Somehow we just spent a solid week in the Cook Islands and we didn’t manage to post a single blog entry. Not an auspicious start for this little travelogue!
So, where to begin. We landed late Saturday night, around 11pm and were serenaded by a man on a ukelele-like instrument the entire way through immigration, baggage claim and customs (it’s all in the same room, after all). CS was dead on his feet and fell asleep through various transitions–customs, rental car acquisition, left-hand side of the road driving–ultimately landing in bed just after midnight. But we awoke to this:
The Cook Islands consists of 15 islands, with Rarotonga (our new home) the largest at 26 square miles. The first several days were sunny and pristine and we snorkeled right in our backyard, walked on the beach, made the half kilometer trek to the Wigmore’s Superstore for $2.50 NZD ice creams ($1.50 USD), and drove around and around and around the island (it only takes 45 minutes to circumnavigate all of Rarotonga, with a max speed limit of 50 kph). We, of course, located the only bubble tea store on the island (I was impressed that they had one at all) and befriended the local dogs who all mostly belong to someone, but are allowed to roam free most of the time.
As the week went on, it got a bit cloudier and a bit cooler (a sort of 70-ish but feels like 67 situation), and we realized we had been pretty spoiled in our first few days. But we found other ways to occupy our time. We visited a local independent school, Apii Te Uki Ou, and though they were on holiday we found several students and adults around preparing for the Te Maeva Nui, an annual event that celebrates the anniversary of self governance. CS was quickly pulled into a game of “basketball” in which an undersized yellow soccer ball was occasionally dribbled and a fair amount of tackling amongst the older kids took place.
Te Maeva Nui kicked off officially on Friday, July 25th and since it was the 60th anniversary, it ended up being a big deal. People flew in from the outer islands and beyond (New Zealand etc.) and there was big parade to kick off the event. The website said it started at 12:30pm. A police officer directing traffic, though, told us it started at 11am so we dutifully found seats and sat politely waiting. At one point a boy ran past us carrying a torch and we thought, “Yes! It’s happening!” Then nothing happened for 15 minutes. Then, I think, the prime minister drove by in a pretty average car. Then nothing. And then around 12:15pm some floats came into view. Since we were near the middle of the parade, it must have started just before noon. So. There were floats put together by the individual islands, plus some other random groups (schools, the Ministry of Health, the Department of Corrections, and a few non-Cook Island nations: Niue, Indonesia, Tonga, and others). We lasted for most of the parade but then ended up walking along the road to fast forward it a bit. CS got his first experience with free parade candy, so I guess that’s a thing outside the US!
Another highlight has been Vigo and Jeannie. They live down the way a bit, en route to Wigmore’s Superstore. Vigo keeps giving us fruit from his yard (papayas and coconuts) and they’ve been lovely to chat to. We ran into them again this morning at the Punanga Nui Market, which is a big food and crafts market that runs every Saturday from 8am-12pm.
We wrapped up the morning with a hike along the Cross Island Trek. We cheated a drove to the car park and then only really hiked most of the way to a rock called The Needle before turning right back around. Parts of the walk were nearly vertical and involved climbing tree roots and I was DYING. Meanwhile, Calum Saints blithely frolicked up the hills and then politely stopped to wait for me, neither out of breath nor sweating all that much (despite long sleeves). Meanwhile, I was feeling the humidity and the grade in every part of my body!
Overall, this has been an excellent first stop on our round-the-world trek! Stay posted for more!