A South Pacific Lagoon Cruise

It poured all night and was still sprinkling on and off when I got up this morning.  While not thrilled, I know how the weather can change here in the tropics and I was determined to hope for the best.  “You can get burnt on a cloudy day, but can you get burnt when it’s raining?” I thought to myself.  Because if you can’t get sunburnt in the rain that would certainly be a silver lining… Traveling by oneself in the tropics certainly makes proper sunscreen application a bit of a trial.  I’m decently capable of applying sunscreen to my own back when by myself, in front of a mirror, but on a boat with lots of people...you either must swallow your pride and find someone from whom you might ask help (without seeming creepy or seductive) or manage yourself and pray you don’t miss any areas.  Anyway, back to the day.  I was taking a day cruise to some of the smaller islands around Aitutaki, so sunny weather was certainly a perk.  As I walked out to the road to await my pickup the sun came out!  T’uanu was crossing the road from the car rental shop and he joked that my appearance had brought the sun.  I was the first pick up and the only other one for us was an American family from San Jose, CA.  Upon finding out that I was from Pittsburgh, they made sure to let me know they were Sharks fans.

We were seated at the same table on the cruise and they jokingly adopted me into their family (despite my Penguins fan status).  The boat was very neat, and very comfortable.  We set off once the day-tour group arrived (you can fly in from Rarotonga to do the cruise and fly back to Rarotonga the same day).  We had six crew members, including the captain; and three of them serenaded us throughout the day as we were cruising along (to be fair the captain sometimes joined in on the spoons, so I guess there were 4 musicians).  They were quite good and it definitely set the mood.  There was no way you could look out at the world-class view, listening to the ukelele and drums and not think you were in the South Pacific.  As with the Island Night show, a prayer was said before we embarked, they take their Christianity very seriously here.  It has become part of their culture, so although I have no idea how genuine their faith, I appreciate it none-the-less.

The water is nearly indescribable, only because any words I could use would not do the shades of blue justice.  Even a photograph doesn’t quite capture what the human eye can perceive.  Needless to say, they don’t call this paradise jokingly.

We stopped for a short while at two islands (one was called Akaiami and the other I can’t remember) for a walk or a swim, and then had a stop in the water so we could go snorkeling.  While the fish didn’t seem to be as numerous as my times at the Great Barrier Reef or Ningaloo in Australia, the visibility and clarity of the water (despite all the rain last night), was excellent. We got to see a Giant Trevally and lots of giant clams.   I enjoyed my ocean time and managed not to get any sunburn on my back or legs, so it was a definite win in my book.

After snorkeling the food was blessed and then they served us an amazing buffet lunch - cooked right there on the boat while we were snorkeling.  There was fresh fish, freshly grated coconut (one of the crew had done a demonstration earlier in the itinerary), fruit (raw and grilled - delicious either way), taro, ‘poke’ (the local dessert made using mashed and baked banana, arrowroot, or pawpaw - very odd texture, but delicious).  I was also able to try breadfruit for the first time, at least I believe that is what I ate - not a favorite, but they’ve been eating it here for centuries.

Our final stop of the day was at Tapuaetai, more commonly known by its nickname, “One Foot Island”.  **You can watch a film version of the legend of One Foot Island below**  We got two souvenir passport stamps, one from the One Foot Island and one from the The Vaka Cruise.  With a prayer of thanks for the day, we all disembarked and said our goodbyes. 

All in all, it was a fabulous day and I’m ruing my decision to prioritize a visit to the Saturday market in Rarotonga over staying in Aitutaki another full day on the water.  Back at Rino’s at settled by the water with a book until sunset.  It wasn’t spectacular, but you can’t get this view back in PA and there’s always something relaxing about watching the sun sink beneath the horizon.