May 1999

Hello everyone,

At the moment I travel in two ways: I visit a good number of extraordinary islands, shooting the three films that will complete the series "Once upon an island.". and also because, each time I come back to France, I once again enjoy traveling on your behalf through these splendid places, by means of the pictures, when I am editing the films in the studio.

. Last month, I have been editing the film on the Atlantic: I have thus been able to live once more the splendid cruise made last year (12,000 miles downwind . a dream!) I revisited Saint Helena and the breathtaking landscapes of the island of Fernando de Noronha, the beauty of Bermuda, the cliffs, the rolling hills. and the hydrangeas of the Azores. I once more tumbled down the streets of Madeira on board an impressive Carro de Cesto (Basket Carriage), or learnt an astonishing whistled language in la Gomera island . the crossing was superb, the landscape impressive, you will see for yourselves in November in the new films. So, in the first half of 99, I will have visited:

The Philippines where the frenzy of the half religious, half pagan festival of Ati-Atihan, the dazzling colors of the Jeepneys, and the grandeur of the huge rice terraces of Banaue contrast with the quietness of the beaches and blue lagoons of Boracay or Palawan.

Bali where I found remains of the first outrigger canoes, without any doubt the precursors of those sailed by the Polynesians to the limits of the Pacific Ocean..

New Zealand : not a tropical island, however, fascinating and spectacular: the Polynesians who chose to live there have christened it "The Island of the Great White Cloud".
n May, I will be travelling around the Mediterranean, visiting the Balearic Islands, the smaller islands of Italy, then the Greek islands; in June, I will finally fly over the Hawaiian Islands on board a small plane to finish a film about the traces of the great Polynesian sailors.
So, see you later.

Easter Island, that I had not yet visited. the imposing moais (megalithic sculptures) built on all sides of the island are more impressive than anything I had ever imagined