French Polynesia is an area of 2 million square miles in the eastern South Pacific, and is about two-thirds the size of the continental U.S. After a seven hour flight from Los Angeles we arrived at Papeete the capital of Tahiti, where we were greeted by Tahitian musicians and pretty young ladies draping flower leis around our neck, then bussed to the SPV Star Flyer clipper ship, the tallest of the Tall Ships. Soon after, we set sail northeast towards Tuamotu Archipelago, 34 hours at sea.

 

 

The Tuamotu Archipelago is a chain of coral atolls, stretching 720 miles in the Pacific Ocean. There we anchored in the lagoons of the atolls of Fakarava (inhabitants 701) one day, and Rangiroa (2,334) another. From there, another day at sea took us west to the Society Islands. These islands are not atolls, but are made up of ancient volcanoes eroded into jagged peaks, deep bays, and valleys. All have fringing or barrier coral reefs and beautiful blue lagoons. Captain Cook named them the Society Islands because they lay relatively close together. Here we visited several islands over the next few days.

 

Two islands, Taha'a (population 4,500) and Raiatea (10,000) are enclosed by a single barrier reef and with a deep lagoon, making it the sailing capital of French Polynesia. Taha'a is the only island in the Society Islands that can be completely circled by boat inside a protected lagoon. From Taha'a we could see through a thin haze to Bora Bora towering abruptly out of the sea.