Island Paradise

  Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

After the rush, rush, rush of our New Zealand tour we had minimal plans for our time on Rarotonga, the largest island in the Cook Islands group. We just wanted some swimming and relaxing. We decided on a place on the south side of the island, a guesthouse with communal kitchen/living room/bathroom. It was perfect. We had different roommates moving in and out and everyone was friendly and interesting. The south end was the most relaxed part of the island with the best snorkeling. The main town was on the north side and all the party girls and frat boys congregated at the backpacker places on the east end. We had a relaxed household and blessed silence.

Rarotonga is a very small island, just 32 miles in circumference. There is one main road that circles the island, the interior too forested and mountainous for roads. It helps keep you from getting lost or needing a map. At the recommendation of the guesthouse owner we rented a scooter for the week. Though most tourist and locals would forgo helmets, we decided to wear them. A head injury would put a big damper on the trip, plus, no one feels as sorry for you if you die without a helmet. It is like not wearing a seatbelt. The scooter was a great idea as it gave us freedom to zip anywhere on the island in less than a half hour. Cook Islands makes the tourists do a driving test and get a local license if they want to rent a scooter. We weren't sure if this was a money making scheme (the police did have a fancy new station) or a smart idea. Here you drive on the left which is always an issue for Americans and non-British Europeans. Of course for Julius it is not an issue. I was just along for the ride. No use in starting to drive now!

For the first few days we had rain off and on which was a bit of a blessing to tell the truth. When it is raining out it gives you a good excuse to lay around the house reading mystery novels or checking e-mail without feeling lazy. We had heard that there was a cheap island night at The Staircase, a popular bar in town. We went there with an friendly Israeli couple in their 60's who were the only other guests at the house that night.They are also doing a trip around the world (it's never too late, people!). The Island night was a lot of fun. Cook Islands dancing when you get down to the basics is hip shaking (women) and knee knocking (men). Hand movements are also involved. The MC was charming and funny and the drummers and singers did great back up. Though probably not as polished as the more expensive island nights at the resorts, it was definitely more fun.

We hadn't gotten our fill of the dancing after that night so we decided to go to the annual dance competition for Rarotonga. The night we went it was adults dancing, vying for a chance to represent Rarotonga in the inter-island competition later next month. In true island fashion the competition started an hour late as we waited for the drummers and dancers to straggle in. It gave us plenty of time to people watch.

The Carnival Cruise ship docked offshore this morning so we scrutinized all the tourists who came in. Cruise ship or no? There were some good giveaways to look for. For one they were older than the average tourists here. They dressed nicer and were wrinkle free - men wore the "American in a tropical climate" uniform of Khaki shorts, Hawaiian shirt and leather sandals. Some wore socks with their sandals which totally gave them away. Women wore expensive sandals, capri pants, jewelry and new blouses. Most carried purses. One had a sweater over her shoulders which wasn't too useful on an 80 degree island with minimal air conditioning. In all there were about a dozen or so people from the ship. It was not well advertised at all so we were impressed that they found out about it.

We had the same MC from Staircase and he was as funny as ever. The dancers were all very good. There were four men and two women, plus a professional dancer from the island who did her thing when they were tallying the judge's scores. They say that when the Christian missionaries came to Polynesia they were horrified at the dances that the locals did. Like in Africa, they tried to stop the dances but also like Africa they were unsuccessful. Thankfully Christianity and dancing can now co-exist.

It is obvious from the start why the dancing got the reaction it did from the missionaries. These are sensual mating dances, pure and simple (as opposed to the Maori's war chants). No one made this more clear than the girl who eventually won the women's competition. She had a lovely face with a great smile and dimples and when she began to dance the slow dance of the contest you might as well have put on a porn flick. Every man in the room was mesmerized. In the back of the bar there was a group of local men loudly playing pool and ignoring the competition but with her all play stopped and they stood there with jaws hanging open. Women on those MTV videos can't even come close to the sensuality this girl exuded. With the men it was the same - it was obvious which dancer exuded the most charisma and sensuality. The six pack abs and gleaming white smile didn't hurt either. The fast dances at the end are always a big hit. How do those women shake their butt like that? It must be taught in childhood. Women in Africa can do the same thing. They have tried to teach me but it may be impossible.

Besides watching dance competitions we kept busy during the day with some snorkeling and kayaking. Julius has never snorkeled before but caught on quickly after learning the hard lesson of keeping the top of the snorkel well above water. 

Kayaking in the Cove

We saw some great coral and fish and took many breaks on the white sandy beaches. Kayaks could be rented by the hour so one day (we tried to stay at one activity per day) we rented one and paddled around some of the small offshore islands. Sunscreen was slathered on continuously but I still managed to get a good tan.

On Sunday we had a choice of dozens of churches to attend. For a small island it was well covered in the religion department. They still keep the sabbath even, shuttering most of the businesses for the day. Since there was no Lutheran church (a sad truth for the trip - where are all the Lutherans?) we attended the English service at the Catholic Cathedral, one of four Catholic Churches on the island. It was a great church. The band and choir leading the music were amazing. The locals know how to sing and sing loud. "How Great Thou Art" was the best hymn I had heard on this whole trip. Much to our surprise we even found a Filipino community. It is now official that Filipinos are everywhere. A tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific with 9000 people and they still manage to set up a community there! It is very impressive.

The local people around the island are all friendly and relaxed. Many have left for New Zealand and Australia. They are now independent from New Zealand but they are still granted New Zealand citizenship along with their Cook Island citizenship. This allows them to easily work in both those countries. 

Sunset at Rarotonga

 It is good in a way because everyone left seems to have work to do. The owner of our guesthouse worked with the tourism department and ran a bakery (meaning free bread at the house, a huge perk). There aren't people hawking goods or kids trying to sell postcards on the beach. If someone wants to sell something they just stick a sign out in front of their house - "Fresh Fruit for sale", "Homemade dresses and dolls sold here".

If anyone has an itch to go to the South Pacific we highly recommend this island. With a direct flight from LA it is not long to get to and with far fewer tourists than the rest of the South Pacific destinations it makes for a very relaxing holiday.