We woke up to a beautiful morning at the Coconut Lodge, and had a beautiful breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt, and crepes.

We even had the cutest little visitor at breakfast, a baby gecko (mo'o).

After breakfast we were picked up by Rangiroa Excursions in front of Le Coconut Lodge and brought to the Avatoru dock for our day at the Blue Lagoon. While waiting for the boat to depart, we watched the many nurse sharks off the dock.

And a titan trigger fish.

Once the boat was loaded up,

we made the hour long trip across the large lagoon to the lagoon within the lagoon, Le Lagon Bleu.

We stopped just outside the lagoon to snorkel with the black tip reef sharks on the shelf of the reef, in relatively deep waters.

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Then the captain anchored the boat at the reef and we waded through the shallow waters to a small motu where we had a snack and swim. 

It was mesmerizing to watch the baby black tip reef sharks and plentiful mullet in the shallow waters. 

And this little guy:

From there we were able to explore the adjacent islands, simply by wading across the lagoon from motu to motu. So crazy to be so remote, exploring small islands--you are completely alone out there.

Our captain and guide made a delicious meal for us on their private motu, including some freshly barbecued fish. So good.

One of my favorite parts of the day was the rays. Some of them were very curious, and a couple of them seemed like puppy dogs, coming in to interact with us.

Eventually we waded our way back to the boat on the reef, and headed back across the big lagoon towards Avatoru. We stopped near Avatoru pass for snorkeling,

and then ended the excursion at the green lagoon.

Once we finally made it back to the dock, we got in our ride back to the Coconut Lodge, where we spent the end of the evening paddleboarding, swimming, and admiring the sunset.