Rikitea a small town on the island of Mangereva which is part of the Gambier Islands. The island and several others, all remnants of an ancient prehistoric volcano lie within the reef. You can see the the waves breaking on the reef in the pictures if you look closely.
One reason we stopped here was to pick up French customs officers to clear us when we leave Pitcairn. We were greeted by the local inhabitants, beautifully dressed, and given leis. They had set up a market selling mostly black pearls for which they are famous. Black pearl farms are everywhere in the lagoon, marked by buoys. There are thousands and thousands of buoys.
of course, there was the inevitable market set up at the landing.
We toured St Michael’s church and strolled through town.
At the wharf we saw the old customs house, destroyed no doubt by a cyclone.
We did find one of the two stores on the island.
The biodiversity of plants is amazing. Plants growing on plants.
After a short shore visit, we headed back on the boat and on to Pitcairn!
Through the almost daily short tropical rain storm.
