After a good nights rest we were up early (for us). We had woken up around 5:30 in anticipation of seeing the sun-rise, but it was too cloudy. We had a leisurely breakfast then took a stroll in the opposite from yesterday direction to a small beach area called the Fruits of Rarotonga. We sat on the beach for a while watching life go by, then went across the road for a “World Famous Smoothie” made from banana and papaya.
We wandered slowly back to the cottage, the weather was cloudy but warm, probably in the mid to high 20’s but always windy during daylight hours. Along the beach we discovered the Cook Islands Weather office
Cook Islands Weather Office
When back to the cottage we took our snorkelling gear down to the beach and headed off into the lagoon. The water was a little murky, but I think the tide was turning and this stirred up the sand a little. Even so there were a number of brightly coloured fish to be seen. The water was a nice temperature, probably around 25C.
After an hour or so of snorkelling it was back to the cottage for lunch on the balcony. Each day there are glass bottomed boat cruises in the lagoon with a stop for snorkelling. After the snorkelling is finished all the boats head over to the island for a beach party. We can just about see the party from here, but we can certainly hear the drums playing!
After lunch we walked into Muri to look for a restaurant for our evening meal, having found a restaurant we dropped into the local bakery for a loaf of bread, unfortunately they had sold out but there plenty of other freshly baked goodies there. We just HAD to try some! After this it was back to the cottage for the obligatory afternoon snooze.
About 6:30 we headed out to the restaurant for a great meal right on the beach. Red meat is difficult (and expensive) to find on the island, the local food is fish and if you want meat chicken seems to be the choice. We had a starter plate featuring some of the local food; Curried Octopus, Smoked Marlin, Papaya in Coconut Milk, Pawpaw, a pureed Spinach thingy and Island Fries which were like “normal” fries but using potatoes and other island vegetables. Lyn then had a main dish of three different types of fish and I had curried chicken Cook Island style, both were very good and filling.
After the meal we wandered back to the cottage, luckily we brought a flashlight with us as it got very dark once we left the street lights behind. The almost complete darkness made for wonderful views of the stars though.
One Response to Day One in Paradise