I meet my first native Marutean, hanging around the back door of the kitchen…

They say that they keep the cats to get rid of mice, but I’m not so sure. This is a very friendly citizen.

After a fabulous lunch cooked up by the universally popular chef Carl, we waddle off to the boats to see the grafting operations at one of the three pearl farms. As you can see by these photos, the weather changes rapidly.



Here we observe the exacting and esoteric art of Tahitian Pearl grafting. Few people are privileged to see what we see inside this humble building. The people are smart, friendly and industrious. They tie the oysters into their frames so fast that my video appears to be on fast-forward.

These oysters are awaiting nucleation. Then they will be drilled and tied into basket frames and replaced into the bay. Yes, I got unbelievable video of nucleation, but they asked us not to share any of their technical process. Sorry

The grafters nucleate so quickly that it appears to happen by sleight-of-hand. They used some kind of dyed antiseptic, with which the unwary onlooker was frequently baptized. Warning – stand close to nucleation at your laundry’s peril!

Jeremy got a pink edging on his sleeve.

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