Tag Archives: snorkeling

Snorkeling a Pinnacel at Eneko

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We take our friends Curtis and Kate (Sweet Ruca) for a snorkeling adventure.  We take the dinghy to Enekohttps://www.infomarshallislands.com/eneko-island/, a short 2 miles from our anchorage.

Matt had paddled over here a few days ago.  He discovered this large pinnacle that was begging to be explored.  It was a little too deep to anchor the dinghy so we had to tow her behind us.  We were in awe once we jumped into the beautiful turquoise, clear water.

I love snorkeling with the schools of fish!  There were so many little fish enjoying this pinnacle.

All types of hard coral were thriving in this area.  They formed lovely mounds and valleys in the ocean.

I did not have a red filter on my gopro so everything is a funny hue.  But, there were vibrant green patches and colorful coral all around.

Eneko pinnacle

Eneko pinnacle

It was incredibly peaceful snorkeling this pinnacle.  I loved floating over this wonderful sea world!  There was no current and light winds so we could just float.  The fish dart in and out of the coral.  But once the fish are used to you they swim really close to check you out.

The water is really warm and bleaching is really prevalent. But not here. It is really wonderful to see so many thriving corals.

Eneko Anchorage

We took our time “tooling” on the way back to the boat.  Hugging the shoreline, admiring the sea life, and waving at a few locals.  It was really quiet on shore with very little activity.  But the few locals we saw gave us a hardy wave which was nice.

There are only 3 boats here in Eneko.  A vast difference from Majuro.  Makes for a super pleasant anchorage.

Eneko Anchorage

Eneko Anchorage

We went snorkeling at Eneko in mid-February.  Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.  Check out our last blog where we celebrate Super Bowl.

Eneko, a Divine Motu in Majuro

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We finally get away from the main anchorage of Majuro and head 6 miles away to the beautiful motu of Eneko (also known as Enigtu).  It is a short one hour motor before we pick up one of the Mieco Beach Yacht Club moorings.  Since we are members, yes, we joined the local yacht club, we get to stay on the moorings for free.

To give you an idea of the difference between the “town of Majuro” and the more elegant motus check out these photos.  Majuro is densely populated with almost every square inch covered in buildings, houses, trash, and facilities (shown in lower left image with white covering the island.  Then you come to the motus where there might be one or two houses (and they are mostly solid green).

The actual photos don’t do it justice, but I think you get the general idea…

Eneko

Eneko is owned by the Reimer family which own several business and a lot of land in the main island of Majuro.  They also own the Robert Reimers Enterprises Hotel (one of two hotels on the island).   The hotel offers its guests “get aways” for a small fee of $30USD return shuttle or a day out.  It is far more beautiful than Majruo.

This little motu is said to have one of the most beautiful beaches in atoll.  Since we can’t go ashore to most of the other motus It is hard to say if we agree with this statement. However, we are the only boat here and enjoy plenty of sunsets to ourselves.

There is a pretty shallow shoal close to the shore so they have rigged the funniest mode of transport.  About 100 yards from shore is a huge mooring.  On this mooring is an upside, small catamaran that they have deemed suitable transport to shore.  When boats come in they tie tup to the catamaran and pull the line attached to shore.  Their guests can transfer to the catamaran or they can use the catamaran to guide their boat to shore.

Exploring the Other Motus

We take the dinghy out to go for a ride and check out the other atolls.  Usually, we are able to go ashore and walk around (in other countries), but here in RMI they don’t allow that since they are all privately owned.

The water is so very beautiful as it shimmers a turquoise blue so clear you can see the tiny feeder fish on the bommies.

There are just some of the motus we found we houses on them.  Some have cement retaining walls, some are hidden amongst the trees and vegetation, and some are screaming for a Texas BBQ party.

This place just puts a smile to my face and literally makes my soul sing!

Getting to Work

We actually came out for a little work.  We had not had a chance to clean our water line or the bottom of the boat since we left Vanuatu (about 6 weeks ago).  There was muck growing and it needed to be gone like yesterday.  However, Matt could not get in the water because he decided he needed to tear off the toenail on his little toe.  It then got infected so he is on antibiotics and has to stay out of the water until it is healed.

So, it is up to me to do the cleaning, ugh!  Normally we do this together.  I clean the water line, the SSB plates, the refrigeration plates, the rudders, and the bulk of the hulls as far down as I can reach while holding my breath.  He then uses the hooka (type of diving apparatus) to clean the belly of the boat.  I really don’t like using the hooka because it is very hard to breathe.  So, I do everything else over the course of two days and over 5 hours.  It was exhausting.  

We had some soft growth (the green beard), some brown muck on the waterline, some small barnacles and a few wormy things.  Known the less, they all had to go. 

The next day I went snorkeling.  I came back to the boat I noticed soft growth had already started to stick to my clean hulls.  The nerve!

Snorkeling

We were told there is a sunken ship behind our mooring, but it’s 20-30 meters of water.  Since we are not diving, we will have to check it out the next time we come back to Eneko!  What did I see? Schools of fish, a school of squid, a dog face puffer, lots of queen angel fish and some worm fans.

We really enjoyed our time in Eneko and did not want to leave.  But I had to go back to Majuro to attend an appointment at the U.S. Embassy to renew my passport.  So, we say goodbye to Eneko for now…we will return.

Out blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We spent our time in Eneko during the first few weeks of October 20024.  Read about Majuro, the “big city” of the Marshall Islands.

Yadua and Yadua Taba

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Yadua was one of our stops during our multiple day passage across Fiji.  It was such a lovely island that I decided it needed its own post.  Yadua and Yadua Taba are located in the Bligh Waters situated between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.  It can be a treacherous  journey getting through the Bligh waters as they seas can zip between these islands which strong currents.  But in the right conditions, Yadua can be idealic.  The smaller yellow mass is Yadua Taba.

We arrived late in the afternoon, dropped the hook and watched the gorgeous sunset behind the boat.  The next day we spent exploring this amazing spot on land and sea.  We are still experiencing the effects of the Super Blue Moon with excecssive high and low tides.  So, we wait until mid-tide to get to shore.  

High tide covers the beach in water and low tide doesn’t allow us to get the dinghy over the coral reef that lines the beach front.

There are 4 beaches in this bay along with a bazillion palm trees, some hills, and beautiful rock cliffs.

Expedition on Shore

We start out by exploring the beautiful sandy beaches inside this bay.  The sand is soft and the beaches are clean.

But we want to see more so we decide to try to climb the hill to see the beaches on the east side.  Of course we don’t find a trail to go up and over….(lower photo).  We utilize tree roots to climb the rock face, then avoid slipping as we walk the ridge before we make a new trail to the other side.  Seriously there has to be an easier way!

But the beaches on the other side are magnificent!

On the way back we see what looks like a “trail” up the hill.  We decide that it can’t be more difficult than the one we came in on so we take it.  And guess what?  It is an actual trail that leads us directly to the other side.  Jimeny Cricket!

Yadua Taba

Yadua Taba is a much smaller island located on the SW corner of Yadua.  It is forbidden to go ashore on this little island and its surrounding reefs are wildlife sancutuary for one of the rarest and most beautiful lizzarsd called the Crested Iguana.

We took the dinghy over to the island with the hopes of seeing them sunning themselves on a log or the beach but they were very shy and hid well from us.

Yadua Taba is special for another reason in that it contains tropical dry forest vegetation, one of the most (if not the most) endangered vegetation types in the world!

We had to continue on with our journey across Fiji as we need to make tracks to Musket Cove.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occured in early October 2023.  In our last blog post we traverse across Fiji.