In the morning after stocking up on drinking water and picking up some potatoes and carrots and fresh bread, we raised the hook and bid farewell to the village. We still have 100 gallons of salty water from the water maker’s last days in our tanks for showering and washing dishes, so with the bottled water for drinking, we feel more comfortable and able to enjoy a little bit of this beautiful atoll. The journey to Pakokota was uneventful, but we decided to anchor, rather than trust our 30 tons to a dubious mooring. We motored all around and found a place with few coral heads in 35 feet. Lars dove on the anchor after it was set and verified we were well hooked. In the afternoon we kayaked past the southern point of the bay over myriad kinds of pretty coral inhabited by small colourful fish and the occasional gulp, blacktipped reef shark that would stealthily surface just in front of us from time to time. One even went right under Captain’s kayak. This did nothing to deter him from snorkelling. He snorkelled and I paddled about using the glass bottom bucket to see the pretty stuff. It was the best fun since the tour of Nuka Hiva. In the evening Mike and Neal from Chao Lay came to help us eat the fat tuna we had caught on our way in on our Sweet Dream.
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