French Polynesia

In February, we went a bit off the beaten path to visit French Polynesia. We booked the trip last July, actually, as a mid-winter jaunt away from the cold of Pittsburgh. At the time, we had no idea that it would be the first of several trips in 2025 that we now have on the books given what’s transpired. Nonetheless, we set out on the 16th of the month for Tahiti to meet our Lindblad Expeditions adventure.

Ancient Polynesia: The French Marquesas and Tuamotus

We were headed to see the French Marquesas Islands and Tuamotu archipelagos, two of the five archipelagos that make up French Polynesia. For Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, it was apparently the last time, for now, that the National Geographic Orion will be visiting the Marquesas due to lack of demand. This is unfortunate as it is a beautiful set of islands with amazing people and unbelievable wildlife.

Manta Rays

The abundance of manta rays that we experienced is hard to describe. These animals are way larger than you can imagine – 8 to 10 feet across, and they travel in what we came to understand is either a fever or a squadron. Either way, it was amazing to watch them roll and glide through the waters in and around the islands that we visited.

There was a scientist, Maya, on board who was studying the manta population. Each day, she would spend in the water with them photographing them. Each manta has a unique pattern of spots on their bellies, and there is a database to track the population of mantas in the world. You can check it out here.

Tahuata

In the Marquesas, we visited an island community known as Tahuata. It was, perhaps, one of the most moving experiences of the entire trip. We arrived in the morning and on the way into the island, we were met by the leader of the community. He was on the rocks, welcoming us to his home. It was beautiful and moving. The pictures speak for themselves.

Once we landed, the people of the community greeted us with music and flowers, and they paraded us into their town where they shared their food with us, played music with us, danced with us, and made us feel welcome. It was very moving.

Snorkeling in the Tuamotus

Getting in the crystal clear water, however, had to be one of the highlights. The water was crystal clear and warm, and the wildlife was quite abundant. We went snorkeling just about every day that we were in the Tuamotu archipelago, and each day was different. Perhaps the most abundant wildlife was in Rangiroa. Here are few pictures.

But, the dolphins!

As we were arriving into and leaving Rangiroa, one of the most unbelievable sights had to have been the dolphins who came out to play in the wake of the bow of the ship. I was leaned out over the bow of the ship watching these dolphins just come to enjoy themselves, and it gave me such joy. Here is a little video. They just come from everywhere to have a good time. Pardon the squeals you might hear from me.

---

But it wasn’t all dolphins and sunsets

Sadly, no. We left our two dogs, Hoover and Ruby Roo, in the care of our amazing dog trainer, Andrew. Hoover came to us back in 2016 as a damaged stray having been rescued from the streets of Chicago.

We worked hard to get Hoover to trust people again. She had been, at some point in her life, hit by a car, and she had clearly been abused. Her trauma had made her distrustful, and we were grateful to have found Andrew to help us work together to get her back. Ultimately, she became the world’s loudest love sponge.

But, she was getting old. She had recently lost her sight, and she always had mobility issues given her hips were basically wired together after her car accident years back. In the last few months, she had contracted a bone lesion in her front shoulder, so mobility had become even more difficult.

Hoover was, as you can imagine, tough as nails. She carried on. Before we left, we knew she was nearing her end, but we thought she had some time left. We were, unfortunately, wrong. Andrew called while we were away to let us know that she was ready. She had gone downstairs, went outside, and didn’t want to come back up. Andrew got her back inside, but that was it. She didn’t want her food. She had gotten to the end of her toughness.

So, we had to make the call. She had a last meal of Wendy’s hamburgers, which I am sure that she loved, and then she crossed the Rainbow Bridge to join her friends, Madison and Chloe who have gone before. We miss her greatly, and certainly, this colored our time away. She was loud, and loving, and tough, and she had a hard life at the beginning but lived her best life at the end.