The best of Fakarava ?

 The day we left Fakarava, a catamaran anchored way too close to us, only hours before we wanted to get our anchor up. We kept it nice, and they agreed to be up at noon and maneuver out of the way when needed.

That beer is not as big as it looks (0.5l)
for $6 US...

While chatting, we learned they came from the Marquesas, so were a bit tired with 3 nights at sea. They asked what is best about Fakarava. We thought for a moment, and besides the sea life, it is the fact that quite a few tourists spend money here, so there are hotels, and restaurants we can go to and enjoy.

Solitude in the islands is all great, until one is bored enough to get back to civilization. And Fakarava met that need. Sure, everything is expensive, a simple "Poison Cru" is $17 US. But once in a while we just have to have it :-)

 

Reasonably well fed, we now make our way to Tahiti, only 250nm, but we can't make that work with just one night. One has to time the exit out of the north pass of Fakarava (#6 in last post's sat-pic) with not too much current against wind. Making it a 2 night trip, the challenge is to slow the boat down, but have enough sail to not roll so much in the big swell. 

Spoiler alert: It was a pretty crappy trip!