Over one thousand miles southeast of Tahiti
are the Gambier Islands.
The cradle of Catholicism during the nineteeth century
following the arrival of the first missionaries
to the region, hundreds of stone buildings from
that era survive including churches, convents, schools,
and watch towers. Mangareva, the largest island
of the region, is home to most of the population
and the center of the region's pearl industry. The
island's only small family pensions are located
here in the town of Rikitea.
