The sun rose bright and early in Amanu and we both felt like spring chickens after our good night’s sleep!  One: it was a solid sleep with no night shifts.  Two: it was flat and calm with no rocking and rolling.  Three: it was quiet with no engines or generator.  Pure bliss.

We end up spending 5 days on the south east corner of Amanu.  We had wanted to explore other anchorages but the weather was not cooperating.  So, instead we take Sweetie out and explore lots of different motus.

Tuamotus Islands are called Atolls

If you remember, the Tuamotus are flat motus that surround the lagoon. In between each motu is a water flow that can be small like a babbling brook or large like a full river.  Usually you can cross the water passages to get to another motu.

Here is a water passage.  One photo is looking toward the lagoon (top) and the other is looking toward the Pacific (bottom).

Three quarters of the motu are covered in different size rocks and dead coral with trees or bushes in the middle.  Only a small portion of the motu facing the lagoon is covered in small coral and sand.

Lots of Sea Critters and Crabs

I love that bottom left photo with Sweetie in the foreground and Sugar Shack in the background.  The water colors are simply divine in Amanu.

Each motu has a ton of crabs and sea life.  One particular motu had a bevy of crabs in many shapes and sizes.  I love the one in the middle with his extra-large red claw!  In the upper right corner, the two green crabs were trying to hide from us.

We came across a cool house on a really small and remote motu. We were so surprised to see this “real house” with water collection system, sliding glass doors, windows, and curtains because this motu is so remote.  Usually there are just “pop ups” made of metal sheets or plywood out on the motus. 

More Abandoned FADs

We ran across a lot of abandoned FADs and as a result the sea side looks awful.  Unfortunately, we did not have the energy to try to disassemble all of them.  These two fads had become so embedded in the rock that removal was difficult.

Because I sowed the ugly FADs on the beach, I had to post this beautiful photo of Amanu’s water.  Can you see my shadow?

Events from this blog post occurred during the second week May, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.