Fortunate Detour: When Storm Sent Tahiti-Bound Ship to Marquesas Islands, Adventure Ensued

The weather isn’t always inviting, but the reward is always sweeter once the storm has passed.

First Marquesas Islands stop at Fakarava hinted at storms on the horizon. Benjamin Myers/TNS

By Marlise Kast-Myers From Tribune News Service

In 2018, I traveled solo to the French Polynesian islands. By day I surfed, snorkeled, sailed, and swam, stopping only to sleep in an over-the-water bungalow on stilts. On my final night, I lay belly-flat, face peering through the glass-bottomed palapa as neon fish darted between pylons and coral gardens. That’s when I vowed to return someday to this living postcard with my husband, Benjamin.