Beachcombers

It's hard to believe that we have been in Rarotonga a week already! Our days have been filled with beachcombing, shopping for food, snorkeling, eating and exploring the island. We rented a scooter, and have been blasting around the 32 kms, looking at wind and swells, flowers and beaches. Having grown up combing the beaches of Southern California for shells and other interesting sea remnants, Helena and I have enjoyed just wandering the beach, seeing what we find on a South Sea island. The photo shows a few of our finds. Yesterday, we found that with umbrellas we could even enjoy wandering the beaches in the rain (which has plagued us many days so far).

It has been handy having our own cottage with full kitchen. Super fresh fish is super cheap and we have been gorging ourselves on tuna sashimi, ika tata (raw fish and coconut milk salad - like ceviche), and fish curry. Needless to say, we have also been downing as much papaya (paw paw), mango and pineapple as we can eat. I'm lucky that Helena is an inventive and passionate cook!

On Saturday, the Vaka Eiva came to Rarotonga. It is one of the largest outrigger canoe events in the world, attracting competitors from all of the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii), Australia, and New Zealand. While the main action is in town, about 8 kms away, we have enjoyed the ceremonies, special markets and events that have come along with it. We've seen a couple traditional dance performances, which are fantastic; all hips by the women and knees by the men dancing to hollow log drums. The Cook Islanders are very proud of their cultural heritage and they seem to work hard to keep it alive.