It's Tourista-Ville, but It and They Are Soooo Nice ...

So we leave Rarotonga tomorrow after immersing ourselves in the island's Gotta-Do things, including renting a scooter and trying to follow unmarked roads to unmarked historical maraes, eating burgers and chips at any of dozens of road side "Takeaways," visiting the (closed) national cultural center, and passing one church after another, alternating faiths -- Catholic, Mormon, Seventh Day Adventist, Cook Islands Christian Church (in hand-carved coral block buildings) and, perhaps not-so-out-of-place on an island with not one but two "Backpackers Hostels", and a Ba'hai center.

It's a beautiful island, with broader shoreside plains than any of the French Polynesian islands, and with a narrower reef than those isles as well. The island seems to be at peace with itself as a tourist destination, with accommodations and restaurants for every budget category -- unlike Bora Bora, etc., which seem to discourage even the concept of a budget. One of this islands main sources of foreign currency, we think, is its insistence on any driver having a local license; I am now the proud owner, $25 NZ later, of a Cook Islands drivers license, good for two years. There was a long line after me at their version of the DMV ...

When I say Tourista-Ville, I mean that in the best possible way ... the native Cook Islanders are SO friendly and nice, and they take special pride in their outgoingness. Most of the visitors here are from New Zealand or Australia, and most are here escaping from the much cooler weather down in their southern climes. Everything is clean, and they go to some lengths to keep their environment in pristine condition.

Have I mentioned the humpback whales? We went diving this morning, and on the short ride out to the site, we saw a massive humpback breech repeatedly just a kilometer or so away, fins flapping as this extraordinary bulk of a mammal lifted itself out of the washboard sea and fell with a crash, shaking free barnacles that tend to attach themselves to their skin. An awesome sight, and a sobering one; recently, most sailors in the South Pacific have been regaling themselves with the story of the whale that breeched and landed on a sailboat.

The dive was almost as eventful; we were diving a pass between the ocean and the lagoon, and the divemaster had casually mentioned to hold on as the surge pushed out, and swim with the returning surge. All good, mate. Jennifer and I were last in line passing through a narrow chute about 45 feet underwater, and the so-called surge turned into a nasty hard current; the others obviously had swum hugging the bottom, at 50 feet -- the five foot elevation stopped us dead in our tracks, and we hung on to the rock wall for dear life (well, we were never in any danger) and could not make our way either down or up-current ... we turned and ran with the current, and made our way back to the boat, unhappy at a truncated dive, but happy to have experienced such a strong current in otherwise safe conditions. That which does not sink or kill us .... On our second dive, we swam with the Eagle Rays, which careful readers may recall regaled us with their jumping antics as we left Panama not-so-many months ago.

Jennifer is off at the spa right now (did I say Tourista-Ville?), and I'm poolside at the Rarotongan, the grand master of this island's resorts. Tonight, we dine at a fine restaurant, and tomorrow, off to Niue. It's a 450 nm trip to the reef mentioned in the last post, and another 110 nm to Niue -- if conditions are right, we will atone for our sins here by anchoring in the middle of nowhere -- the center of the Pacific Ocean. No tourists there, to be sure, but entering will require calm seas and a steady hand at the wheel.

Did I mention the 18 hole putt-putt golf course? The four-wheel drive excursion jeeps? The underwater "see-the-reef" boat with two trips daily? No -- let's just close with this: Rarotonga is a gorgeous island, with wonderful people, and amazing gifts of geology and geography which they have taken great pains to protect and treasure: incomparably clear water, beautiful lagoons, ocean waters favored by humpbacks, and an ideal transition from French Polynesia to the island nations of Niue, Tonga, and Fiji ... we're glad we came, and we are looking forward to setting sail tomorrow.