Tauono's

So sorry "followers" that I didn't get a post up yesterday. The internet wasn't working for us here at the hotel and we just figured out that we were supposed to buy minutes from the hotel rather than from an online source. So now we're connected again and while I didn't post about yesterday's activities I did take notes so I will bring you up to date. Yesterday was a beautiful day here in the Cook Islands warm (hot/humid) and sunny. We went into town to try again to get credit for the phone cards but the woman at the telecom was out sick. We will have to try from NZ because everything is closed here on Sundays and she is out sick again today. After going into town we went over to Tauono's for the lunch we'd been anticipating with Sonja since Monday and it was well worth the wait! We had two tuna dishes one yellow fin and the other albacore(sp), fresh fruits, salad, cole slaw and lemonade and passion fruit to drink! It was an awesome lunch enjoyed on picnic tables in Sonya's yard. Sonja showed us pictures of her husband Tauono who passed away on December 30, he was a very handsome man, a cross between Anthony Quinn and Bob Marley! Sonja referred to him as "her handsome dude." I think the best food here isn't found in traditional restaurants but private residences with "open" signs in the front yard. While we were having lunch we could hear beautiful island music in the distance. It turns out it was live music coming from house across the street from Sonja's. Islands musicians practicing for a couple of upcoming gigs on the island including one at our hotel, a birthday party on Monday. So John and I sat on a picnic table by the road facing the neighbors front yard and enjoyed the live music. Speaking of front yards here in the Cook Islands. Cook Islanders often bury their loved ones in the front yard so practically every home you pass will have a grave site in the front yard some are just headstones others have shelters built over the headstones, some keep artificial flowers on the grave sites others place potted plants on the graves and we even spotted a few with laundry drying over the graves. Many Cook Islanders have chickens, pigs, and goats so in addition to the graves in the front yard it's not uncommon to see farm animals in the front yards as well. Most homes have daybeds on the front porch with beautifully colored linens although I was told yesterday that some of the beds I saw outside yesterday are probably regular "night" beds put out to dry following the cyclone a couple days ago because practically every home has a leaky roof. Later in afternoon we went to the coconut show here at the hotel. We learned an awful lot about the coconut (world's largest nut) from David (the coconut guy), we learned how to make shoes from the bark of a tree to make climbing the coconut tree possible. We learned how to crack a coconut (sharp stone, sharp stick, sharp teeth) yep, David was actually able to crack the coconut using his teeth but he stated before the demonstration "don't try this at home." The coolest thing I learned about the coconut is that every coconut has a face;-) Today is cooler and rainy but John just took a bike into town to shop for dinner so I'm going to check out the news back home on the internet and read. We had planned to go back out with Teking today for another day of snorkeling but with the rain we decided to skip it. We were also supposed to leave Aitutaki today and spend a day on Rarotonga but decided to extend our stay at Etu Moana because it's so nice here. Unfortunately, we're out of the money we paid for the hotel tonight in Rarotonga. At the end of the night I helped out the orthodox Jewish couple from Toronto by turning out their lights.

Cyclone

Kia orana (hello) today's blog post will be brief. Apparently we are sitting here in Aitutaki on the edge of a cyclone; I know exciting but no cause for concern according to the staff this weather is typical this time of year and the cyclone is passing over Aitutak. It has been cloudy and rainy since yesterday. We walked the beach right after breakfast and got soaking wet and drenched by the incoming tide. I spotted two blue starfish (etu moano) and have seen lots of beautiful shells but they've all been inhabited by hermit crabs so they must not be disturbed or evicted. After our walk we went back to our cottage where we enjoyed reading and relaxing. John went to the office to check emails and IM with Gretchen and I stayed back in the room reading. I'm really enjoying the memoir I bought in Santa Barbara, The Kids Are All Right and the time to read for pleasure. Now we're getting ready to go into town to buy a bottle of wine and find something for a late lunch/snack since we've only had gingersnaps since breakfast and it's now about 3:00. Speaking of "ginger" there are two cats in residence, Ginger and Ono. Ginger has taken a liking to us and shows up at our villa right around dinner time each night and even spent last night asleep on the daybed on the porch. If the rain lets up we are planning to go to Island Night (traditional dancing and fire show) if not we will just chill out with the other guests and staff at the hotel because everyone is super friendly except this one guy who is traveling with his elderly mother. I can't really say that he's not friendly, he just seems standoffish and a bit odd but this morning when I thought more about the duo I came to suspect that this is a case of mother taking care of son rather than son taking care of mother.

The Blue Lagoon

First things first...happy birthday, grandma from Aitutaki. Today would have been my grandmother's 87th birthday so this morning I wrote a big greeting to her on the beach. Today was another incredible day in the Cook Islands. We went on an all day cruise of the lagoon primarily for snorkeling but also to learn some of the history of the island. We went on the tour with a group of about 16 others with Teking Lagoon Tours. I would highly recommend taking your lagoon tour with Teking because he knows the lagoon inside and out and while his sense of humor is not for everyone he's a cheerful goodhearted man who seems only concerned with your enjoyment and safety. If you watched Survivor Cook Islands, Teking had a hand in the production of the show as a site coordinator and guide. The newlyweds from Portland (the ones taking a yearlong honeymoon) were also on the tour. We also met couples from Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Australia. Teking took us to four islands and we made three stops in the lagoon for snorkeling each about 35 minutes. I thought the snorkeling by the hotel yesterday was quite something but it paled in comparison to the things we were able to see today...blue and purple coral, giant clams, fish of every color and variety, the most stunning clear water colors: turquoise, blue, green against the almost purple cloudy sky. Spectacular. After the second snorkeling stop we went to a tiny island for lunch. The lunch was awesome! Grilled tuna, chicken, fresh fruits some I have never even heard of but all yummy.Understand folks we're not talking sack lunches or fast food this meal was the real deal prepared on the beach served from huge clam shells on plates made from palm leaves, I took photos and you won't believe the spread! After lunch another snorkeling stop and then another island, and then the heavens opened up and it rained and rained and it's still raining. No matter about the rain the day was absolutely beautiful and the rain helped cool down the temperature and humidity. We left the hotel around 9:30 AM and returned just before 5:00 PM so it was a very full day. Snorkeling is harder than it looks and because we were in the water for close to two hours my body feels like it's been through the wash cycle on and wrung out. I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow but I'm sure it will be fun even in the pouring rain.

Downtown Aitutaki

When I have several exciting days in row I'm too beat by the end of the day to write anything that I think can do it justice. Today was such a day. I woke up from a really good and much needed restful sleep to the crowing roosters (tons of chickens and roosters on this island) around 6:30. I went for a nice walk on the beach before breakfast and took pictures of stuff in my hand a coconut and a clam shell. I saw a blue star fish in the water (etu moano) and snapped a couple good photos of this most interesting creature so be on the lookout for the photo of the etu moana (blue starfish). John spent a bit of the morning checking his emails and working. We met up by the pool for a nice island breakfast (toast, fruit, cereal). After breakfast I walked along the beach and took even more photos. I have some fantastic shots that I think you guys will really enjoy. A note about photos; internet charges are based on MB usage and while it's relatively cheap send and receive emails downloading photos and other images uses a terrific amount of MB so I'm limiting my photo postings until we get to NZ where I suspect we'll have fewer restrictions. Anyway after breakfast and a second walk along the beach John and I rode bikes into town in hopes of solving our cellphone connection problem at the telecom center. We rode what are called "push bikes" basically old fashioned bikes with 3 gears and to brake you need only pedal backward. The ride into town was interesting because we pedaled on the wrong side of the road (with traffic coming toward us) we figured this out after an older gentleman on his motorbike rounded the corner and almost collided with John. He told us we were pedaling on the wrong side of the road. The most interesting thing I saw in town was a number of parents on motorbikes with their young children either holding on or strapped onto their parents. I saw a woman with a baby in a carrier riding her motorbike with the baby strapped to her chest and another with what appeared to be an 18 month old child holding onto her waist. No helmets for parents or children but in some cases the children are held on by a strap connecting driver and child. A sight like this in the States would probably make the evening news but here it's quite common. We pedaled into town twice today because John was told that in order to receive a refund for the $150 worth of non-working phone cards he would need to present a receipt. We went back into town (about 3 miles) and this time John took the receipts but still didn't receive a refund (long story). On our way back the first time we stopped at a little restaurant that really looked more like a private home than a restaurant for fish and chips (delicious). We stayed there for close to an hour just enjoying our lunch and the hospitality of the owner and "mama" we paid the owner for the fish and chips but had to speak with mama about the two cans of soda. Mama sold us some nice refreshing beverages. The second time in I stopped at another store where I bought a large piece of fabric also known as a dress, the woman showed me how to tie it and assured me that the girls at the hotel would have even more fashion suggestions so to just ask them. When we got back to the hotel I was ready to try out my recently acquired snorkeling skills but this time in the ocean. We got the snorkeling gear and reef shoes and walked into the Pacific ocean. OMG it was absolutely amazing just like jumping into a huge aquarium! I managed to cut my leg on some coral but other than that tiny mishap the experience was amazing. While returning our snorkeling gear John struck up a conversation with the other newlyweds, Kevin and Crystal. It turns out they scored some fresh tuna from their cruise/snorkeling guide and planned to cook it up for dinner tonight. They invited us to join them for dinner but John thought Crystal may have invited us only because she was a little tipsy. I didn't get my hopes up too high for dinner with the newlyweds but they arrived right on time as promised at our villa with the most outstanding shrimp, rice, tuna dinner you can imagine. We enjoyed Crystal's outstanding cooking and a bottle of white wine with this sweet young couple from Seattle. Crystal is a molecular biologist and Kevin in a bartender, they've been together for 3 years and were married last week on the main island, Rarotonga. I'm afraid my writing is really going downhill but I feel like there's so much to write about but I'm exhausted so grammar and punctuation must take a backseat if I'm going to be able to keep up with this thing.

Etu Moana

I had the most amazing day ever! It was like a dream, a really pleasant, and amazing dream. Let's back track a bit; the Air New Zealand flight departed LAX right on time. I really liked flying on Air New Zealand, the inflight dvd players and ipod docking stations on every seat were awesome, I watched Sideways and a documentary about NZ.. Even the safety instructions seemed classier when presented with a New Zealand accent while soft jazz played in the background on the video; sexy safety instructions! The overhead compartment is called an overhead locker and the safety instructions were called a "safety briefing." The total flight time from take off to landing was 9 hours 48 minutes. A hot dinner was served about an hour into the flight and water and drinks were available throughout the night and then a hot breakfast was served as the sun was rising over the south Pacific. I had a lot of trouble falling asleep on the flight and was awake for the majority of the 9+ hours. John on the other hand slept all but perhaps 2 hours! He didn't even wake up for the hot sunrise breakfast. We landed in Rarotonga around 6:40 AM. The Rarotonga "International" Airport looks more like a hot sweaty bus station except I don't think you would ever see chickens weaving in and out of check-in lanes at a hot sweaty bus station...live chickens waltzing around the terminal like ticketed passengers. We tried to get on an earlier flight to Aitutaki but the 8:00 AM flight was booked so we walked into "town" to find the phone store to get a SIM card and internet access cards. The walk was long and hot and the roads are pretty rough. They drive on the opposite side of the road here so you have to be extremely careful when crossing. We made it to the store after a hot sticky 30 minute walk with motorbikes, trucks, and more chickens passing by us all along the way. We got our phone set up and checked emails and took a taxi back to the airport for our 10:30 AM flight t Aitutaki that didn't actually depart until closer to noon. The security at the airport was something else, children in their barefeet played in the the "restricted area",chickens roamed freely between domestic and international departure gates, and we were not once asked for any type of identification or to go through any sort of screening process. We made it to Aitutaki around 1:30 where we were greeted by some of the resort staff and driven to the Etu Moana resort where we met the owners Jim Dutch)(Canadian) and Jo-anne Brittigin who built the resort seven year ago after paying just one visit to the Cook Islands and falling in love with Aitutaki. We met several of the hotel guests, two honeymooning couples one from Portland the other from Seattle. The couple from Portland, Dean and Trish were married in September and are starting out on a year long honeymoon. They quit their jobs and will travel from Jan 2010 to January 2011. Our cottage/hut is awesome! It's like having an entire apartment all to ourselves overlooking palm trees and the clear blue Pacific. What I'm finding most amazing about this place is just how peaceful, undeveloped and unspoiled it is. There are 8 cottages on the this property here and we haven't seen any larger resorts or hotels on the island. We walked down the beach a few a little ways to a cafe recommended to us by the hotel staff where we met up with Sonja, a real character who is Austrian by birth but she told us that she really believes she was black or brown in another life. Sonja has lived all over the world spending many years in Jamaica and about 15 years in Aitutaki where she owns some plantations and the cafe (organic fruits and vegetables). We had a fruit plate and lemonade at Sonja's place and talked with her for a little over an hour. Her husband passed away over the Christmas holiday while visiting his daughter in Auckland so Sonja seems to be pulled in many different directions trying to figure out how she's going to manage on her own. She invited us back for dinner on Friday so I will have lots more to write about Ms.Sonja. We got back to the hotel and went for a swim or at least I attempted to swim (haven't been in a pool since middle school). I need lots of practice to gain confidence in the water but it was fun and exhausting. I tried on the snorkeling gear in the pool just to get the feel of it because tomorrow we're going snorkeling. John went out in the kayak and I freaked out when I saw the kayak but no John floating in the ocean; turns out he was snorkeling and after I had Jim ready to go out in his kayak in search of John we spotted him back in his kayak safe and sound. I could write for at least another 20 minutes about this amazing day but I'm beat and my body clock tells me it's 2:52 AM (Minneapolis) so I'm signing off for now.

On our way

I'm attempting to write this entry using my iTouch so it's going to be the shortest entry yet. We had a busy last day in CA starting with a 2 hour hike up rattlesnake canyon and ending with a 2 hour visit to the Getty Museum in Malibu. I forgot my camera battery and charger at the hotel so we had to find a Best Buy in LA on our way to the airport...that was an adventure but it's much too involved to go into when I'm typing one letter at a time:-) We arrived at LAX at 7:00 PM for our 10:15 flight. The flight to Rarotonga is 10 hours and we will arrive there around 6:30 am Rarotonga time. Rarotonga is in the same time zone as Hawaii in case you're curious. So we're having dinner at the airport and waiting for our flight. I hope to write more later. Best wishes to all for a wonderful week.

The Sideways Tour

Saturday in Santa Barbara was chock full of fun and adventure. We left the hotel and headed over to Will's place around 9:00 for breakfast. After a light breakfast (cereal) we took off on bikes furnished by Will's landlord. I had the girls' bike but the gears were crummy and John kindly offered to ride the crummy girls' bike allowing me to ride the better boys' bike; I protested because I thought he looked goofy riding the girls' bike but he didn't seem to mind a little embarrassment and discomfort. We met up with Marie's sister at the harbor and the four of us peddled about 8 miles from the Santa Barbara Harbor to Montecito and back(about 8 miles). It was a good little ride especially considering the sunshine and warm temperature. After the bike ride we made a quick lunch and hopped in the car for a drive through wine country. The drive was about an hour to the Melville Vinyard and Winery where we were able to enjoy our lunch outside before heading indoors to the tasting room.We each sampled six wines at a cost of $10/person. The grounds and main building were beautiful and the setting couldn't have been more perfect in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. After the wine tasting we drove to another mission this time to La Purisima Mission. After the mission we drove to the Hitching Post restaurant (featured in the movie Sideways) for a quick look inside and a quick photo under the sign we also drove by the Days Inn (the big fake windmill) where the characters in the movie stayed. Then a drive through the village of Solvang, a charming town founded by Americans of Danish heritage; it was a little strange seeing windmills next to palm trees in front of Dutch colonial homes. Then we made our way down some curvy twisty roads back to Santa Barbara just before sunset. For dinner we returned to Julia Child's favorite Mexican eatery, La Super Rica. John and I went to Chaucer's Bookstore to stock up on reading materials for our long flights. I bought the novel Push by Sapphire and The Kids Are All Right A Memoir by the Welch siblings. We left the hotel this morning at 9:00 and returned at 9:00 PM so it has been a long but fun day.