1/19/12 Rarotonga

3^rd time is a charm. We became the fist Seabourn vessel to successfully tender people into Avarua,  Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands. Not that it was pleasant…. The seas were very rough and some of us were a little green by the time we landed—don’t know why I didn’t take seasick medicine. But we made it to shore and back and were very happy we did—what a great part of the world.

Law says no building can rise above a palm tree and the interior is lush with an amazing number of types of fruit grown. We saw mango, papaya, breadfruit, coconut, watermelon, banana and pineapple. The people are laid back and happy. They have a few flights coming in each day and most arrive at night because the runway is short and they don’t want to scare the drivers passing by the end of the runway on the main road. This road circles the island and is serviced by 2 sets of buses. One says clockwise and the other says counterclockwise on the front and you want to make sure you get on the right one! There is one 9-hole golf course and it is the only golf course in the world that requires you play around 5 TV towers.

Like the other islands we’ve visited, Rarotonga is volcanic and is surrounded by a barrier reef, which creates a shallow lagoon around the island.  As the first picture shows, the island has craggy peaks, covered in lush vegetation. The second picture shows a view of the lagoon and Muri Beach. All beaches are public and you may walk through hotel property and enjoy their beach. Poking around near the shore at the beach, we found little crabs, shrimp-like critters, a few small and not very colorful fish and sea slugs. We have never encountered sea slugs. The ones here were the size of a thick hot dog, although squishier in texture when touched. We’re developing an urge to spend a week on one of these islands, snorkeling our way through different parts of the lagoon each day, eating fresh fish and fruit every day and, probably, swatting away mosquitos the rest of the time!

We go to bed tonight on January 19 and wake up tomorrow on January 21. We’re crossing the dateline.  After 4.5 days at sea, we’ll arrive at Russell, New Zealand at the Bay of Isles. More then….