Swims with fishes

This short week in Aitutaki was focused on swimming. We had seven swims in four days, plus the whales on Day 5.

Our routine was to head out in the boat at 10 AM and drop off somewhere in the water…

Then we’d swim toward one of the small outer islands, maybe an hour in the water. Then island lunch. The lagoon around Aitutaki is really shallow… often we had to weave through coral heads and once or twice it was easier to get up and walk. But the water is crystalline, the fish abundant.

One day, Captain Ned (below) told us more about coconuts than we would’ve thought possible. Really interesting!

After coconuts begin to sprout, the inside turns all spongy, but you can still eat it.

Then, back in the boat for the afternoon swim. It was usually shorter and had a theme… outside the reef in deeper water one day, giant clams the next. The tame’ish giant trevally are a hit…

I didn’t bring an underwater camera this time. Good and bad… it’s nice to live in the moment instead of fiddling with the gear, but some pictures not taken. The whole place is basically the most perfect tropical aquarium you could possibly imagine.

And then back home by about 4 pm. Happy hour, then dinner.

That was plenty of water time and I’m tired. But compared to how much we ate and drank… more exercise needed!