Our daily swim in the lagoon

To the buoy and back again.

Apr 15, 2024

We go for a swim as a family nearly every day in the Bay of Vaiare. I swam until the last few weeks of my pregnancy, up until it got too difficult to balance my big round body while clambering down the rocks into the water.

We go from the marina, up and around the buoy, with the big ferries coming past and making waves. We’re like a little pod of slow dolphins doing breaststroke with our heads above water.

The view of Tahiti from the marina on Mo’orea

Sometimes the ferry toots its horn at us, or tourists wave and take photos from the sundeck. I like waving back.

The water goes from light turquoise to cobalt, then eventually the dark dark blue of ocean. We stop at the buoy signalling a patch of reef in the middle of the lagoon for a brief break and conversation. Two electric blue fish nibble at the scabs on my legs. They’re always here and I wonder if they’ve started anticipating their little snack on our arrival.

I don’t like the part where we go back over the shallowest part of the reef. It’s a little nerve-wracking. When the boats go past they send up big waves that crash against the reef and buoys. If you’re swimming, oblivious, those waves would send you up and dunk you straight onto sharp colourful corals.

When my belly started getting bigger and I got nervous about scratching it on the corals, we switched up our route. We now go along the reef for a bit and cross at a deeper, narrower section.

As we swim, I watch the mountains, the boats, the quality of the light under the water. Sometimes a turtle will pop her head above water to watch us. I’ve seen a pod of dolphins nearby and whistled at them, but they didn’t approach us. Too shy.

I count my strokes. It’s a slow meditation. In the distance is Tahiti, wreathed in clouds, sunlight glinting off the buildings of Papeete. Waves from the ocean crash on the distant reef in a spray of white.

Sometimes the water is so still it looks like a mirror. You can see everything below in such crystal clarity, the lavenders and yellows of the corals, the tiny orange and yellow and blue fish. You can see the steep cliff face of reef underwater ending in a floor of white sand.

Sometimes the water is choppy and grey. We battle the winds and the currents for every meter gained and I swallow what feels like cupfuls of salty water.

No matter the weather, I always return to shore happy that I went out.