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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

French Polynesia: Gambier Islands (East)

The view towards Mangareva from the runway
The view from the Totegegie runway towards Mont Duff on Île Mangareva

We made our last sortie from Rikitea on Thursday 5th June, accompanied by Tegan as per usual (no other yachts joined us, as they seemed to be far more interested in simply lazing around off Rikitea, probably a side-effect of visiting too many island paradises). Our mission: to head a couple of miles east towards the airport motu, Totegegie.

Barbecues, Cigars and Scuba Diving

The view along the motu of Totegegie
Looking along the motu of Totegegie, with the reef wall on the left and the lagoon and airport terminal on the right

We spent the next day preparing for another beach barbecue, this time on the motu. As with our Île Akamaru barbecue, it all went swimmingly, with my first attempt at a marinade going down a treat. The cigars made an appearance – José Llopis Churchills, maduros and naturals, just for the record – and we all spent a sizable portion of the evening scouring the outside of the reef, exposed at low tide, for crabs and lobsters, but failed to catch a glimpse of even one. Never mind, walking round an exposed reef by torchlight after a large barbecue is an interesting experience even if you don't spot anything.