Maoa in Apataki
Juffa
Bill and Caroline
Fri 5 Jul 2013 00:47
Foraging has become higher priority in light of reduced rations, so collecting the local sea snails or Maoa (with the Finnish couple,Tapio and Eeva off yacht Irene) seemed a good idea. Low tide and low swell were essential as the swirly shelled gastropods are found on the windward side of the atoll so it was an early morning but not quite early enough. The rising tide was quickly covering the steeply sloped sides of the atoll, making the well camouflaged dinner more difficult to find and buckets were not filling as quickly as hoped. A couple of bigger waves flooding over the reef and it was time to stop with just enough Maoa for dinner. 15 minutes boiling, intricate wiggling to remove the insides from the shell, working out which bit you eat and which you feed to the fish, then a quick chop and combined with Eeva's vegetables, coconut milk and curry. Something we will do again, but maybe not too soon.
An early night beckoned as a weather front was coming through bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds and uncomfortable waves which took 24 hours to pass over before the mirror like calm of the lagoon returned.