COME WITH US TO AN ISLAND PARADISE

Welcome To Cook Island
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Yes, we know .........we were suppose to be on our way to the 10,000 year festival of the Japanese Ainu......BUT......the "universe" had other plans for us again.  Cathy was talking but I wasn't listening.......she did not want to go to Japan.....did not want to go....DID NOT WANT TO GO !!!!!!  The "universe" heard her  and sent us to the Cook Islands to get warm and to totally relax.

So, close your eyes and allow us to take you with us to this island paradise.  The plane lands and as you step onto the tarmack you relish in the warmth and feel the ocean breeze on your body.  As you enter the reception area you hear beautiful island music and someone puts a very fragrant lei of gardenias around your neck, stating, "Kia Orana."  We gather our luggage, get in the van and off we go to Aro'a Beachside Inn where Jim and Jan meet us and take us to the bar for a welcome drink.  We sit and watch the sun set over the coral reef as we sip our "sea breeze"  ending our first night on the island. [Ellen who knows nothing about sipping has gulped hers down because she is so thirsty].  Up in our apartment which is right on the beach' we sit on the balcony, look at the incredible number of stars, and listen to the waves crashing on the shore.  What a wonderful way to be lulled to sleep!!!!!!!!

Can I out run a Tsunami ????

Ellen in front of the bar at Aro'a when we first arrived.
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Poor Ellen  will  spend many nights awake trying to figure out how to save us when and if the nightly rain storms turn into a tsunami.  This is what happens with too much free time on your hands.....

Rarotonga is currently filled with islanders from the other cook islands who are here to compete in the Indigenous Cultural Competition of song, dance, story telling and drumming.  There are 15 islands that make up the Cooks but only 12 of them are inhabited.  In addition to the competitions that are going on everyday ,there was also a "trade market" one morning, where all the islanders buy goods from each other.  A lot of the items would only be found on the individual islands so we really lucked out again.

Crazy Jim making our first drinks in a Mason jar.
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We have made 4 wonderful friends who everyone thinks are life long friends of ours because of how well we get along.  No matter where we go, we 6 become the life of the party.  Not bad for a group of 60 year old ladies!!!!!!

Ellen and I walking down the street are causing heads to turn.  We haven't decided if it's because we're so damn fat or if it's the reason Nono gave us while we were sitting in a bank waiting to be served.  She just walked up to us and asked, "How can you be friends?  I didn't know Americans could be friends if they were black and white.   So much for skewered American T.V.   Nono took us under her wings and eventually invited us to her home for a Cook Island feast.

Our place in paradise.
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During our time on the island we attended many cultural events and learned a lot of the history.  Their history with the Europeans was very different than the Maori of NZ.  Even though they had all their idols destroyed by the missionaries over night, they did not have their land taken.  Even today one cannot buy land from these people.  One can only lease land for 60 years and then whatever buildings have been erected on the property becomes the property of the islander who owned the land.  The islanders are very traditional and family oriented.  Grandparents will take and raise the grandchildren because the parents are busy working two or three jobs. Outside of being very proud of their tribes plus fantastic dancers and singers on the outside, they are New Zealanders on the inside.  They have adopted the churches and  lifestyle of the New Zealanders.  Most Cook Islanders go to NZ to finish school  and continue to live off the island while they raise their families.  We met many that returned "home" in their 50's because they wanted a more relaxed lifestyle and slower paced life.

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Our week is over and WE DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO COLD, RAINY AUCKLAND!  So we contacted Megan [our travel agent] and she extended our tickets until the 21st.  We have to leave the Aro'a because they are all booked up. So I went down the road to the Castaway Villa's where I meet the manager Tai [Tie Ee] and talked him into giving us a room for the price of a backpackers lodge. [$80 per night] The room is just as nice as the one we are leaving.......it just isn't right on the beach.  It is beside the pool however.  No one back at Aro'a can believe the deal I got for they are all paying between 200-275 a night for their 2 week packages.  Thank you universe for taking such good care of us.

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I have a new love of my life !!!!!! Jorjii, I have discovered and love to snorkel just like you.  The lagoon that is formed by the coral reef, that totally surrounds this island ,is teeming with all sorts of tropical fish.  My favorite were the various butterfly fish.  Our new friends and I even got Ellen out with a snorkel mask and she also loved seeing the fish.

Speaking of fish, try this new dish that we were given at a fish bar-b-que.  Smoked marlin [or any smoked fish] mixed with capers, lemon juice, onion, mayo and rolled in a lettuce leaf.  Ellen thought she had died and gone to heaven.

Beautiful Sunsets every night.
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We have been invited to another islanders house for tea.  Mrs. Hunt is a lady we met at the Saturday market.  She left the island at 15, moved to Auckland and raised 5 children.  She came back to the island 10 years ago to her family land and now raises Noni and coconut for export.  Jason, this is a Noni fruit from which the juice is extracted.

When we went to Nono and John Henry's for lunch they made us an authentic Cook Island Sunday meal.  We had cold coconut milk in the coconut, pork, chicken, lamb in taro leaves, crab salad, raw fish salad in coconut milk,  boiled taro and creamed taro leaves.  This was topped off with a big  bowl of ice cream.

Looking down the beach from our balconey.
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Life is tough here on the Cook Islands......we spend our mornings in town looking in the stores, snorkeling all afternoon, drinks from 5-6 PM then dinner at home  or out with the crazy ladies.  Watch the Olympics in the evening then start the whole thing over again the next day.  This beats wwoofing any day !!!!!

Our final morning on the island was spent kayaking with Baba in the lagoon.  It had stormed the night before which produced huge waves breaking over the reef.  Baba said he would take us out to the reef line in a 2 person boat and show us how to catch a wave to surf back to shore.  What a thrill ride that turned out to be!!

Crazy dog that sits on the coral and tries to catch the fish.
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Tai put the final touch on our trip by arriving at 1:00 with coconut rolled banana fritters served with ice-cream and topped with caramel syrup.  A sweeter ending to our trip couldn't be imagined literally or figuratively.

GOODBYE COOK ISLANDS !!!!!!!!!!