Yes, we are still at Anse Amyot, and still enjoying this beautiful location.
We really had planned to leave early this week to go back to Fakarava. However, we have been getting low on gasoline--too much dinghy-ing around and too much dive compressor running--and we asked Gaston here at Anse Amyot to add an extra 200-liter drum of gasoline for us and other cruisers, to his order of gasoline. It was supposed to be here a week ago, and then again on Monday.
Unfortunately, there is/was a big 'general strike' going on in Tahiti starting late last week. All government workers, including the Weather Office, the firefighters, etc etc were on strike. The strike completely shut down the international airport for days, and also shut down the port in Papeete (Pap-ee-ay-tay). Visions had family flying out and had to rebook them 3 days in a row before they finally got out. And all the cruising boats arriving in Tahiti a few days ago arrived with empty fuel tanks after a near windless passage, only to find no diesel to be had in Papeete.
The strike is just over now, hopefully for good, but things are backed up. The supply boat bringing the fuel from Papeete could not get fuel to fill their tanks. So now it is 'next Monday' for fuel delivery. We know that Gaston here at Anse Amyot has a rather urgent need for gasoline, and he is pretty well connected to the supply boat captains, so we are confident the fuel will arrive here as soon as it's available. We've decided that the best choice is to sit tight and wait.
It is a great place to be stuck, though. We are still diving nearly every day--when weather and social commitments permit. We have covered almost all of the wall outside the pass in a mile in either direction, and now have our 'favorite spots' marked by GPS. Dave is getting really good with the underwater camera, having lots of time and clear water and interesting subjects to practice. Yesterday we returned to the 'Grottos' site to look for the elusive Black Lionfish that we saw on our last dive. We managed to find a pair, and Dave got some good shots. Yes, they will get posted eventually.
Though nearly everyone we knew here left for Tahiti a few days ago, a day later, a whole new wave of boats came in from the Marquesas. So we've had another round of social gatherings. The wind is still really light, so many people are delaying leaving for Tahiti hoping for more wind. I am sure the wind won't start blowing until WE start to try to head south and east.
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At 6/17/2010 5:03 PM (utc) our position was 15°48.21'S 146°09.14'W
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