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French Polynesia Part 2: Tuamotus

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Dave in Taou Atoll, Tuamotus Ia ora na, family and friends,  Thank you for your patience. Little by little, we're catching up. Our last post was about the Marquesas Islands, and this one is about somewhere just as special: the Tuamotus. A land of turquoise waters and white sand beaches, the Tuamotus are paradise on earth.    If you’re unfamiliar with the Tuamotus, open a satellite map of French Polynesia. Among the deep ocean blues in the area, you’ll find a lighter band, almost like a scattering of stars, stretching from northwest to southeast. This is the Milky Way of Polynesia. As you zoom in, you’ll notice the cyan bursts aren’t stars but craters of fringed reefs. Each smaller reef island, or motu, makes ringed atolls which in turn, make up the Tuamotus ( Paʻumotu   for “distant islands"). The Tuamotus are old, even from a geological standpoint. At the height of their glory, each atoll was a towering volcanic island, much like Marquesas or Tahiti. In fact, volcanic rocks f
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French Polynesia Part 1: Marquesas Islands

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Hanapaaoa Kaoha Nui , dear friends and family, We are currently in Mo'orea, a spectacular stop in the Societies' Windward Islands, our third island group of French Polynesia. As we wait out an afternoon of heavy rain, I figured I would finally write about our first island group, the magical volcanic islands of Marquesas. In order to catch you up, though, I'll need to start from the beginning.  The absolute beginning.               Around five million years ago, the volcanic hotspot under what is now the Marquesas Islands started to do what volcanic hotspots do. The mantle plumes brought all the nutrients to the surface. As molten lava cooled, seabirds used the islands as pit stops, depositing plant seeds and other nutrients in their waste. Soon prevailing currents brought other land animals such as turtles and crabs, and voilà, you have an archipelago. With verdant valleys and plenty of resources, the Marquesas Islands were ideal for human settlement.            Around 1000
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