Kia orana (hello) from the island of Raratonga - the largest of the Cook Islands. I landed here 24 hours ago, and am already experiencing the very different and amazing atmosphere and life style here. You can see why they call it Paradise with the natural beauty of the vegetation (I am looking out on palm trees loaded with coconuts, double hibiscus flowers, and a wide variety of tropical fruit trees from my veranda), the climate (average temperatures are 20 - 29⁰C year round, with sufficient rain to keep everything green), the happy friendly gentle people (the population of Raratonga island is under 10,000 and all islanders belong to one of the three family clans or tribes) and the pace of life (there’s an interesting mix of so called ‘island time’ - meaning a relaxed attitude, ... read more