May 2022 – Little Ibex visits her first atoll in the Tuamotus. She is carefully watching the standing waves as she enters the pass. She was careful to time the entrance right, hence the waves are small, but still not a place you want to ride into.

Kauehi is a small atoll with about 100 inhabitants that has good infrastructure including a medical center, a school and of course multiple churches. Not to forget the weekly plane that brings besides people also baguette. The atolls are made out of coral sand, hence not much grows on them, besides coconut palm trees. So coconuts are sundried in wall like formations and exported. Later on coconut oil is extracted from the copra (dried white coconut flesh).

As soon as the large Aranui 5 ship and her passengers have left the atoll, Little Ibex is alone with the local fishermen, who like fishing in the pass when tidal current pushes the fish through.

And nature’s colors here are just amazing.

Some island shopping is done: perl farm buoys that Little Ibex will use later on to “float the anchor chain” in order not to damage corals. A very nice fisherman gave them to her. He chose the cleanest ones and did not even want to have money for them.

Before she left Kauehi a group of cleaning fish approached the dinghy and later on the boat. So the hull got a free cleaning. Kauehi, what a wonderful island!

Oh, and can you see Marmot all by herself anchoring at the dock on the cover picture? Marmot is Ibex‘ dinghy. They are a family together with Squirrel, the kajak you hardly ever see on pictures.Squirrel is shy and rarely comes out to play.