The Rum Diary: Marques and Teal: The Tuamotus

Welcome to paradise, the Tuamotus!

It took us three days to sail from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus, the largest chain of atolls in the World! We made landfall on the island of Toua, but spent the majority of our time exploring Fakarava and Rangiroa. The Tuamotus couldn’t be more different than the Marquesas. Aside from rain, there is no other fresh water source. Unlike the mountainous Marquesas, the Tuamotus are completely flat, and are made of sandy strips of land built atop reef. These strips of land are called “motus”, and they surround the perimeter of huge lagoons. Rangiroa and Fakarava have the largest two lagoons in the Tuamotus, and Rangiroa is also considered the second largest lagoon in the world.

Here is a GoPro time lapse video of us cruising inside the lagoon of Fakrava. Its a good example of what the motus look like.

The motus are covered in coconut palm, hence copra production is one of the main sources of income. Another money maker is the cultivation of black pearls, and there are black pearl farms scattered all over these islands. The majority of the famous “Tahitian” black pearls actually derive from the Tuamotus. After having visited tons of pearl shops in and around Tahiti, I can say that the pearls in the Tuamotus, especially in Fakarava, are the most beautiful, highest quality, and reasonably priced pearls we have seen.

The Tuamotus have become a diving destination, and its no wonder why. Diving and snorkeling in the Tuamotus is like being inside an aquarium. The water is crystal clear, the fish are so colorful and interesting, and at any moment you can see schools of shark and eagle rays passing by. The ecosystem is so gorgeous and healthy that Fakrava was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. What really makes the diving so interesting is the geology of the lagoons. The lagoons are entered via passes in the coral, and some can be quite narrow. As the tide changes, the direction of water flow in the passes change. There is literally a wall of sharks that hang out at the edge of the pass waiting for their meal to get swept by in the current. We dove most of the passes while we were visiting Rangiroa and Fakarava. Two dives in particular I will never forget. The first was diving the South Pass of Fakarava called the Tumakohua Pass. As we drifted with the incoming tide, we made a few stops to watch a wall of blacktip, whitetip and lemon sharks swimming against the current. The dive guide said there was probably around 300 sharks there. Aside from the sharks, there were so many different types of fish, many that I had never seen before. My favorite find being the unicorn fish, a new favorite of mine. It was just spectacular!

The other dive that comes to mind was the Tiputa Pass in Rangiroa, which is famous for its incoming tide. We started the dive outside of the lagoon, and followed the shoreline to the mouth of the pass. The mouth of the pass had a wall of over a hundred sharks! We couldn’t watch them for long, because the current quickly caught us and began to suck us through the pass. Then, all of a sudden, it was like we were in some sort of water vacuum- being sucked into the lagoon at an insanely fast speed. It was crazy! There was no way to stop yourself if you tried- the best thing to do was just relax and enjoy the ride. I’ve never been in such a fast current, it was so much fun! I was so caught up in the current that I didn’t even think of filming it with the gopro that I was holding... but it would have been a great video if I had.

Aside from diving, the Tuamotus are a kiteboarders paradise! And we were lucky to get to do a lot of kiteboarding while we were there. The most notable of places we kiteboarded was an area called the “Les Sables Roses” in Rangiroa, an area with strips of pink sandy motus on the very southeast point of the lagoon.

Here is some neat drone footage of Marques kiteboarding Fakarava.

The motus provided the perfect launching area for the kites, and was even more perfect for collecting shells.

The water was flat, and shallow enough so that we could glide overtop sharks and eagle rays. We had a blast!

Other Random Photos from the Tuamotus:

Windless day in the Tuamotos

Found a little slice of home in a local bar in Rangiroa!

Giant Coconut Crabs- a local delicacy. Marques and I were given one as a gift, but felt too bad killing it so we set it free.

Coconut crabs can weigh up to 9 lbs, and grow to over 3 ft in length! They eat mostly coconuts (hence the name), and their powerful claws are super dangerous to their #1 predator: humans. I met a local who had lost a finger to them.