Apataki atoll
Racing the pass at Apataki on the National Geographic Orion.
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The woman who opened the door
Debora Kimitete showed us how to slam the car door correctly, so it wouldn’t fly open again. We would spend the day in her Land Rover that has had more adventures than I could ever hope for. The streets of Taiohae are full of memories for Debora, but an important place to begin was…
le 14 juillet
The 14th of July is a national holiday in France, often called la “fête nationale” or simply “le 14 juillet.” In English, we call in Bastille Day, and it is named for a major event during the French Revolution in 1789. As a French Overseas Territory, this holiday is also celebrated in French Polynesia. These…
A tattooed tour of the islands
Teiki Pao gathers coconut from the hills of Nuku Hiva. Dried coconut, called copra, is sold to make coconut oil, and it is an important industry here. Teiki works with his horse, Légende, and when I asked Teiki about his tattoos, he told me some of them represent the horse that he spends so much…
Scouting mission
I stood on the deck for a long time last night as we left Pape’ete, Tahiti’s big city. I couldn’t get used to the warm air. After three years visiting the Arctic and Antarctic, I kept waiting for a blast of cold to hit me. I gripped a cardigan thinking that – any minute –…
A new start in the Tuamotus
And now for something completely different! French Polynesia in the Tuamotus. The coral, the palms, the secrets they keep. What stories will we find here? I am listening.
Crossing Nuku Hiva to reach the beginning
The views from the air were beautiful. When we came here by ship, just over a week ago, it took a day and a half to reach the Marquesas, the most distant archipelago in French Polynesia. Now we would return to the largest island, Nuku Hiva, in a matter of hours. Before traveling here,…
