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Published: July 27th 2007
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July 27th, 2007
We arrived in Rarotonga at about 6:30am. It was still dark when we landed, but we were welcomed into the small airport with smiles and a song from the locals. We left most of our luggage in left luggage and waited for our 8:00am flight to Auitutaki. It was a short flight (about 45-50 minutes). We saw our first glimpse of paradise as we flew over the Island. The island is surrounded by a coral barrier and the lagoon goes from crystal clear in some places to a brilliant turquoise. We landed in Lamond/wirig style to a light shower (that was to pass over soon and the sky to become a bright blue again). The airport was a small building that housed a snack bar and a man singing. (pretty sure it was a different man from Rarotonga, but not positive). We were whisked away by a local and dropped off at Paradise Cove. The rain had stopped, but the wind picked up a bit. We were a bit bummed by the weather, as I have been having visions of me (with a body like Halle Berry) laying on the beach and taking a dip in the
blue lagoon. Sorry to say, I didn’t resemble Halle (even after a bottle of wine and three beers) oh well, one can dream. The weather was in and out, but there were nice periods of blue sky and big puffy clouds.
Once we arrived in our hotel this is what we did the first night. (sorry this will be short and uneventful). We sat out on our balcony and read. We then took a nap. Sat out on our balcony, starred at the water and the palm trees. Had Ronald, our innkeeper, drive us to the ATM, walked back to the bungalow, and took a nap. We then read some more (Mark ran out of reading by this point and was forced to read my OK, US weekly, and In touch….he loved it as we had great discussions about the celebs over beer, I’ll get to that in a minute). Ronald then drove us into town where we bought 2 six packs of Fosters. ( I know, nobody drinks Fosters) I believe they send the foster’s to the Islands because people are forced to drink it. (We had no choice at the store we went to). Mark and I then
walked to dinner after having a couple beers. After dinner we walked back to the bungalow and had some more to drink. It was a bit windy, not as bad as earlier in the day, so we sat outside and listened to the water and the rustle of the palms. Oh yeah, we had some more Foster’s. Then we fell asleep with the windows open and dreams of good weather for tomorrow.
July 28th, 2007
We slept fairly well considering the roosters cockadoodledoing at random times throughout the night. I swear the island roosters fell asleep during the lesson of waking people up after 7:30am. No big deal because when we would lift our heads to see if it was light outside all we saw where palm trees and lagoon in the moon light.
The place we are staying at is very basic. There are about 10 bungalows on the sand next to the water. They were raised up on short stilts and staggered for privacy. There were only about 3 couples staying at Paradise Cove when we were there, so we were all spread out. It was great! The bungalows were little thatched roof huts that contained a bathroom, a King sized bed, small kitchenette, and a deck overlooking the water. There were no frills, except for the rooms were cleaned daily and breakfast of fruit, toast, coffee, and cereal. It was wonderful. It was the perfect place to relax, and not worry about a thing. The man that was managing the place was wonderful. He showed us around and pointed us in the right direction (there are only 2 directions, being such a small island). One thing that should be said is that the locals are always nice, and everything on Auitutaki is clean. It might not be 5 star, but it is clean. Also, Mark and I took walks on the beach and maybe saw 2 people. It was like being stranded on an island with your dream guy and a cute bungalow to go back to. (and I was talking about Mark, not Clive Owen)
We decided that after a day of doing nothing yesterday, we would take a hike. There is a trail that goes to the top of Mauna Pu Right across from our place. I took a look at the trail we were going to take and I thought it would take awhile. Ronald told us to take our time as it would only take about 10-15 minutes. (we see a pattern here, b/c everything only takes about 10 to 15 minute walk from our hotel). The trail basically when straight up the hill, our butts and legs hated us about 5 minutes into it, but it was a great little walk. When we got to the top we were able to see both sides of the Island and some of the smaller islands in the lagoon. After the walk we were feeling revved up to do something else that was good for us. The weather was still not the best (warm, a bit cloudy, and windy) so we rented bikes and went around the Island. We ended up at a beach bar called Samade. It was on the other side of the island and next to the big Auitutaki Lagoon resort. I would recommend our place to anybody who wants to relax with no frills for a low price. I would recommend the Auitutaki Lagoon to anybody who wants to relax in a more luxurious place and has the money to do it. At Samade we were sheltered from the wind, it actually was now more like a strong breeze. We each had some beers and then rode back to our place. I recommend to everybody, have beers to get a nice buzz and then ride your bike on a tropical island that has few cars. It was great.
We had dinner at Puffy’s ( a little place right next door) and retreated back to our hut. It was great to sit outside. The wind had completely settled down, except for a nice gentle breeze every now and then to keep us comfortable and the mosquitoes away. The moon was bright and lit up the lagoon. It was so relaxing. A little bit of the stress we had from moving and leaving loved ones was taken away every time we glanced out over the water. Pure bliss.
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Duh-nise
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The video
Was amazing....I loved the pictures and great song choice.