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Archive for August, 2004

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A Visit to Aitutaki and a Short, Final Stay in Raro

Friday, August 27th, 2004

Kia Orana once again from the Cook Islands. (Kia Orana is the local greeting/farewell in the Cooks [similar to the Hawaiian “aloha”] and translates to “may you live long.”)

Since I last wrote, I’ve been to Aitutaki, another of the Cook Islands, and spent a couple more days in Rarotonga. As with my previous experiences in the Cooks, everything has been pretty uniformly wonderful.

Aitutaki is, like Rarotonga, volcanic in it’s origin, but coral has had an even greater part in its growth. Indeed, save for a few 100m peaks in the centre, horseshoe shaped Aitutaki is almost a perfect coral atoll. The island is about 7km long, with a huge (15km x 12km) lagoon of beautiful turquoise water surrounding it. Dotted throughout the lagoon are many small uninhabited islands or motus.
[read on]

The Cook Islands: Paradise on Earth??? Yes, I Think That’s a Fair Assessment

Monday, August 23rd, 2004

Well, I’ve been here in the Cook Islands for a week now, but am finally getting around to writing my first entry about the place.

And what a place! I’ve been staying on the main island of Rarotonga since my arrival at 6:15am last Monday, and it has been wonderful in just about every way.

Rarotonga is a sort of “hybrid” island. It was originally formed by volcaninc activity, leading to some significant peaks (up to about 650m high) but has since been expanded by the growth of coral around it, which provides it with calm seas due to the barrier reef that almost completely surrounds the island, as well as some lovely white sand beaches.

The Cook Islands themselves are a sort of semi-independent state. The local government runs pretty much everything that deals with the islands themselves, while New Zealand takes care of foreign policy, defence and so forth.
[read on]

A Fond Farewell to Vancouver (and Canada [and North America For That Matter])

Friday, August 20th, 2004
Well... This entry is a bit belated, given that I'm posting it after I've already been in the Cook Islands for 5 days, but nonetheless, the remainder of my stay in Vancouver clearly needs documenting. When we last "spoke" as I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Beer Tasting List

Friday, August 13th, 2004
I’m something of a beer fan. In fact, as has already been stated elsewhere, brewery tours are one of my default activities (id est, the things that I plan to do if I don’t have anything in particular planned) ... [Continue reading this entry]

Vancouver: Land of Great Beaches, Wonderful Friends and Thoroughly Enjoyable Food and Drink

Friday, August 13th, 2004
Once again, I’ve proved very lucky in having gracious hospitable hosts waiting for me at a destination. After a long day spent in airports and airplanes, I arrived in Vancouver at 10:30 on a Sunday night. The gracious, ... [Continue reading this entry]

World Boardgaming Championships, Baltimore

Monday, August 9th, 2004
Greetings one and all from the world boardgaming championships in Baltimore, Maryland. As some of you are aware, I have a tradition of coming down here every year, with a roommate of mine from McGill, Nick Benedict. Another tradition of ... [Continue reading this entry]

Continued Adventures in the South

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
It's been an eventful few days since I last wrote. The story begins on the morning of Friday, July 30. I woke up fairly late (again) and went to try and change my flights in and out of Baltimore. ... [Continue reading this entry]