Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Saturday, March 19th......  Finally we got straightened out with the calendar....  Actually it happened yesterday but not until the afternoon.....  We had a lazy day on Friday, set up by the pool some, played in the casino some, and we had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill again....

Today was a big one, we made it to Rarotonga, Cook Islands.... 

The Island as we seen it from the ship

 It was another “tender” stop and the weather was rough....  so it was a bouncy ride to the pier.   Then we boarded a bus which took us to another part of the island where we got on a nice boat with a thatched top.  

Our Tour Boat

We had a smooth ride out to a coral garden where we could get off the boat to snorkel....  We had worn our swimsuits and had our gear with us, but about the time we got there a storm came over and we had really rough water....   Several tried it and we also got in but I knew immediately it wasn’t going to work...  I simply didn’t have the strength to fight the currents and Jim barely did.   He did get to look around for a few minutes but he could see I was struggling, so he gave me a hand and I made it back to the boat...  He had also had enough so we got back on board....  Because the water was so rough, and it was about 12 ft. deep, no one was out very long....   Leaving there he took us to his private spot on the island where we did some exploring while he and the crew prepared lunch....  

Private Motu

The sand beach was beautiful....  as well as the motu itself, which is what they call the small islets within the lagoons.  It was covered mostly in coconut trees and beautiful bushes..... 

To prepare lunch they built a fire out of dead wood and set a big iron griddle over it....We had fresh grilled tuna, sauteed onions, and plantain bananas, then they served potato salad, cold slaw, & various fruits out of the coolers..  

Lunch was served to everyone on paper plates but when they ran out, Jim and a few other guys at the back of the line were given a plate made out of palm leaves. 

We walked to the other side of the island (not far) where we could see the huge breakers of the lagoon and there was a lot of dead coral that had been washed up on the beach during a bad storm in 1995.   

Reef breakers as looking out from the motu beach

After lunch they put on a demonstration of coconuts...  One of the crew members climbed one of the trees and knocked some down.   Then they showed how the islanders crack them open, remove the husk, drink the milk and make the coconut we see in the stores...   They also talked about all the uses for it, from skin lotion to food and clothing....  They also gave lessons on how to tie the beautiful Para’s that the islanders wear....

Stabbing the coconut onto a stick in the sand to split it

Tying the Parua

Last look at the Motu beach as we pulled away

We got back to the pier just in time to catch the last tender....  By then the storm had created some problems for the tender boats and it was really rough getting back onboard.....  As soon as we got back to our room we took showers to wash off the sea water and sand and are just about ready to go down to dinner......   

Tomorrow is another sea day and I think everyone is glad we have a day to rest....