Anse Amyot

ANSE AMYOT

For a different and unique Tuamotu experience, Anse Amyot is a MUST.  First of all, the spot is a false pass, a cul-de sac that you'd better not confuse with a real pass or you'll end up on the reef.  Then, if you've never experienced diving with sharks (like me), it's a good training ground.  Finally, you are the guests of the local landowners, the sweet and resourceful Gaston and his colorful bride, Valentine who share their little piece of paradise with passing boats and make sure that they have a most excellent adventure.  And if you challenge them to a game of Pétanque, watch your wallet: Valentine is "une Tireuse Redoutable"... shall we say 100 francs/per point?  All in good fun!

Now that the winds have settled to the East again, at least for a few days, we tucked in at Anse Amyot, our choice anchorage for Toau atoll.  We will not visit the interior of the lagoon for 2 reasons.   The entrance to the lagoon is another 20-some miles to the East, not in our general direction; and the anchorage on either side of Pass Otugi has been reported as full of coral heads, the cruisers having to dive their anchors out in all the reported cases.  So, in spite of excellent snorkeling reports, we skipped the lagoon entirely and satisfied ourselves with Anse Amyot.

For once, don't bother to anchor.  In fact, Gaston would rather not have any boat anchoring in the cove.  The bottom appears to be sand but is dotted with bommies that may be fun to dive but would not be kind to your ground tackle.  Instead, we grabbed one of the 10 moorings that Gaston has installed for the cruisers' convenience and the cove's preservation.  There are 4 big moorings on the northern end (port side) and 6 smaller moorings on the southern end (starboard side.)  Swinging Big D's 24 tons on the mooring was no problem.  JP dove the tackle to inspect:  Gaston is to be trusted with his moorings.  Cost? In season, 500 francs/day or free if you have dinner at Valentines (3,000 francs/p/p;)  Out of season, free or maybe a "cochonnet" for the Pétanque, or a fresh-caught Mahi Mahi (Oh, don't even cut the head off, it's the best! and you'd break Gaston's heart... as we did :(

 This is the "off" season and the couple was not catering to cruisers: no Valentine meals, no Gaston expedition, no Varo fishing, no diving trip, as the couple was focused on fishing, filleting hundreds of Parrot fish, packing them and sending them to Papeete on board the "COBIA."  So we explored on our own.  Mostly, we learned how to dive with sharks and drift-dive the false pass.

Time to get the AirLine Hookah in the water.  We estimated slack time at the beginning of entering tide (we don't want to be blown all the way to Papeete) and alerted Gaston on our intention: if you don't see our dinghy in an hour, come and find us!  Honestly, we've never done solo drift-dives with the hookah, pulling the float and the dinghy behind us, and I admit I was a bit nervous.  Even though our hookah does not allow us to dive at more than 20 meters (60'), even though the water is so clear you can see the shadow of the dinghy above when you just look up, even though this was really the perfect condition to drift-dive, I was nervous. 

Gaston gave us a quick briefing, his blessing, and we were off.  Just outside the reef, at the northern end of the cove, Navy-blue water signaling the drop, JP gave me the signal to jump.  I did.  And I shrieked in my hookah!  Some 40 sharks were lined up below me, a wall of fins and teeth wondering what was going on up on the surface.  I was ready to fly back into the dinghy and if I had been diving with a tank I'm sure I would have used up all the air in that time so fast was my heart beating!  Cooly, the grey masses came closer to me, their slit-eyes checking me out, only to turn around and, dejected, return to their waiting spot.  I was not food.  Phew!  Within a minute they were all gone, back to the depths, and I breathed easier.  By the time JP jumped, there was no shark in view.  Next dive, JP will jump first!

For the next 3 days, we'd repeat the dive and enjoy flying over a carpet of coral.  Invariably, the current would push us towards the green mark on the south end, so the trick it to follow the coral line on the north end.  But what a trip!  Giant Napoleon wrasses, all colors of Parrotfish (bright orange too!), Marbled and Peacock Groupers, Moray eels, a large octopus, and thousands of surgeons, angels and butterfly fish in an explosion of colors.  We even spotted one of the rare anemones, complete with its little "Nemo" companion.  Sharks?  Yes, they're there, black- and white-tip reef sharks, but we're getting used to them.

For a respite from diving, we took to snorkeling the area around the south-east end of the anchorage.  The current in there can be swift as water pours out of the lagoon and over the reef and through the anchorage, on its way out.  It's not hard to get belly-scraped!  But again, at slack time, this is a marvelous area for snorkeling and taking pictures.  In front of Valentine's dock, a sandy shelf is home to a colony of Spider Conch.  We would have stayed a bit longer to study them but some 20 healthy black tip sharks were vigorously circling around us: it was 4 PM, supper time, feeding hour for the sharks and time to get out of the water for us.  

Meanwhile, Valentine and Gaston were cleaning fish and feeding more sharks.  I suppose that while they are doing that we won't be shark food.

Gaston had a surprise for us.  While Valentine, mourning the loss of a family member, was not in the frame of mind for entertaining, Gaston showed up to the boat with something he held at arms' length, suspended by a line.  It looked like a giant Hermit crab.  "Here's a coconut crab! Boil it 20 minutes in a mix of half sea water and half fresh water, crack the claws and legs, and dip the meat in the cream you'll find in the belly... that's like Foie Gras."  

So we did.  The meat does taste like coconut and the fat, brown, creamy belly contents look and taste like foie gras (well, a bit too bitter to my taste.)  JP had a feast and the coconut crab head is now dried, sanitized, and hanging on our galley wall as souvenir of Anse Amyot.

We could have stayed longer in this little paradise.  But we're supposed to pick-up William (yes, he's coming back for more fishing) in Fakarava, so off we go.  If you come to Anse Amyot, bring a WHOLE fish or two, a "cochonnet" for Valentine, some beer of course, and plenty of TIME to enjoy this marvelous spot and their gracious hosts.   We're off to Fakarava.  Until then...

dominomarie