Rangiroa, a very flat and one of the largest atolls in French Polynesia, consisting of some 400 very small islands, called motus, which surround an 80-km / approx. 50miles long and ca. 25 km /15 miles wide lagoon. These motus are coral isles and sit atop a long reef.
The ship sailed thru a narrow pass and we anchored in the quiet lagoon. I tendered ashore to go for a walk. The sun was burning from above, but with the wind on the eastern side of the atoll, it felt rather pleasant.
I enjoyed watching the strong waves for a while, collected some pretty but dead corals from the coral beaches there, strolled thru a village and got the impression of a peaceful and rather quiet life here in the South Pacific. Evberybody seemed to take it very easy - probably due to the hot time of the day. Returning to the pier on another path, I came to the quiet side of the atoll / lagoon side and enjoyed typical postcard views of clear turquoise water and palm trees hanging over.
. When we sailed out again in the late afternoon and came thru the narrow passage, we saw dolphins playing in the currents - but I didn`t get a picture ;-)
