Palm trees sway in the trade winds above a yellow beach. Oso is suspended in a cerulean swimming pool, the anchor clear on the bottom 40’/12m below the boat. There are no other boats in sight, and the only sounds are waves ending their trans-oceanic voyage on the fringing reef of the atoll and the sporadic splashes of birds plunging into the water to snare a fish for lunch.
Welcome to the Tuamotus, a group of 80 atolls stretching in a line roughly southeast to northwest over a couple hundred nautical miles. One of the five archipelagos of French Polynesia, the geography of the Tuamotus couldn’t be more different than the Gambiers. Instead of volcanic peaks sometimes shrouded in cloud and mist, the only land are rings of ancient coral rising only a few feet/1-2m above sea level. Instead of cool forests of deciduous and conifer trees, the only plants are tropical ones – palms heavy with coconuts and pandanus trees sporting their unique segmented fruit.
Around 15,000 people live in the Tuamotus, but they are largely concentrated on the larger, more populated atolls. So the smaller islands feel like a place that is hard to believe still exists on the planet – beautiful scenery, beautiful weather, and not a human in sight.
After completing the check in process into French Polynesia, Oso is welcome to stay for up to two years. Her crew, on the other hand, are limited to a 90-day stay – after that, a 90 day stint outside of the country is required before qualifying for more time in the country. Since we spent 6-7 weeks enjoying the Gambiers, our time in the Tuamotus is limited.
Instead of jumping from atoll to atoll in a frenzied attempt to see as many as possible, we opt to spend more time in just a couple of places before moving on. The island of Amanu is the easternmost atoll that features an accessible lagoon. There’s a small village on the atoll – between 80 and 200 (depending on who you ask) people live on the atoll, largely harvesting copra from coconuts – but without an airstrip, interaction with the outside world is limited to private boats and the roughly monthly supply ship. And the atoll of Tahanea is completely unpopulated, preserved by the French Polynesian government as a park.
The Tuamotus are a wonderland. There’s not much exploring to be done ashore, so time is spent in the water – paddleboarding, swimming, snorkeling around the vibrant, healthy coral, and (very, very) slowly working to improve our (barely beginner-level) wing-foiling skills.
We feel the same way we did when we left Gambier – we wish we had more time in this place!
