Sunday, August 22, 2010

Spanish? French? English!

We arrived Saturday morning in the lovely little harbour of Avatiu, on the island of Rarotonga, here in the Cook Islands.  Our sail from Bora Bora started off with a bang, with great winds and 150 nm days, and then fell to a whimper, as we limped along at 2-3 knots, and then, as we approached Rarotonga in the evening (thus needing to lay offshore, since we can only make landfall during daylight hours, given the reefs), we spent an anxious night dodging huge thunderstorms all around us.

With the help of our radar, we could spot the main cells, and adjust course accordingly, and we arrived safe and sound, instruments intact.  Sunday, we attended a Maori celebration of a Catholic mass (again, the singing is incredible), and, since the island shuts down on Sundays, we took care of some boat chores.

Tomorrow, we rent a scooter, visit the rest of the island (32 km circumference road), do some snorkeling, and take care of immigration, etc.  Tuesday, we plan to dive, after which Jennifer will enjoy a long-overdue massage to untwist her shoulder and neck muscles, and then more sightseeing Wednesday, with a likely departure Thursday for Beveridge Reef -- an amazing underwater atoll in the middle of the Pacific (where you can anchor, even though there is NO land visible!), and then Niue, an independent country (I think the smallest such in the world) on the way to Tonga.

Internet gets scarce out here; we're paying by the megabyte, thus perhaps not so many pictures for a bit ...  hope all are well -- we miss our friends and family, and welcome any/all emails updating us on gossip, politics, and the weather ...  we're starved for news :)

1 comment:

Aaron said...

Sounds great. More adventures ahead. As you are going to Nuie it looks like you will have free wifi for at least a while.

The news in the US - Glen Beck on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Al Sharpton right down the street, Obama speaks to us tonight about the withdrawal from Iraq and economic security and hurricanes are in the Atlantic.

Fights between the Keynesians and the Monetarists are intensifying with evidence emerging every day that supports each side. Signs of recovery are mixed. Double dip a possibility, but who knows. Republicans will likely take the House in the fall and possibly the Senate. It may actually be a good thing - Obama freed from his left can triangulate with sensible republicans to effect some rational policies - a la Clinton and welfare reform.

I hope that quenches your thirst for news from back home for a while. The news from the Ile de Grace is far more uplifting.