that were added to the bag. They tossed the bag up onto the pier and as he did so it flopped open with a few of the fish landing on my flip-flop covered feet. My immediate reaction was to pull my feet away from the slippery feeling around my ankles but I’m sure it only had these local islanders laughing inside as they saw the surprise on my face.

We piled the fish into the trunk and set off again back to the dingy. I felt a little sorry for Dailin in the back seat. As if the smell of gasoline was not enough, it now was emitting an odor of fish as well. Fish and gasoline perhaps are not the most appealing of odors and so we all kept our windows rolled down (which we always do anyways in the hot weather, even when it is raining). Dailin looked like a puppy dog anxious to feel the wind in his face. He held his head out the window to breath in the fresh air from outside of the car. Fortunately the island road is small and before long we were back at the dingy with a full tank of gas.

Today was the first day since we arrived in Rangiroa that the waters were calm. We had thought that the water was always agitated and rocky because that has been our experience since we arrived a week ago. As we looked out over the lagoon it looked as if it was a sea of glass with only the occasional ripple on the surface of the water. With a full tank of fuel the kids were anxious to burn it up giving each other rides as they towed the kayak behind the dingy. After a while I had to call the kids in. With such great weather conditions it was an optimal time to go drift snorkeling down Tiputa pass. I could see many other dive boats and snorkeling boats heading out to the pass and so I wanted to follow the experts as far as timing and location goes.

It took me a little while to collect up the kids. We had set up an afternoon dinner appointment where we were making some food for some local friends and so we only had about an hour and a half to spare. We motored over to the pass and found that the waters were calmer than we had ever seen before. The current was coming into the lagoon and so we motored to the outside edge of the pass before the first of the kids jumped out of the dingy with their mask and flippers on. Jaeden and Orin were first and very quickly they were very far apart from each other. I had to gather them together with the dingy and give some specific instruction that nobody go off on their own but rather stay together in groups of two or three. It had only taken 1 minute and already they had been separated quite a distance.

For the next hour Dailin motored back and forth in the pass as we would jump out to snorkel along the coral wall. If we stayed close to the coral wall of the pass we would move very slowly into the lagoon but if we drifted too far out into the centre of the pass, the current would quickly pull us along much faster than anyone could swim. It was incredible to look up after just a minute or two of looking under the water to see how far we had drifted from our original position. The coral formations were incredible to see as we drifted quickly along down the pass.

After an hour I told the kids that I wanted to go further out into the open ocean. Another boater who was piloting one of the boats for a local diving company suggested that we go outside of the pass to where other boats were. He said outside of the lagoon we would be able to see the dolphins that live in the area and may be able to snorkel in the water with them. We all piled back into the boat and headed offshore a fair distance to where two other boats were located. As we were motoring along watching the other boats we spotted four or five dolphins as they crested the surface of the water only 10 to 20 feet away from us. They were headed in our direction. The kids quickly jumped overboard with their snorkel gear on,excited to go swimming with the dolphins. As they jumped into the water Alyssa said they were only about 6 feet away from her. Jaeden pulled out his underwater camera and filmed the dolphins well below him as they swam away. Over the next half hour we motored back and forth along the coastline in search of the pod of dolphins. About four or five times we jumped out of the boat as we approached these incredible creatures off the coast of Rangiroa.

It finally came time for us to head back for our dinner appointment. We really did not want to go and could have spent a few more hours chasing the dolphins but we were told to head in before the currents soon were to change and needed to do other things. Motoring back was smoother and calmer than ever before and so it did not take long for us to get back to our sailboat.