Gambier Islands, 12th of January

Towards Patagonia

Suntanned and refreshed after a month in the Gambier Islands, we are now ready to continue our journey. Although we are in no hurry, we have become a bit restless (especially Pekka) as we feel that we have a mission to accomplish, and that is to sail our good boat Sarema to Puerto Montt, where she will be hauled out and made ready for our Patagonian Adventure. 

We’ll leave Rikitea tomorrow and head down south to the roaring forties where we expect to find the westerly winds that will take us to Chile, where we should be within three to four weeks from now. 

Rikitea, 7th of January

Kouaku, 31st of December

Eggs and Chicks on Motu Kouaku

After Christmas, we motored from Onemea Bay to Motu Kouaku which is a small coral islet inside the barrier reef. Motus lie only a few metres above sea level and therefore provide very little protection against wind or swell.  Since the barrier reef is mostly submerged in the south, incoming swell may make the anchorage quite uncomfortable but luckily, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we spent the sunny and windless days snorkelling, sun bathing, and observing white terns (Gygis alba) that nest on the motu.

Like in so many Tuamotu atolls, there is ciguatera also in the Gambier Islands. This means that the fish inside the reef carry neurotoxins that are extremely dangerous, even lethal, to humans and other mammals but quite harmless to the fish themselves and the seabirds that feed on them.

Due to ciguatera, there is no fishing inside the barrier reef, and the fish here are generally big/old and not particularly afraid of humans. Hence, the coral reefs provide an underwater world par excellence for diving and snorkelling! (Unfortunately, our so-called waterproof camera got water inside and ceased to function.)

Besides snorkelling, Kouaku was also rewarding photographing-wise because, unlike most terns, white terns lay their eggs on bare tree branches without bothering to build a nest, and their eggs and chicks of various ages were easy to spot in the thicket that covers the centre of the motu.

Because the egg does not have any protection against strong winds, it may fall off the tree, but should this happen, the tern is quick to lay another egg in its place. The chicks are more fortunate, however, as they have well developed feet with which they can hang on to their precarious home branch. 

The white tern is also known as Fairy Tern or Angel Tern and, in our opinion, the last name in particular is most appropriate for this beautiful bird!

Rikitea, 7th of January 2018

Onemea Bay, Taravai, 25th of December

Encounter with A Hermit Crab

The local sailing community assembled in the village of Taravai for Christmas and New Year but as our time in the Gambier Islands would be rather limited, we wanted to see more of our surroundings and went instead to Onemea Bay on the western side of the island to snorkel.

On Christmas Day, when walking on the beach we startled a hermit crab. We had noticed it wending its way a few metres ahead of us and when we passed it, the crab suddenly folded itself, not only its legs and antennae but also its eyes, to form a kind of suit of armour.

We stepped aside and trying not to move waited patiently till the crab felt safe again and gradually began to unfold itself. Quite understandably, the very first things that emerged were the crab’s eyes and when it saw that there was nothing to fear, the crab then unfolded the rest of its moveable parts, and continued its interrupted passage towards the waterfront.

While watching the crab slowly disappear behind a volcanic rock formation carrying its indispensable seashell home, Riitta remembered reading about an interesting way a hermit crab can find a new shell: when a crab that has grown too big for its shell finds an empty shell, it leaves its own shell and tries the vacant shell for size. If the shell is too big for the crab, it goes back into its old shell and waits by the vacant shell till another crab arrives that is the right size for the empty shell. When the newcomer moves into the bigger shell it abandons its old shell, and the other crab can now make the abandoned shell its new home. Crustaceans may be brainier than we think!