Journal: Cook Islands, 4 Oct 2001 I have arrived in paradise. We flew in to the island of Rarotonga this morning at 6am. The island is similar in appearance to Tahiti and Moorea, with lush green volcanic mountains in the middle of the island and beautiful beaches and coral on the coast. However, it is not as built up as Tahiti and the people are incredibly friendly. While the people in Tahiti were nice, the people here are just amazingly helpful and friendly. I suppose the fact that everybody here speaks English helps matters. Again, we were pleased to see an ATM at the airport. Our plan of using our ATM card as our primary way to get cash on the trip is working out quiet nicely so far. We are staying at a place called Tiare Village. I had booked it over the internet a few months ago. They came to pick us up at the airport which was great. We have a poolside chalet with private bathroom and kitchen for $20 a night (between us). It will be great to have our own kitchen for the week. I have a double bed and Davie has a single. And best of all, we have hot water in the shower (we have not had hot water since LA). The lady who runs the hostel drove us into town (it is a 30 minute walk) and gave us a quick orientation. I got on the internet in town; it costs a very reasonable $5 an hour, but is painfully slow. An hour was just enough time to check my email without doing anything else. We rented a couple of mountain bikes. It costs a mere $2 a day for a bike. We expect the bikes to be our main mneans of transportation for the week. After a bite to eat and a wander around the shops, it is back to the pool to relax. Later we will cycle to the supermarket for food and beer. We have made friends with a couple fom Monaghan (Seamus and Christina) and a girl from Mexico (Lorena), who are staying in the same place as us. We all stayed at the same place in Moorea and then came here on the same flight, but we didn't discover this until we got here and started chatting. Myself, Davie, and Seamus plan to go for a round of golf at some stage. A visit to the supermarket fills our fridge with food and beer. We decide to eat in tonight and have some of our recently-purchased noodles. It was absolutely horrible. And then we head up to the common room at the hostel to wath a couple of videos (Billy Elliot and Fight Club). Cook Islands, 5 Oct 2001 Today is a lazy day: laundry, internet, and socialize with the other people in the hostel. I haven't done laundry since LA. They have a washing machine here, which is great. I wash everything except what I am wearing (my swimming togs and a tank top). In case you are wondering what clothes I bring along for a 10 month trip, here's what I have:
It would be nice to bring more clothing than this, but it wouldn't be practical. We have to keep the weight as low as possible. A couple of cycles into town has my arse aching... I don't know how I am going to manage cycling around the entire island. We have a few sociable drinks by the pool with Seasus and Christina. This soon turns into a raging session. Seamus is a 32-year old carpenter from Monaghan. He is one of the friendliest guys you could ever meet, always having fun and laughing. Christina is a nurse, and also from Monaghan. They have been living in Watford for about nine years before going back to Ireland. They are now travelling around the world before settling down. Lorena then joins us and we head into town for a much-touted party. The party was crap, with only the backpackers from our hostel in attendance and a DJ with questionable taste in music spinning the "tunes". We met up with Duncan and Mickey, a couple of young English lads that arrived on the same flight as us. After a drink or two, we bail out and go to a local nightclub called the Staircase. It was absolutely fantastic. I even managed to shake a leg on the dance floor for an hour or two (a definite sign that I had too much to drink). Cook Islands, 6 Oct 2001 When we were drunk last night, we made great plans to do the cross-island hike today. The cross-island hike is a trail that crosses over the lush mountainous interior of the island. We said that we would head off at 11am. When we awoke, because of our sore heads, it didn't seem like such a good idea any more. And then Lorena, who wasn't really drinking last night, showed up at our doorstep all smiles and ready for a hike. Curses! Lorena is a 31-year old lawyer from Mexico. She is travelling on her own for the first time. She is quiet nervous about the whole thing and glad to have us around. Especially at night because she has a condition that renders her almost blind in the dark. That means that when we go anywhere at night someone must act as her seeing-eye dog and lead her around by the arm. Today is overcast with intermittent showers. After considering the weather and the fact that Seamus and Christina are also the worse for wear after last night's festivities, we decide to postpone the cross-island hike until another day. Instead, I go with Lorena to the supermarket. And then the afternoon is spent swimming in the pool, reading, and playing cards. And the evening is spent playing monopoly (the Edinburgh edition). It is the usual gang of myself, Davie, Seamus, Christina, and Lorena. In the game, yours truly ends up with all the money... if only life was a game of monopoly! Cook Islands, 7 Oct 2001 Today, we get up early and go to 10am mass. Again, it is the usual gang, and we arranged to meet and English couple there (Ash and Collette... Seamus and Christina had befriended them on Moorea). The church service is a fantastic spectacle. There are people dressed entirely in white, prople dressed in traditional island atire, and people dressed entirely in green. Everyone is wearing thier "Sunday best" and all the women are wearing hats. However, the best part of the occasion was the singing. It made the hair on the back of your neck stand and sent a shiver down your spine. The singing started a half an hour before and continued throughout the ceremony. The ladies with their beautiful voices and the men with their deep voices singing in harmony were a very special experience. The ceremony itself lasted about two hours. Afterwards, we joined members of the church for a feast. There was a fantastic spread of sandwiches, fruit, and cakes (of which we all availed... and that was putting it mildly). There was a local group playing in the background and the locals were very welcoming and friendly. After church. myself and Davie decide to cycle around the island. It is a 33 km cycle around the coast of the island. Just more of the same really... beautiful deserted beaches, lush green vegetation, yawn. It takes us about three hours, but we stop a few times along the way. Then, that evening, Charlie and Jane come around to our chalet for a drink. I had befriended them a couple of days earlier while relaxing by the pool. And then the rest of the gang joined us for an evening of cards, chat, and chess. Cook Islands, 8 Oct 2001 It's up at 8am and off for a round of golf. We go to the only golf course on the Cook Islands. Green fees are about $6 and club rentals are another $6. They give you balls and tees for free. The course is reasonable, but very compact. We shoot the first nine, take a half-hour refreshment break, and then shoot the back nine. We can take such a break beause there are so few people playing. Seamus ends up with a 94, I end up with a 110, and Davie ends up with a 126. We then go back to the hostel and organize a bar-b-que. We get lots of greens, and even more meat. It's the usual gang again, gathered together for more merriment. It is time to shave my head again. I'm going to try and shave it every week to keep it manageable for the trip. I am still getting used to the Kojak look. I still find it strange when I look in the mirror and see no hair at all (as Kojak would say, who loves ya baby). But I am getting used to it. Actually, I really like that my hair now requires no amintenance. Cook Islands, 9 Oct 2001 We get up at 8am to do the cross-island hike, but the weather is not very cooperative. We watch the video "We Were Warriors" in the common room to wait out the rain. I had seen the film before; it is about a Maori family in New Zealand. I am now on a beach on the other side of the island. The hike was fairly tough going because it is very steep and the recent rains have made it fairly trecherous. At the top of the mountain is a rock called "the needle". From the needle, the views are fantastic. Myself, Seamus, and Christina brave the conditions to go up there. On the way down, I got a little bit ahead of the others and am going to wait for them here on the beach. In the evening, myself and Davie decide to splurge for a nice meal. The food is absolutely fantastic... well worth it. Afterwards, we head back and have an early night. Cook Islands, 10 Oct 2001 Today is spent doing laundry, accessing the internet, returning the bikes, and so on. In the evening, we go for a farewell meal with Seamus, Christina, and Lorena. But first we go lawn bowling. We were not sure about the rules, but some of the locals playing beside us help us out. I think it was in their best interest to educate us, as we initially sent a few bowls their way by accident. We had to play in bare feet, so as not to damage their lovely lawn with our inapropriate footwear. Myself and Seamus had some titanic battles, with the Rebels just getting the better of the mushroom-growers from Monaghan each time. After dinner, we went out for a few drinks. After searching for somewhere with some life in it, we ended up at karoke night at Ronnie's Bar. While mingling with the locals, I came across a guy called Tim Nation from Blackrock in Cork. He is a jeweler on the island. After a good night out, we said our farewells. This travelling is a strange business when you consider that you can get to know people fairly well and then possibly never see them again. Hopefully, I will get to see Seamus and Christina again... they are great people. Cook Islands, 11 Oct 2001 It's up at 4am for our flight to Fiji. Lorena is travelling with us. As we fly to Fiji, we pass over the international date line. This means that it is one day later when we land in Fiji. Spending: 7 days, 7 nights
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