September 5, 2013
It was a cloudy day, but after a couple of days of being boat-bound during a windy period, we were anxious to get off the boat and do more exploring, even if the weather wasn’t ideal.
About a mile across from us was an area of small islands and a sand bar. We’d occasionally seen a mast on the other side of that bar, and we were very curious about what that anchorage was like and how the heck boats got in there. There’s a saying from a movie, The Edge, that Rich and I love: “What one man can do, another can do!” That was certainly the theme for Fulaga as there was so little information back then, we’d only learn about an anchorage by seeing another boat there. If they could do it, we could do it, too.
We beached the dinghy on the sandbar, wide at low tide, and walked over to an area of limestone rock formations nearby. Someday, far in the future, these formations would become islands. For now they were connected by one small landmass, and in between them were lots of hidden beaches, shallows and little bays. We could hear bird and fruit bat sounds from the thick vegetation on top of each “mushroom.” I climbed one of the rocks to try to spot fruit bats. I didn’t find any, but I did have a nice view.
We walked around the limestone formations, sometimes wading through shallow water that had a surprising number of tropical fish. After some walking, we ended up in a huge area of shallow water where we could walk way out. (You can click to enlarge and scroll through photos in galleries below.)
We decided to explore a bit further and took our dinghy to the neighboring island (just to the northeast). There we found a perfect white sand beach with rocks and mushroom islands spilling off of one end. We walked around them to find yet another perfect crescent of beach and another mushroom rock headland. This place was stunningly beautiful.
Here’s a very short video of the area…
The water was too deep to walk around the next headland; so we took the dinghy and discovered a small sandbar. We made a quick stop and walk here.
Next, we motored around a nearby cluster of mushroom islands. The afternoon was cloudy but windless, and in this soft light the shallow water around the islets was a beautiful shade of blue so clear we could see large tropical fish swimming below us. A fruit bat swooped by us and landed on a branch, hanging upside down. This area was definitely magical. We hoped to return and snorkel but unfortunately never got back. Still, it will always remain a fond memory of Fulaga. -Cyndi
