Tropical Getaway

Kia Orana!

Big surprise, I know. John decided to spirit me away on a short trip to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands this past week. Neither of us had been to "Raro" before--it's a very relaxed, beautiful place. The island is approximately 32k in circumference, encircled by a coral reef.

Upon arrival everyone is welcomed with a lei made from white gardenias, so exceedingly fragant that I was nervous about having a sneezing attack, something I managed to avoid, thankfully!:

The view from our room at The Sanctuary Rarotonga-On the Beach below was hard to take, as was the fact this was our semi-private beach. While (as you might expect) we aren't particularly good at blobbing out, we both tested out that hammock at different times:

One evening we rented a little convertible to go into town for a memorable dinner at The Tamarind House, one of the island's original colonial houses. Yet another view that was hard to take, looking out on a beach strewn with white coral while the sun set, sipping our virgin Pina Coladas (didn't know these are called "mocktails"), savoring an incredible seafood platter:

The next day we drove around the island ring road, exploring. We stopped at a roadside fruit stand to pick up fresh coconut, pawpaw (papaya), star fruit and mango. Turns out the vendor has lived in Auckland and Wellington. He chopped off the top of the coconut with his machete so that we might drink the water/juice.

We took to the inland road closer to the hills briefly and came across papaya, star fruit, bananas and jack fruit growing in profusion. Aside from bananas, I had never seen these fruit on the tree before:

We passed by the Residence of the Queen's Representative, as well as a number of old churches with interesting, historic headstones in the front yards:

After stopping briefly in Muri Beach, we returned there to have lunch overlooking the lagoon:

Not sure if you can see that dog in the foreground, but he stood in the water for at least the time we were there, actively looking for fish. We started to wonder if he'd gone a bit mad, perhaps he was simply as captivated as we were by the view.