January 21, 2016 - Spent a day on Fakarava, an atoll with 850 inhabitants, on a cruise. It is a small place with little infrastructure, so there were no excursions offered by the ship. A supply ship comes two times a week. The only town has an ATM outside the Post Office, a tiny Air Tahiti Nui office that was closed, several pensions and snack bars, two general "magazins" (stores) and an enchanting church. It also has bikes for rent if you get there early enough, and one main road for walking if you don't. If you want a beach, it's very basic - just walk down the road and go into the lagoon where you see people swimming. A short walk takes you to the ocean side and an old stone pyramid building that was, apparently, a lighthouse. There are several others on the atoll that are similar.

Double click on a picture to see a larger version; all pictures by Ruth Rosenthal, copyright January 2016. Note there are multiple pages.