Blissfull Tuamotus

Whenever I read blogs from friends who hit the Tuamotus before us the refrain was always the same, "I wish I could upload photos so you could see this place..." So I won't say that.

 After all it's hard for photos to do justice to a beachside bonfire where the sun is setting behind our anchored boats and the moon is rising above the stand of palm trees that are the backdrop to our potluck. And how can photos tell the story of the army of colourful baseball-sized hermit crabs which arrived at our beach party, like so many huge, ungainly (but remarkably endearing) ants and snuck (if a hundred, or so, golf balls and baseballs can sneak) onto the picnic blanket in search of crumbs. And what can photos say of our snorkel trips through the passes--some which we timed badly so we sped through the clear azure water at 3+ knots and others which were so perfectly timed that we drifted at the same leisurely rate as manta rays, sharks and massive Napoleon wrasse. And how--other than a stop-action sequence--could I record Maia shimmying up a coconut tree and tossing down nuts?

 I am taking photos though--and at some point when we hit civilization again we'll post them (although right now, with the calm still waters surrounding us and nary a squall to be seen, civilization doesn't beckon. At all. Although I am curious about game 7 of the Stanley Cup--Go Canucks!!)

But being away from it all is strangely freeing. It makes me want to be creative (I've had jewelry making lessons from Lauren on Piko and the writing group is going strong) and cook creatively--even though there is not a grocery store to be found, and it's been over two months since I last visited a reasonably well-stocked (by US standards) supermarket. Maybe it was the moment when Maia broke into a dramatic soliloquy where she pleaded with me to cook anything but beans. Anything.
Or perhaps it's just I have time on my hands. But somehow I turned out Vietnamese Salad rolls, lentil loaf with mushroom gravy, lemon chicken, polenta pizza, and more from our accumulated stores. Variety, more than quantity, is the key to happiness out here.
I'm not sure if it is the beauty, the freed up time (being in a deserted atoll sort of strips the day down to it's most basic...) or some blissful combination but it's easy to be lazily creative here. With an emphasis on lazy.
And now I'll close this post because I need to go bottle my freshly made ginger beer.
Evan's p.s. Our anchor was stuck in a bit of coral since we first anchored. I free dove twice to get it unstuck but no joy with a taut chain tugging on it and 18 knots of wind. Today Diane motored the boat forward in light winds, I scuba dove down and got it out of it's chain embrace with no problem. It was no wonder I had trouble freediving - the anchor was in 40' of water and at that depth I'm limited to about 10 seconds of time on the bottom before my body starts craving air. The visibility here is excellent and I could see the anchor dig into the sand once Diane put the motor into hard reverse. Fascinating to watch.
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