Rarotonga - The Last Dance

March 1

Paradise.
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved

February 26 was a hot, sticky, tropical kind of day, the steamiest of our trip. It was our last day in Raro, and nobody wanted to leave. The prospect loomed large over us, and tempers wore a bit thin. I think it was the combination of uncomfortable humidity partnered with the general moroseness one quite naturally feels when facing a separation of thousands of miles from this amazingly beautiful, calm, peaceful place.

This guy poses in the 4 directions.
Here, I'm doing my best to cover his bits...

We started our packing while waiting for a couple of us to come back from a walkabout, and then we went to market in Avarua, it being Saturday morning. And, as you'll remember, going to market is what one does on Saturday mornings. We were all sweating profusely. I'm sorry to be indelicate, but facts are facts. There's no other way to put it.

I mentioned to one of the shopkeepers that it was an awfully hot day, and she smiled and said, “Well, that's what you came here for, isn't it?” Actually, no. But I suppose, generally, she does have a point. Most people would be here to escape winter weather. But the winter weather where I live is not of the sub-freezing, blizzardy variety.

Marumaru Atua, the Cook Islands vaka.
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

We walked along the waterfront in Avarua, and guess what we saw? The vaka! There it was, at full sail, just outside the reef. It was making its way into the harbor, with a whole bunch of people on board. We watched (in the shade) as it approached the dock by Captain Jack's, and then we walked on over to have a closer look. I tried to imagine crossing the ocean on this vessel, but I couldn't quite picture myself doing it. Especially in high seas. The Voyagers are a brave and adventurous bunch!

Marumaru Atua at Treasure Island
(near San Francisco)
We visited, as promised. Can you spot Brown?
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

We took some pictures and then tried to think of something to take home to cook for dinner. Everything pretty much closes at 1 or 2 on Saturday afternoon so everyone can get ready for Sunday, except a few of the pricier places, and we needed to think about what we still had left to do in order to be ready to leave on time. Frankly, I thought I'd rather miss the plane, but then there would be the small problem of no money and no place to stay. Not a happy prospect, eh? But surely there's something an enthusiastic and vivacious person such as myself could do to earn a small but sufficient living here? Anyway, we had just eaten at the market, and nothing sounded good. So, we went home empty-handed, a development we would come to rue.

We went for our last snorkel, always sort of a sad and melancholy thing. Goodbye, big, beautiful fishes and other serene sea creatures. Goodbye, lovely coral heads teeming with itsy bitsy fishies of many colors and shapes. Goodbye, refreshing and clear lagoon. Goodbye, coral reef off in the distance, breaking up the thunderous waves that come crashing upon you. If you have tears in your eyes, well, so did I.

The light from the flash reflecting from the sky's tears.
A torrential downpour on our last evening in Raro.
Looks like snow, but it's huge raindrops!
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

Bob took the car back to the rental agency, and so now we had no transportation but our feet. So, we thought we might walk over to the PawPaw Patch for dinner. It was dark, but the PawPaw is an easy distance from the Coral Villa. Except that the skies opened up and started crying because we were leaving soon. I mean, buckets of tears. A torrent of emotion that kept on going, and going, and going. There was just no relief for the deep sorrow the island was experiencing. The downpour continued and did not stop. Somehow, I was able to draw solace from the fact that Raro was going to miss me just as much as I was going to miss Raro. And the rain continued. We were unable to go get dinner.

So, we finished packing and chatted while awaiting the shuttle to the airport. Such sad times! Rongo (the manager) came to bid us farewell and wanted to hear all about our adventures, which lightened the mood a bit. She is experienced at such things, and it showed. Thank you, Rongo, for making us feel so sure that we would indeed be back again, and soon.

Rongo and a friend on a
sunnier day.
Thank you, Rongo!
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

The shuttle arrived, we loaded up our bags, and we said our goodbyes to Rongo. It was so kind of her to stay with us until the bitter end. In retrospect, though, she probably needed to make sure we were actually vacating the premises! But she never let us think that at the time, not even for a second. The air conditioning in the shuttle was going full blast, and it was just freezing in there. Or so it seemed to me. I hadn't really experienced a whole lot of air conditioning while in Raro, preferring the sea breezes.

We got to the airport in plenty of time to check out the souvenir shops after checking in (a long line of dejected people, hating to leave). Harry got a Cook Islands Police hat, which he has since given to a guy at the VA [military veterans' clinic] who thought it was cool. Just sharing the love.

I purchased one last flat white, even though it's a hot drink and the temperature in the terminal was quite warm (no air conditioning there).

On the plane, I was seated next to a Rarotongan young man who works at the Rarotongan resort. We chatted about slow internet speeds and so on, and he talked about property fights and loose women and STDs and unwed mothers and lazy islanders...it was interesting, for sure, to hear his perspective on things. It certainly wasn't the picture I'd painted in my head and didn't match my experiences at all. Then again, I'd only been there two weeks. I wonder. At any rate, it just goes to show, there's always more to a story than meets the eye. And I still want to go back. So there.

Arriving in Los Angeles. There's snow on the mountains.
Feeling sad...
Photo taken by my Rarotongan friend with my camera.
He had the window seat.

When we were landing in Los Angeles (where the TSA people just about ruined our whole vacation, but I won't discuss that here), the mountains were snow-capped. My new friend had a hard time wrapping his head around that! “Is that SNOW?!” he asked incredulously; and, “I'm going to freeze!” he declared. I'm sure the friends he is visiting will be able to provide him with cold weather gear, if he needs it. Just because there's snow on the mountain tops doesn't mean it's cold down below at all. It's LA. Swimming pools. Movie stars.

Leaving Rarotonga was so hard. There's nothing new there. I seem to fall in love with every place we visit. The cultures, the foods, the views, and, of course, the people, all have their own charm and value. All so different, yet, in a strange way, all the same. The family of man. The children of God. Aere ra, goodbye, until we meet again.

The five of us on the beach. Happy times.
Photo by the neighbors from New Zealand. Thank you!

Rarotonga - Wigmore Falls and Earthquake News

Monday, February 21

Waterfront in Avarua
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

Kia orana!

This morning, we went to Avarua to get more internet time and to shop. We got groceries, and we got our exit tax taken care of. I wonder how many people decide to bag the exit tax and just stay on the island? That's what I wanted to do...

By the way, when you go to the bank to pay your exit tax, be sure you already have enough cash on you to do so, or else use the ATM right outside. You can use a credit card at the bank, but it's charged as a cash advance. So, if your ATM fees are less (which mine would have been), you're better off to get cash first, then go inside. As you no doubt know, interest starts being charged tout de suite on a cash advance.

She made that basket in five minutes!
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

We took the “back road” to see the agricultural areas. The back road parallels the main road on parts of the island. We found a couple of ladies selling fruit alongside the road, so, naturally, we stopped to purchase some. While we made our selection of bananas, young coconut, starfruit, and papaya, one of the ladies made a coconut frond basket for us to carry our purchases in. This is something that you'll find pretty often as you drive about. They don't charge you for the basket, either. And there's no plastic bag to deal with. I determined that I would find materials back home to make baskets or bags with so as to reduce my impact on the environment.

We also drove up to the hospital to see what it looks like. Hmm. Not exactly “third world” looking; on the other hand...

Wigmore Falls
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

On the way back to the house, we decided to go to Wigmore Falls, which is a lovely little spot a tiny bit inland. The mosquitoes started attacking as soon as I opened the car door. It surprised me, because we hadn't had a problem with bugs at all. And, naturally, I hadn't applied bug repellant beforehand. So, there I was, using my Deet towelette, smashing skeeters as I rubbed the stuff all over. Next time, use the bug repellant first, silly girl!

Back at the house, we made lunch and went for a snorkel. Then we heard the news on the radio that there had been a big earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, with major damage. We still hadn't been able to get our television to work.

I went next door to alert the folks in the other house who were from New Zealand and had just come out of the water from their snorkel. Naturally, they were frantic to talk to their loved ones back home. Happily, we all found out that everyone was fine; however, the home of one of their sons was lost to liquefaction, and the mother-in-law's house was uninhabitable because it had split in half. Knowing how spotty and downright wrong information can be during such emergencies, we took the doomsday reports of the dead and wounded and missing to be overestimates (as they normally are). But there were 65 confirmed deaths at that point, with more probably to come. Not good.

I watched the reports on the television next door for a little while, then went back to our place to find that my husband had managed to get a picture on one channel. Good job! So, this evening, we are glued to the television set. We're grateful that our friends next door are in contact with their intact families, but we're sad for many others for whom life has just become a wasteland of devastation.

Would there be a tsunami? We had been told that because of the local geography, with the steep drop-off right on the other side of the reef, any tsunami would be held at bay. But you can be sure that we were watching the tide very carefully, and we were prepared to head to the hills on a moment's notice! And, if you've been reading along, you already know that we had familiarized ourselves with the nearest tsunami escape route. Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.

Photo by Harry. All rights reserved.

Dinner tonight was prepared by Bob and Jo, and it was lovely: cucumber salad, rice, and curried tuna. Very nicely prepared, and absolutely delicious. As was our custom, we ate out on the deck, where there's a very nice teakwood table and chairs. And we watched the lagoon for any sign of emptying...