Note: This was written this morning, we departed Nuku-Hiva at 1430 local time and this is being posted at 2000 local time. This morning we will be departing Nuku-Hiva and leaving the Marquesas, taking a relatively short, 575 NM sail to Rangiora in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Still in French Polynesia, but very different from the lush volcanic islands of the Marquesas. The Tuamotus are a group of 78 islands, all but two being coral atolls. They span 1000 miles in a NW - SE line. I am not sure of the definition of "atoll" versus an "island", however it is easy to distinguish one from the other. Atolls are basically lagoons, surrounded by coral reef. That means you can't see them from a distance of more than a few miles. They are great places to dive or snorkel. Diving with sharks is a big attraction. For some. The Marquesas and Nuku-Hiva in particular, are the prize awarded those that make the Pacific crossing. There is nothing fancy here, no 5-star restaurant that I could see, no marinas or shopping centers. The vistas are beautiful, the 2500 inhabitants are a work of art and the former IT guy from LA, whose wife is Marquesan with 15 siblings, that runs the yacht services here and can provide anything that is available, is fantastic. The short time we have been here is not enough and it is a place I would return to. The natives have a cultural heritage that provides a different perspective than most I have seen. They are celebrating Bastille Day for all of July. There are dance competitions between groups from different areas of the island. We went Friday night. This was not Dancing with the Stars. These are fierce warriors working up their spirit to go fight another tribe, steal their women, and eat the fierce warriors from the other village. Apparently if you eat muscle you get stronger, brains you get smarter and; well you get the idea. The females who dance and sing, as opposed to the males who make scary, rhythmic grunting sounds, are apparently enticing the males to a different activity. It appears they don't want to compete with stolen women from another village. I referred to the local inhabitants as works of art; because they had no written language they developed symbols to identify and describe themselves, their family and their lives. These are used in wood carving, painting and tattooing much of their bodies. They are among the best tattoo artists in the world. We learned from other sailors we met here that one of the "rites of passage" taken by many sailors who have crossed the ocean to get here is to have a local artist symbolize their passage and memorialize it in a tatoo. More later�...�.....