Cook Island Culture

T'uanu didn't take me to the airport Friday morning, he was already there!  I found him in the waiting area as I arrived.  Ever the gentleman, he eventually saw me sitting by myself and came over to chat (he'd been talking to Rino beside him when I arrived so I didn't join them).  He was heading back home to Auckland, but was heading back to Rarotonga via Atiu so we weren't on the same flight.  You simply can't help but immediately like him - he befriends everyone it seems.  As I headed to the tarmac he gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye.  He's definitely my island Grandpa, even if he doesn't know it, and I'm incredibly glad to have made his acquaintance.

An uneventful flight (no cockpit visits) and 40 minutes later I was collecting my luggage.  I was staying at an AirBnB on the western side of Rarotonga owned by Carlo, an Italian native from the Venice area.  He gave me a quick tour along his area and pointed out the areas of interest and places to eat that were within walking distance of his home.  I had one of their little flats for the next three nights and after dropping my bags I decided to go for a walk.  I found a great little bakery and treated myself to some passion-fruit cheesecake.  It wasn't a baked cheesecake (which is my preferred type of cheesecake) and I couldn't quite figure out what made up the crust, but it was delicious.  Their sign said they aren't open on the weekends, which made me a little disappointed, but I figured I'd try again Monday before I left.  After returning to the flat I lathered on my sunscreen and headed to the beach.  Just a 2 minute walk (that's probably generous) down the driveway and around the neighbor's wall is the path to a great little spot.

The water was amazingly clear and the views were beautiful.  As with all of Rarotonga (and all of the Cook Islands I believe), there are stonefish (one of the most venomous fish) so water shoes of some sort are a safety requirement.  Anyway, you can walk out into the water up to your waist and stand still and the fish will eventually swim up to you; no snorkel needed, you can see them clear as day!  In between my trips into the water to cool off I walked the beach and read my book.  A perfectly relaxing afternoon.

At 5:30pm the shuttle for the Highland Paradise Cultural Show picked me up.  Although I had done the "island night" when I first arrived, I was told that there are only 2 authentic cultural nights on Rarotonga and this was one of them.  Since I had been unable to do their day tour when I first arrived I chose them over Te Vara Nui's dinner show.  The evening started with a tour of  the ancient village of Tinomana Enuarurutini Ariki (an ariki was a high chief or ruler).  When he and his people converted to Christianity in the 1830's they left the settlement and moved down to the coastline.  Our guide talked of how the Cook Islands and New Zealand, specifically the Taranaki region, have a special connection as that is where some of the first Maori people who sailed from Rarotonga settled.  The people now known as Polynesians spread across the eastern Pacific by sailing in double-hulled canoes and formed a cultural triangle between Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand.  As in New Zealand, the indigenous people are generically known as Maori, as is their language.  A marae is a "communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies" and although not much was left of theirs, its significance still remains and we partook in a tapu lifting ceremony there before dinner (you can read more about the topic of tapu here).

For dinner I ended up seated with a couple from Sydney visiting Raro on their honeymoon and a nice young German girl who was also traveling solo.  The umu (earth oven) feast was delicious and I was able to try another of their local dishes called "rukau" which is taro leaves cooked in coconut cream.  Unlike the poke, which I loved, this was certainly not something I was longing to eat again.  Their dance troupe was called Tu Rama and they were excellent - our table was right next to the stage so I had a much better view than at my last cultural show.

Because the people lacked a written language legends, dance, and song were how the earliest Cook Islanders passed on their history; many of the dances we saw were introduced with an explanation of their origin or the story the dances told.

Although the dances were excellent, the drummers were just as impressive.   I definitely enjoyed learning more the culture and history of the island during the evening, so it was well worth the unplanned expenditure.