Tag Archives: sunset

Baie de Uitoe

Isolation at its Best: Ile Ducos and Ile Puen

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Matt and I needed to decompress after returning from the States. We decided to go find some isolation and that is exactly what we found at Baie de Uitoe, Ile Ducos, and Ile Puen.

We left Noumea and headed west.  Our first stop was Baie de Uitoe which is part of the mainland, Grande Terre.

Sugar Shack tucked up next to the shore in 4m of water with excellent holding and protection.  We had the lovely Ilot Mathieu behind us.

Baie Uitoe, Grande Terre

Baie Uitoe, Grande Terre

We had a beautiful couple of days here with pretty calm waters and a gentle breeze.

Sweetie brought us over to Ile Mathieu where we were able to walk the long 3 mile beach.

Ile Ducos

Time for a change of scenery so we moved to Ile Ducos. We took Canal Ducos up to the north western end of the island and had a beautiful dolphin encounter.

The anchorage was stunning, calm, and peaceful.

Most cruisers head to Baie Des Moustiques which translates to Mosquito Bay.  It did not sound appealing to us so we anchored west of Baie Des Moustiques.

This is a protected islet whose fragile ecosystems require strict adherence to environmental rules (prohibition of fishing, hunting, collecting shells or plants

Matt was able to capture a few really pretty sunrise photos with the drone.

Love these glassy conditions.

And of course we had several really pretty sunset photos.

Ile Puen

Our next stop was Ile Puen.  Matt and I were able to snug up close to shore and dropped the hook in 3m of water during mid-tide.  We had great holding and were super protected.

Our only neighbors was a small herd of cows that liked to come out to bathe each morning.

Sea Treasures

We enjoyed a leisurely walk along a lovely beach and came up with a few sea treasures.  

I had never seen this cushion sea star (Culcita Novaeguineae) before.  It has a lovely pentagonal shape. 

I was not sure if it was 100% dead since it was still a bit soft and had some black on the bottom.  So, I put it in the ocean with the hopes he will come back to life.

A few beautiful shots of our home.

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual events. 

We spent time at Ile Ducos, Ile Puen, and Baie de Uitoe toward the end of August 2026.

Be sure to follow us on No Foreign Land.

Sunsets, Sunrises, and Beaches of Rongelap

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Rongelap provided us with some of the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises.   The colors were always stunning regardless of what side of the atoll we were anchored at.  I wanted to share some of the beauty we experienced during our visit to Rongelap.

We visited in January when the sun set around 7p-730p and rose around 645a-715a.

Tufa island is located in the southern end of the atoll.  The sun rose in front of the boat and set behind her.

I can’t decide if I like the golden hues, the red, the purples, or the blues better.  We always tried to watch the sun set but we did not always get the sun rises.

Beaches of Rongelap

My favorite spot to cool off is tucked into a corner of Tuff Island.  Soft sand, cool water and beautiful scenery.

The color of the beaches ranged between white to pink.  All of the beaches had beautiful crystal-clear turquoise waters lapping at the shoreline.

Some of the sand was soft and mushy while other parts had hard packed sand.  It was a king tide when we visited so the water covered the beach each night and left pristine sand.  We almost did not want to walk on it.

Some beaches had hard coral while others had small pieces of broken coral.  Coral and rocks always cover the windward side of each island.  

All of it adding to the pure beauty of the beautiful Rongelap atoll.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We visited Rongelap in January 2025. Did you read about the rare Japanese glass floats that we found in the Marshalls?

Taravai anchorage on a calm day

Polynesian Beauty

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The Polynesian beauty can be found everywhere.  In the smile of a local, in the fresh scent of the tiere bloom, in the sparkle of a pearl, and in the setting of the sun.  It just seems to abound from every nook and cranny in this country.

Over the last two years we have accumulated several “imperfect pearls.”  Birthdays, trade, thank you gifts, etc…  An imperfect pearl can be one that is not particularly colorful or full of luster.  Or maybe it is marked or odd shaped.  Either way, there are loads of them around.  Technically, they cannot be sold.

One day I decided to see if I could put together a unique design using small pearls from my little collection.  I was super pleased to find 28 pearls of the same size.  I approached a local jeweler and asked her to drill them, and create a stunning necklace.  In the states this would most likely cost well over $2k, but here it cost me about $90.  I am super happy with this striking, one-of-a-kind necklace.

Polynesian Pearl Necklace

Polynesian Pearl Necklace

Sunrise and Sunsets

We are usually blessed with either a gorgeous sunrise or sunset.  We try to stop what we are doing to enjoy these magnificent opportunities. Sometimes we sleep through the sunrise, but most times we get lucky.

This is a sunrise over Aukena.  We captured it from the Rikitea main village anchorage.

Sunset behind Aukena

Sunset behind Aukena

Matt has such a good eye when it comes to photos.  He captured the same sunrise from the bow with our sail bag and solar panels.

Sunrise over Aukena

Sunrise over Aukena

At anchor in Puaumau, we have an unobstructed view of the sunset.  One night we captured a big storm cloud on the horizon just as the sun was setting.

Storm cloud on the horizon

Storm cloud on the horizon

The full moon rose to its glory of the motu of Puaumu.

Moonrise over Puaumu

Moonrise over Puaumu

Puaumu is a gorgeous anchorage that many cruisers don’t visit (for whatever reason).  However, it is one of our favorite anchorages with crystal clear turquoise waters, great snorkeling, fun exploring, and privacy.

INSERT 2 COLLAG OF PUAUMU

We had a break in the rain on a particular stormy day.  It was the “calm after the storm.”  Which created this beautiful Polynesian scenery  with calm seas and fluffy clouds.  

Polynesian Beauty: Taravai Anchorage

Polynesian Beauty: Taravai Anchorage

Lots of pretty tide pools around low tide that reflect the puffy clouds and showcase the young sea life.

Beautiful friends, new and old.

Me, Ruby, Eve

Me, Ruby, Eve

Our beautiful Polynesian friend Valerie, her new puppy PoPo and Roxy.  Roxy wanted in because Valerie was showering Popo with love.

Events from this blog post occurred during the last few weeks of February 2021.  Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind our adventures.

Polynesian Beauty