North Fakarava, French Polynesia, Part II: Undercurrent 03/2025

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Dear Fellow Diver,

With half of our three-week trip left, I was excited to visit Fakarava, French Polynesia's second-largest atoll, about 37 miles by 13 miles, with under 1000 residents. I planned to dive both north and south Fakarava since each has exciting rides through narrow cuts with hundreds of sharks. But neither offered something this Floridian deemed essential in the tropics -- air conditioning.

Pension Vekeveke As our 150-mile flight from Rangiroa descended over Fakarava's north pass, I saw the water boiling where the outbound current collided with the ocean. I wondered who the first brave person was to dive in these conditions. At the small airport, after a free-for-all to collect luggage, we carried our bags to a trailer where a guy tossed them in, and we climbed into a covered flatbed trailer with benches pulled by a diesel truck.

After a five-mile ride past modest buildings with a few stops to drop off other passengers, we arrived at the Pension Vekeveke Village, where we met Thierry, the friendly owner, dressed in cotton swim trunks, the only garment I saw him wear during our stay. A patriarch of a multigenerational family with a full head of wavy dark hair, he showed us to our quaint bungalow with a king bed shrouded in mosquito netting, a fan we never used, a coffee table, and a few shelves. The covered porch, with a beautiful beachfront view, had a card table and two chairs handy for assembling camera gear. Even from my bed, I could look over the peaceful lagoon. Our front room opened on a small beach where we soon snorkeled among damselfish and butterflyfish darting in and out of orchid and creamy yellow corals.

The Pension is best described as a guest house, as is most Fakarava guest housing, with eight cottages. "Lagoon" bungalows open over the water, and beach bungalows open onto the beach, which is lined with palm trees; they are farther from the Wifi hotspot, and we had spotty cell service. Two thatch-covered picnic tables are in the water, not far from a dock, leading to a covered sitting area over the water.

A large, open-air thatched-roof dining area with a high ceiling and fans had lovely lagoon views. Their simple breakfast included fruits, baguettes, cream cheese, and jam. For dinner, we ate the food put in front of us: the first night, pork loin with barbeque sauce, tuna poke, and green beans. The other meals, though short on vegetables, were fine. In the lagoon below, mullet and groupers begged for handouts, and nurse sharks appeared when someone tossed scraps. Beer and soft drinks ran $6, wine and booze around $15....

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