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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Email to Friends: Kia Orana from the Cook Islands

Sorry I didn't get this email out while I was gone. The internet is slow and expensive on the islands. This trip originally started after I made a decision to make better use of my work schedule of one week on followed by one week off. Winter in Seattle is not my favorite, so why not spend it exploring new places and going on little adventures? I was sick at home a few months ago (and may have been a little fever-ish). I saw a airfare special to a place called Rarotonga. I had no idea where it was, so I figured I should go and find out!

Turns out Rarotonga is in the Cook Islands, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of New Zealand. While they use the New Zealand dollar, they are their own self-governing country made up of several small islands. Ethnically, they are mainly Maori and the islands are completely surrounded by a lagoon. Perfect place to spend a week! Flying in, the first day was stormy. And it was a Sunday, which meant most places were closed for church and family time on the island. Apparently, people are very religious here. Checked into my spacious studio apartment at Avana Waterfront Apartments that I had booked for the week. Perfect spot on the lagoon with a jetty, BBQ facilities, a pool, kayaks, life vests, and snorkel gear for free use, and full kitchen set up to be able to cook. Also nice and quiet, down a residential road off the main road from a church with a few houses, goats, and chickens. There really only is one road in Rarotonga that goes around the whole island. There is a clockwise bus and an anti-clockwise bus, each taking an hour to get around the whole island. There are stops, but they will pretty much stop and pick you up any where. In between rain storms, I walked Muri beach, ate at the recommended nearby Mooring Fish Cafe with the most fabulous fish sandwiches served out of a decked out shipping container on the waterfront, napped, and watched neighbors kill a chicken. There was seriously only a few minutes of bright sun, and I somehow manged to get sunburned (it is pretty close to the Equator). I hit the night market which is mainly just food carts and chose fish curry and ika mata, the local dish which is raw fish in coconut milk. The locals all seem really nice, stopping to see if I need a ride while I am walking. Or maybe it is just easier to give me a ride, as I am constantly looking the wrong way for traffic, as they drive on the left side of the road.

Got up early the next day and watched the sun rise from the jetty. Spent the day snorkeling, chasing fish around, and kayaking with the apartments free kayaks. Back to the Mooring Cafe for a fish sandwich. Seriously, if you ever visit Rarotonga, you MUST go here. Turns out the local fishing charter guy Moko catches the fish while his wife runs the restaurant. Chatted with Moko and he ended up giving me a ride into "the city." I went to the grocery store, but a snafu with my credit card had me leave empty handed (seriously, Capital One REALLY screwed up too many times to count). Took the clockwise bus home. Spent the evening delivering presents I had found while snorkeling (an Aerobie frisbee to the son of the man who cleans and landscapes the apartments I had seen helping his dad in the morning and a perfect sea urchin shell for the Chinese girl who had been walking around with sand in her hand all day). Helped the Chinese family get their father booked with Moko for a fishing charter at night and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Read on my comfy balcony chairs overlooking the lagoon, listening to the crashing waves and enjoying the sea breeze.

Watched sunrise again from the jetty. The water is super choppy today, and I have a head cold so no diving for me today. Walked through Muri to Titikaveka, the next town over, and found a nearly empty swimming beach with the whitest sand and bluest water. Stopped for a fresh fruit smoothie and double scoop of passion fruit and caramel crunch ice cream on the way back. Quick snorkel off the jetty before taking the bus the long way around the island to town and then off to a hotel/bar restaurant called The Islander for delicious buffet dinner and a show that I had heard about ($50NZD cheaper than the closer show in Muri). As a single person, they put me at a table with a bunch of young guys who seemed to be about 18 and who were on a mission to get drunk. I may have been plotting ways to kill them, or at least push them all in the pool to shut them up. Another woman from another table could tell my displeasure and approached me and invited me to sit with her and her daughter at their table, but my neighbors from the place I am staying at showed up and saved me by sitting at my table. My neighbors are a sweet couple from New Zealand. She is in school to become a teacher and he is originally from Turkey and in sales and marketing. The food was great and it was nice to try all the different island specialties. The show had great costumes and island dancing, with some folklore and history mixed in, along with some fire dancing. Caught the bus home, exhausted.

Up the next morning for some diving. Head cold moved into my chest, so I figured if I was going to dive, this was the day. Did a two tank dive with the Big Fish Dive Center. They were the most expensive on the island, but I have made the mistake of diving with the cheapest operations before and learned my lesson (don't look for discounts on sushi, tattoos, or diving). The dives were nice with great visibility and beautiful reef. Sadly, my GoPro decided to stop working. The marine life was okay, but not as much as I had hoped. Also had a little trouble with my sinus, so I was off and it wasn't my greatest dives. It has been more difficult clearing the side of my face that I broke my orbital on a few years back, and coupled with the head cold I was fighting made for some difficulty. Also, my snorkel managed to go missing somewhere between the boat and the car ride back to the dive shop. All good, though, and was nice to get in some dive time. There was also a zoology major as a dive master and he went over all the fish we saw when we got back to the Dive Center. Went back for a nap and a quick kayak around the lagoon. Stopped at a place called Villi's that was next door to the place I got my ice cream and smoothie the day before for an enormous burger that was quite good and cheap. And then went across the street to the Muri Night Market for second dinner (hey, no judging... I am on vacation!) Picked up some roasted lamb and took most home for a late night snack. The family who ran the stand was super nice and their kids were hilarious. We chatted about the increasing cost of seafood on the island, as she said there have been less available over the years. Lamb is flown over from New Zealand and is super cheap here, though (several New Zealanders say cheaper than at home) and super yummy. Moko passed me on the road and gave me a ride back home.

The next morning, I got up and took the first bus to town to hike the Cross Island Hike. After talking to several locals, I was told to start from the town side due to the easier elevation gain, easier to follow the path and better views. It was definitely the right call. It rained a bit, which made the views from the top not as spectacular, but it was a fun hike. Lots of clamoring under trees and over roots. The Needle viewpoint had resident chickens that were quite entertaining. Unfortunately, the rain made the downhill trail quite slick. There are ropes to hang on to, but it was still slow going to avoid falling. There were lots of stream crossings, orchids, and tropical foliage and a nice waterfall at the end of the hike. As I finally made it to the road, I noticed I exited at the abandoned Sheraton Hotel (built but then abandoned and still sits empty). While waiting for a bus back, I stopped to chat with a nice guy named Johnny who offered me papaya and uto, the fluffy, edible inside of a germinated coconut that soaks up all the water that they compare to marshmallow. Perfect after a long hike. Had a lovely fish dinner from... you guessed it The Mooring Fish Cafe and a local beer for my last night. My flight wasn't until 11:50pm on Friday night, so I booked a day trip package on Air Rarotonga to Atutaki for my last day. Might as well check out another island and I heard it was postcard-perfect island life that dreams are made of!

The Rarotonga Air shuttle picked me up at 7am and I checked in for the flight. I had cleared it with The Islander in advance to store my larger backpack for 5 NZD, which is conveniently right across the street from the airport. Off we went on a little plane for the 45 minute ride to Atutaki. I lucked out that the skies were pretty clear that day. Nice to see Rarotonga from the air on takeoff. And flying into Atutaki was stunning. Such blue waters with white sand and the surrounded lagoons. There was even rainbows as we landed. Our tour met us at the airport and gave us a quick tour and history of the very small island before we headed to our boat cruise. It really does look like a postcard. The clearest water with very color blue imaginable, tiny dots of green on the horizon of further islands, white spits of sand.... amazing! We were fed and taken to three different islands. I found the biggest cowry in the most pristine shell I have ever seen (there was someone still living in it). Saw the nice digs for those who were kicked off Survivor when they filmed there several years back (SO not roughing it, sign me up). We walked through trees full of white terns nesting. There was snorkeling where giant trevalys swim right up to you and little patches of coral reef teeming with sea life. There was an island with its own little post office and more stretches of white sand. Most enjoyable day and plenty of sunshine. As we headed back to Rarotonga, a storm set in. Luckily, they lightening and heavy rain didn't start until our little plane had touched down. Chilled out at the islander, enjoying cheap happy hour drinks and food before heading over to the airport and changing clothes for the flight home. After playing all day in the sun and salt water, I was thankful the cruise had a hose on the back that I used to "shower" before my long flight home (9.5 hours from LAX). Pretty sure my Ms. Crossfit "Do you want to watch videos of me doing box jumps for hours as I make three costume changes on the flight and still remain in full makeup" seat mate wished I had a real shower. Oh well.

All in all, a lovely place. Glad I saw it and totally worth it, but not sure I would ever go back. Now a week and a half more work before leaving for Germany to check out some Christmas Markets! Rarotonga/Cook Islands trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow.


Love,
Betsy

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