Rumbo a los Tuamutous !!! - (ENG)

Vamos rumbo a los Tuamutos, los atolones de Polynesia...en la puesta de sol, se ve el atolon, no mas las palmeras porque no tiene relieve...los delfines nos indican el rumbo para no perdernos...

We left the Marquesas Islands behind us.... en route for the Tuamoutus : They are atolls and islands spread in the central part of Polynesia....It took us 8 days to get there sailing..two crew members got off the boat in Hiva Hoa and a new crewmember from Holland came along...his name is Jan.
The first atoll we reached was Kauehi...the atolls are small ring of land, which are the visible part of an ancient crater of a volcano..there is close to no vegetation on the atolls, except the coco groves...the coconuts are a very important part of the economy : they produce Coprah, which is a dried coconut flesh used for cosmetics and oils..One a month, a ship comes into the atoll and load all the harvest to sell it in Pape'ete, the capital city of Polynesia.
Another industry of the region is the pearl farming : Polynesians are expert in the art of pearl farming and they produce the famous Pacific black pearl for jewelry. We got the chance to dive with the farmers on their growing site, and see how they get the pearls out of the shells afterwards...very delicate operation actually.
Now it is time to jump in the water and get wet ! The water is so inviting, 29 degrees Celsius, and very clear...probably 150 feet visibility, epsecially close to the pass of the atoll....underwater is a great show, we organized some fantastic dives and free diving sessions...in total shark territory...
We spent 3 weeks in the Tuamoutus : and a lot of it in or underwater..lots of free diving sessions also with Joe...It was always a delight to discover the underwater wonders of the Tuamoutus, under the supervision of the masters of the place, the sharks. First, it was very intimidating to jump in the water and be surrounded by so many sharks. On one dive, we saw more than one hundred swimming around...mainly silver tip and Pacific grey sharks. The passes (the entrance) of the atoll is the best spot to see the sharks in big groups...The South pass of the Atoll of Fakarava was probably the most spectacular place to see the shark close by.
Also, nurse sharks, black tip and white tip sharks are very common and they were very close all the time we would be in the water...I saw a couple of lemon sharks as well, in shallow water.We learned a lot from the sharks, their behavior, and how to respect them...respect their space, their feeding grounds, keeping an eye onthem at all time : The Polynesians highly respect the sharks and they are part of their mythology. They have learned to live with them and respect their presence, instead of massacring them like in most of the places on the planet.
We didn't see many people in this part of Polynesia...it is a very remote part of the country and the living conditions are very harsh. The reefs are in very sane conditions, and diving there was absolutely spectacular...Watching the wall of the deep blue in Fakarava filled with hundreds of sharks was a sight I am not about to forget...