second time around

Kava Ceremony

Chillin'

Sunday was the final day on the Tui Tai. A couple of nice dives in the morning and then onto a beach for a BBQ lunch and some volleyball. I even tried the stand up paddle boards, and although I didn’t fall off, they are harder than they look. We had a final very calm night and good sleep. In the morning we all said our goodbyes and off on our own ways. Mine took me back to the Daku Resort for another restful day/night and I got a load of laundry done not a moment too soon.

Monday I got my flight from Savusavu to Nadi and then a cab over to Denarau Island Marina to catch the Malolo Cat to my next stop: Musket Cove Resort on Malolo Lailai island. Denarau Island is a very posh resort area with all the upscale resorts, golf courses, landscaping and of course shops. Malolo Lailai is a small island with two resorts, Plantation Island which is chock full of kids and Musket Cove with some kids but more yachties (the folks sailing themselves around the islands). This morning I did a two tank dive which was fine. I think I am getting pretty spoiled, to me the dive was “fine” but to most of the group it was “awesome, Incredible, etc.”

I haven’t made mention yet that the landscape of Fiji is different than the other islands. The Cook Islands and French Polynesia remind me greatly of Hawaii, very volcanic, and “tropical” looking. Fiji is more worn down and less “volcanic” looking. It actually reminds me of Costa Rica. There are tropical plants and palms and all, but also a lot of other trees, lots of mangrove and actual dirt on the ground. The Fijians don’t have a lot, but don’t seem to be living in poverty either. They have a very happy spirit and are waving and shouting “Bula!” all the time. I think they have a strong sense of family and village.

I expect the next several days to be a slow down, with the occasional dive and a lot of reading and lying around.

The Tui Tai is not strictly speaking a “Dive Boat” but rather an “Adventure Boat”. Besides the diving which is two or three times a day, they have kayaks on board, mountain bicycles, and hiking as well. My ship mates are either young and energetic, or middle aged but marathoners and long distance bicyclists. I am neither, but I try to choose my battles and feel just fine when I skip the “long hike to the top” and read my book. The diving has been excellent, and the group gets along very well. As I told Justin, “you are a sick man, I am so glad we all fit in together!” Tuesday night we picked up two more passengers, Nick and Yael from London, early twenties and a very fun couple. She is originally from Mexico, he teaches outside London.

Wednesday morning we went to snorkel where they had seen Manta Rays in the past, hoping to see one. When we got there the sea was fairly rough, white caps and surge. They spotted a Manta and we all bailed over the side of the Zodiac at once, just like some highly trained Navy Seal unit! Then I counted eight HUGE Mantas cruising right with us. They stayed right with us, over under around for at least 20 minutes. They are impressive, an 8-10 foot wing span, with Remora stuck to their skin. It was a very rare and special event, as the Manta can be pretty shy and to see that many was unusual to say the least.

That afternoon we went to a performance by the school children on Rabi Island. They sang and danced for us. It was a great show, the little ones were too cute to believe. The islanders there actually come from a small island in Micronesia about 800 miles north of Fiji and were relocated here because their island was pretty well destroyed in WWII (and there was phosphorus to be mined there if the natives weren’t around) After the show we all got up and introduced ourselves and told where we were from. The “home of Mickey Mouse” was quite a hit with the kids, I guess the whole world knows him. Then we went outside and many of the crew and passengers played touch Rugby with the locals who were very fast and very good.

Thursday was of course more diving and a walk to some waterfalls, with a back/neck massage by the waterfall. While diving in the morning I was grabbing onto a rock to hold against the current but didn’t notice the tiny spike on the top. Old and blind, what can I say? So I punched a small hole into my thumb, and discovered the loss of wavelengths as you dive makes blood look green underwater! No killer sharks appeared, so it was all for naught.

That night we went to Miwi village for a traditional “Kava Ceremony”. Kava is a plant they have here which produces a mild high and numbing the mouth sensation. They pound the root and use some water to extract the Kava using a very old ritual, and pass the coconut cup back and forth in a very precise ritual manner. It was good fun, though not so much of a buzz. Then the village danced for us and of course pulled us up to dance with them and we all got up one at a time to introduce ourselves. Back to the boat and another somewhat rough crossing. The weather has been windy and fairly rough for a small boat. Friday was more of the same; diving, eating, diving, eating, resting, drinking. This takes a certain stamina, but I am holding my own.

Today is Saturday and we have come to Cobia Island, an old volcano with a coral atoll surrounding it. The dives here were spectacular, a wonderful wall and drop-dead beautiful canyons and swim throughs. We saw lots of corals, eels, and sharks, White Tip, Black Tip and Grey Reef. I dove a deep dive at 7 AM, a navigation dive at 11 AM and then my night dive at 7 PM. And it was very good. I was a little nervous going out, just Owen and I. We went about half way to Three Sisters and did a nice shallow dive along the reef edge. It was mostly 25-35 feet. Very little current. Descent was easy, then comfortably cruising. We saw a porcupine fish, and a goat fish. Then a nice sized Moray eel. Some luminescent shrimp, and I spotted a rather large lobster deep in a hole in the reef. Then we saw a White Tip Shark nosing around some holes in the reef and finally grab something and thrash with it a bit. At that point I noticed a “feather sea cucumber” about an inch or two thick and maybe 4 feet long, with four short “hydra heads” at the end. Watching it the White Tip swam directly under me, close enough I could easily have touched him. Saw a nice triton or large hermit crab moving over the bottom. Owen pointed out a parrot fish sleeping in a mucus cocoon. All in all a very fun dive and another great day of experiences.

Sunday I hopped a tiny plane to Savusavu and had a wonderful day and night at the Daku Resort before being picked up for my week live-aboard on the Tui Tai. Perhaps 16 guests, a bit of an older and more traveled crowd than before, very interesting conversation into the evening. In a fairly amazing coincidence, a guy about my age leaned over and said, “I hear you are on an around the world trip, so am I.” We chatted a bit and shortly found out that he and I are two of the nine people going on the China Spree 21 day China tour on September 9. What are the odds of bumping into one of the nine people for a China tour here in a tiny resort in the middle of nowhere Fiji?

Monday I boarded the Tui Tai, 140 foot long boat with 12 other passengers for a week of “adventure cruise.” A couple of young american guys, a 50’s couple from San Francisco and two families that couple had known from other vacations who came from South Africa. At dinner I asked the owner “Tige” where he was from before Fiji, as he had an american accent. He said Seattle, so I said, “I grew up in Tacoma.” He comes back with “me too, I lived in Lakewood.” I told him, “I lived in Fircrest and went to Charles Wright Academy.” He then says, “I went to Charles Wright too, class of “92, go Tarriers!” Given that my graduating class was 21 people and his probably 40 or so, it is a pretty amazing coincidence again! It really isn’t a small world, but sometimes it can seem like it.

My first dive today really changed my mind. I had come in thinking, “ OK, Fiji has corals, I have seen coral in many dives, and there aren’t too many big fish here, so the dive will be so-so.” How wrong I was. The number and variety of corals is unbelievable. It is kind of like saying I have seen a garden and then going to Butchart Gardens, I have been to a zoo and going to the San Diego Zoo. Truly an eye opening experience. The visibility was only average, but since you are looking up close at hundreds of small corals, anemones and fish it was fine. I am skipping the late morning mountain bike ride and waterfall slide and resting up for the afternoon dive. Last night the crossing was “a little rough” with winds and chop, it rocked pretty hard for most of the night. Sleep was a difficult proposition.

This morning I packed up and chatted with Poe. I went ahead and went up to the lobby and out of the room a bit early, 12:45 instead of 13:45 and Serge came over and we talked for a while about travels and family and such. Alberts transport pick up was right on time, despite my nagging concern after Rarotonga. A direct ride to the port and leaving shortly thereafter. The catamaran ferry to Papeete was very quick and smooth. It was a pretty large boat, so the rollers really didn’t affect it. Once here and disembarked I ran into a transport guy who asked where I was headed and he gave me a lift to the airport with his scheduled guests for 1000xpf. I checked my bag into the storage area and then found out that the wifi I had bought in Moorea (WDG) was not able to work here at the airport! Quelle Dommage. I found some incoming surfers for the big competition and gave them the log in information. At first they were “oh, we aren’t staying here, we’re leaving”, but when I explained it works all over and it is free for about 4 hours of time they were ok with it. I walked into city center. About 6 km. My hip is a little sore now, but it was ok. I had dinner at the Roulottes in the square (Place Vaiete). Think of a food court at the mall, but each one is a vending truck. The same as the “roundup” of trucks Poe and I saw at the Discovery Church one night. They were very clean, and do this every night. Probably twenty or so offering everything from chinese to fish to chicken to crepes. I had a very good roasted chicken and rice. Then caught a cab back to the airport. Now I just have to pass the time until my 01:20 flight. I do wish I could get the wifi signal here.
Finally broke down and bought another hour of internet for mail check and all. The time at the airport passed slowly, finally at 10:30 PM they started check in. Being business class I get to use the short line, but unfortunately the two people at the front of the line had some issue, and so both of the “business class” check in slots were at a dead stop. FINALLY, I got checked in and found out the plane would be arriving an hour late. Now I am starting to stress. I only have an hour and a half connection in Auckland, and since I am going on to Fiji on a different ticket, they don’t give a crap about my bags. On to the VIP lounge for a nice stiff whiskey and coke and use the internet there to check on flights from Auckland to Sydney if I miss mine. There are several more in the morning, so I am a little more at ease, but still, it is one in the morning, I am sore, tired and want the plane. The plane showed up, unloaded, cleaned, loaded and off we go. I pretty much tried to just get some sleep and did for around four fitful hours. The eye covers have different pictures on them, and the lady across the aisle had ones that had wide open eyes and the skin tone was kind of pasty like hers. The effect was creeping me out, with her head rolled to one side, she looked like she was dead with her eyes looking right at me. We made it into Auckland 50 minutes before scheduled take off time of my Sydney flight.
A smooth transition in Auckland, through transit customs, and on to the gate. Turns out the flight to Sydney was delayed about 20 minutes and so I had plenty of time, and even had a very nice dump, to clear the mind. The flight on to Sydney was fine, and I had a bit of breakfast. Looking out the window I saw the top of Rainbows. I had never seen them from this angle, it was kind of nice and thought provoking. Like some colorful stems on mushrooms made of clouds. We passed over Sydney downtown and circled back to land. Very lovely from above. They do love their sailboats. In all the river and harbors there were hundreds and hundreds of them anchored, not to mention the mooring docks full. I saw the Bridge, the Opera House and the Tower.
Immigration was smooth and on to carrousel 3 for the suitcase. While waiting I changed my paper francs for Australian dollars, not much of a rate, but what does one expect and what can I do with it here? The bags came and went, people came and went, and then no more coming and I started being unhappy. After a few minutes (?hours in the mind) more bags, and at last mine arrived. I cleared customs and went on up to the check in. They only check in three hours ahead, so I had a chicken sandwich which was very tasty and then eased my way over to the check in area.
When I opened there were easily 150 people already in line. And what a mess of families, little kids all over the place. I waited my turn, and checked in. I did notice one screamer and hoped he might be at the front of the plane. He was not in the row behind me, he was two rows back and screamed all 3+ hours to Nadi.
On through security and into the international terminal. Out of security one is fed into the duty free shop, just like coming out of a ride at Disney. This place was easily the size of Costco!! Every kind of liquor, smokes, candy, perfume, jewelry and designer duds. I passed the three hour wait and was getting tired of games, reading and just sitting. I felt stiff and tired. The plane was one of the huge double decker models, and I had row 47. The flight was fine, and we got a nice cold chicken on rice meal and wine. I saw “Thor” and toward the end was really over traveling for the day. The last 1/2 hour I was counting the seconds. After touchdown we all herded into the immigration, lined up and passed through. I am always amazed by the older folks being the ones to “crash” the line. One lady strolls up to the middle and says, “is this the line?” when several people said yes and indicated with a thumb that it went back there, she sort of looked around in the distance and just eased on in and kept her place. People are always entertaining, I had to smile and it helped me to move along.
The Raffles Gateway was a great choice for hotel, right across the street from the airport, a one minute ride, very clean, and I beat the crowd coming in. Checked in and first thing jumped into the shower. There was hot water and lots of pressure. It may have been one of the best showers of my life. I felt so revived that I went on down to the bar and had a couple of beers. Chatted with a gent from Belgium over the rugby match on the Telly. Turns out he teaches Rugby in Belgium. Very nice guy, and then to bed. I slept wonderfully and this morning got up for a great breakfast. Now I am checked in and waiting for my flight to Savusavu. 


my friend ray

Monday had a couple of good dives, not the stuff of legend, but fun and comfortable. After an early pick-up and gearing up at the dive shop we went on out just past the reef to a spot called “The Shark’s Dining Room.” Visibility was good, and there were plenty of Blacktips and some Lemon sharks to be seen. I dove with Dimitri and a Japanese couple. Dimitri comes from Russia via Chicago, and is a very pleasant and competent diver with a penchant for underwater photography. Since the dive sites are so close to the shop here, they come back between dives for the SIT time rather than cruise to a new site and anchor. On the way back to the shop between dives we saw a Humpback whale breech several times a few hundred meters ahead of us and then swim past us, quite a nice sighting. The second dive was at “Coral Wall”, but could as well be called “Dead Coral Wall” now. The cyclone of a few years ago, and Crown of Thorns starfish have decimated the corals outside the lagoon’s protection. We did see a turtle, eel, and several shark along with the usual fish, but the corals are all dead and bleached out. It is kind of sad to see.

Tuesday I couldn’t go on the morning jet-ski tour around the island as it was sold out, but I did go on a couple of hour tour in the afternoon. It was a little choppy, but lots of fun. The guide, myself and a young french couple. The girl reminded me of my Mary, thin, pretty and a touch of the wild thing. She kept making the boyfriend move to the back and she would just hammer the throttle and fly over the waves. We stopped at a small shallow area where they come to feed the blacktip sharks and rays. I am not sure how I feel about feeding the wild fish for tourists, but it was amazing to see the rays up close. They were a bit over a meter wide and maybe two meters long and would swim right up and bump your legs looking for food.

Wednesday’s dive wasn’t so great. The wind had picked up and outside the reef it was pretty good sized swells. We went to the northwest corner of Moorea for the dive, but the current was pretty strong. Not quite as much as in Tiputa Pass, but then again this was not a drift dive. To add to the hassle, I was a touch underweighted so I had to work to get to the bottom, and then we all hugged the bottom as we worked our way into the current for about 30 minutes. Lots of work, sucking down air and not having fun. We did see a very large turtle, and the usual blacktips, but visibility was poor, so finally we turned around and in about 0.6 minutes were drifted back to the boat. I didn’t think the day would get better in the next hour, and as all the dive sites are along the north shoreline, I cancelled my plans for the second dive.

Now I am packing up for my next leg of the trip, on to Fiji. Today will be a long day, as I go from Moorea to Tahiti this afternoon, and then hang around until my flight tonight at 1:20 AM out of Tahiti to Auckland, connect to Sydney and then connect again to Nadi in Fiji. I lose a day to the international dateline, so from now on my time is not 6 hours behind Orlando, but 16 hours ahead!

Today is again a Sunday of rest. I did finish the PADI Advanced Open Water eLearning program and printed out the medical form and certificate. At breakfast it was clear that while the Hilton Bora Bora Nui is a honeymoon destination, the Pearl Moorea is a family destination. Probably 60% families, 30% honeymooners and then there is me. I set up to dive tomorrow and Wednesday in the morning, and to take the 3 hour around the island jet-ski tour on Tuesday. I am hoping to see some whales. It is the season for them. Fingers crossed.

After setting that up I made my best decision yet while here. In my package I have a 7500 xpf credit at the Manea Spa. So I stopped in and lo and behold there was an opening at 14:00. It being 13:48 I caught a fast shower and went on back. The Scuba diving has had me with my head held way back for hours on end, and I have developed a stiff ache in the right neck and Trapezius area. Since the cost of a 1/2 hour scalp and back massage is 8500, and I have a credit, I can spring 12 dollars US for a massage! What a great choice.

Calming music, pleasant people, my clothes and all into a locker. With a towel wrapped around me I go to the steam room and just warm up and sky down in the heat. Then a short shower and rewrap, then on to the massage. She was a petite woman but hands of steel. She did check with me about the amount of pressure, and it was perfect. She was deep enough that at first it was somewhat painful, but not so much that I reflexly tensed up, I was able to stay relaxed. She clearly could feel the tight spots, and worked them well and evened out the massage to make me loosen up completely. By the end she was even harder, but it didn’t hurt because the knots had disappeared. After the massage, she brought me a small cup of tea and a washcloth for my face. It was icy cold and had a wonderful vanilla scent. The tea surprised me in that it also was Ice cold. It was some sort of very tasty herbal tea. I am now feeling so much better with my neck and back, I guess a massage in French Polynesia is a pretty good idea.

I think this is a part of why I like this kind of long range travel by myself. I don’t feel the need to plan every minute of every day. It doesn’t matter if a day goes by that I do nothing, If plans work out or not. It is still kind of crazy to think that I am in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean and just taking it one day at a time. It is raining now, but “without rain there would be no rainbows.” Thinking of you, Poe. 


And Rule # 3: don’t drink so much Tahitian rum and coke. Didn’t feel all that and a bag of chips this morning at 06:00. But soldier on we must. I had a small breakfast, and couldn’t even finish the eggs or bacon. On the way to the dive shop I chatted with the Indian guy from town trip yesterday. He is from Chicago and now Japan, talked about Daniel, a French couple from Paris, dive buddies and very nice. I met Bill Fulcher and his wife. he ended up with some incredible shots from his camera, a nice swimming Moray eel video and more. I must credit all of the pictures underwater to him, they are great. And I thank him for sharing them with me. The dives were great, different than the others and very nice. Tapu was outside the reef, started at 45 down to about 80 on a sloping reef. Lots of sharks, not all at once, but almost always one or two in sight. 6-9 foot Lemon sharks, thick and cruising the bottom. The reef fish would give it away, as they would move out when one was coming. They did not seem to care about us, and would come within a few feet and just ease around. I also saw lots of Remora the fish that have a sucker like top of the head and travel with the sharks. Several black tips as well, but mostly the Lemon sharks. Jerome the DM said not to worry, they are very happy to see us and will smile so we can see all the teeth! Just Joking! Nice canyons, some corals but not many, some Morays, a very cool dive. Up top and back into the Lagoon. A cold wind. While traveling the driver/boat man played his Tahitian “guitar” for us and was very good, some fun songs as well. (I’ll be comin’ round the mountain in Tahitian.)

The second dive was at Toopua, just south of the Motu where I am staying at the Hilton. Into only about 18 feet of water, a Coral garden. Then west into the current, and over a wall of coral down to 50 feet and a sand bottom. We hugged the bottom and swam a ways upstream, sometimes pulling along with our hands as well. The goal was finally there, a group of 6 spotted Eagle Rays. They swam very near us, maybe 4 feet. We dropped to bottom and watched them for a while. Then we went on around a nice coral area with many “mushroom” corals and back toward the boat. I saw one Ray gliding above us and then we ran into the group of them again. It was a workout dive, but worth it to see the rays up close. They dropped us off at the Hilton, so we didn’t have to go all the way back to the shop and out again. I rinsed off and my gear and went for a nice club sandwich lunch. The one waitress, (? Mahu, or effeminate man raised and who lives as a woman, though not sexually gay) is very pleasant, but when I mentioned that I am trying with my French, she now only speaks to me in French, but very patiently and helpfully. After lunch I had to have a bit of nap before I could even write this.

Friday was another diving day. The first dive was inside the lagoon, east of the island. “Anau” is the place where the large (6-8 foot) Manta Rays hang out. So this morning I get to dive with Delph. She actually was OK, not bubbly or even happy, but OK and professional. She went over the dive with us and explained that the visibility could be poor, but that is where the Manta Rays hang out. We should stay close and if we lose sight, go up and she would come for us. She was 1/2 right, the visibility was poor, maybe 15 feet, but no Mantas to be found. We swam from the shallow 12 ft coral entry point over the lip and down to a channel at 40-50 feet and cruised up and down it a couple of times to no avail. Saw very little and came in before too long. Today they had no towels on board, so I was a bit cold, with my slap shirt on and not able to dry. Met Bill again, turns out his wife is a plastic surgeon and he is an anesthesiologist. They work in their surgi-center in Beverly Hills.

The second dive was back to Tapu, outside the Teavanui pass like yesterday morning. It was as good as yesterday, lots and lots of Lemon Sharks, saw more black-tips today, and one turtle. We also saw a tourist ride, the “Yellow Submarine” which actually goes down! I had thought it just floated on the top, a glass bottom boat with side ports, but it went down about 25-30 feet below. Interesting to see. A couple of Lion fish, and a relaxed dive.

Today I am packing up to fly on to Moorea for the next 5 nights. Bora Bora certainly is beautiful, the lagoon has spectacular colors, and the dives have been great.

During my last dinner in Rangiroa, two things struck me: out of the fifty or so people in the room, I am the only american and even the only native english speaker and second: I like that. Ma francais est un peu plus meillor. Resting tonight and tomorrow off to Bora Bora. Looking for Manta Ray diving there.

August 9, 2011:
Well I got packed up, and signed up for the PADI Advanced OW course. It does work on my MacBook, it just needs flash, so no iPad, iPhone, etc. I finished the intro and buoyancy sections and had a nice lunch. Now I am awaiting at the Rangiroa airport for my flight to Papeete which is one hour late, hoping to make the connection to my flight for Bora Bora. I think I have to pick up my suitcase in Papeete and then put it back in before I get on the plane to Bora Bora, but couldn’t really follow what she was saying.

August 10, 2011:
Air Tahiti did a great job. Myself and two Italians were headed to Bora Bora, as it turns out to the Hilton as well. When we arrived in Papeete there was an agent at the door with a sign with our names on it and as soon as we picked up our bags she walked us to the checkin counter and put in our bags and then on through security. Turns out the plane to Bora Bora was about 15 minutes late also, so we had plenty of time. I did get a chuckle out of the old grey haired grannie that after everyone was lined up, brought her flock of six or eight to the front and just eased on over to the head of the line. The flight was easy and into Bora Bora. The airport is on a motu to the north of the main Island, and the Hilton Bora Bora Nui staff was right on the spot. Got the bags and onto the large transport boat, very nice. Filled out some papers and then we were here. Reception and such are at the end of a long dock, and then we get golf carted to our rooms. The place is pretty spread out, so they use golf carts a lot for hauling stuff and people around. I got a free upgrade from the “hotel room” suite to a garden suite, and “sweet” it is! It is a freestanding building, probably 1000 square feet, huge bathroom and very cool walk in shower with a square 14 inch x 14 inch shower head directly over you. Unfortunately the water was not hot, so I called and ten minutes later two guys show up, climb up into the top of the room and replace the element in the water heater, and voila hot water.
Morning and a great breakfast, then decided to do my own laundry as the bill here was $6 per underwear and $12.50 for each T-shirt, shirt. So I saved the $90. The sink and camping laundry soap worked fine, and they were dry by lunch time. I snorkeled around the many OWBs (over water bungalow), actually quite a distance. I saw a lot of parrot fish, some ?bone fish, white with a black dot, digging into the sand. There were some nice corals, but a lot of dead and broken up coral heads. The swim guy said it was the cyclone a couple of years back and not crown of thorns. I hopped the shuttle into the big town of Vaitape, walked a Km or so north and then another or so south and saw very little except pearl shops. Hit the tourists. I did pick up some tahitian rum and some cokes, but missed my chance to eat at a local cafe, they closed at 5 pm. No big deal, I had a very good burger and fries here at only 2000 xpf. Up early tomorrow for some diving in Bora Bora.
I figure about 3/4 of the people here are Americans, most on honeymoon I think. But all is good, though I liked the feel of the crowd in Rangiroa better. The Americans tend to be so loud and curse a lot when every little thing isn’t perfect. I should teach them Rule #1 and Rule #2.

Moorea from Tahiti

my bungalow at the Maitai

I had a nice smooth flight to Rangiroa and into my hotel, the Maitai Rangiroa. I have full board, all meals included and the kitchen here is superb. all the meals have been plentiful and wonderfully prepared. I have had fish, lamb shank, chicken and steak. I had only one reef dive yesterday, but it was great, and today I had a drift dive in the World Famous Tiputa Pass and a second reef dive, both incredible.

I don’t think I have mentioned the chickens yet. On all the islands there are lots of wild chickens and roosters, just like back on Kauai last time. They are quite pretty, and all over the place. As you can imagine, they generally start making lots of noise at around dawn, but it doesn’t bother me much, I just roll over and drift back off. The Maitai Rangiroa is a very nice place to stay, not a 5 star, but a solid 3-4 star. The food has been excellent and the bungalows very nice and clean, between the Atiu Villas and the Etu Moana in luxury level. Good hot showers.

August 7, 2011:
What another great day on the adventure. Up before the alarm, I have been waking pretty often through the night, somewhat warm and sticky. I had a nice small to medium sized breakfast, omelet and bread with coffee. Then off to Top Dive for the 8:00 drift dive. Nicholas was the dive master again, ?Kiochia the japanese girl had a japanese couple and Dave and Stewart. Dave and family are sailing around the world. From Ireland and exudes the “captain of the ship” a little too much with his son, who could in my opinion get a bit more slack, but I’m not sailing in the Pacific with him.

After a good briefing we set out. Much calmer seas today, no whitecaps in the lagoon, and even past the pass the swells were smaller, but there none the less. For the drift dive we put in a little closer to Tiputa Pass, just off the reef at the drop off maybe 250 meters east of the pass. Straight down to 60-70 feet and easy drift along the wall. Right away we saw a couple of reef sharks, then a few more, then 20-30 cruising by, parallel to the reef at about 90 feet. A couple of them were more curious (?hungry) and took a side turn to come look at us a bit closer. We eased down to 90-100 feet and ran into a couple of Dolphins that were happy to mess with us for a bit. Up and down and barrel rolls. It isn’t just the large number of pelagic, but the amazing density of the small fish. I think the current is very strong in the pass and at the top of the reef, with breaking waves and all, so they all like to hang by the sloping area and wall from 40-90 feet. Damsels by the hundreds, angelfish so packed together they look like they are schooling, Picasso Triggerfish all over, Parrots and Snappers and so many kinds of small reef fish I can’t count them. Today I saw large Barracuda, several Yellowfin Tuna, a Puffer at least 18 inches long, Blue fin Trevalley eating a star fish, large Napoleons, a Moray eel as big as my thigh, and a nice size silver tip shark. We didn’t go to the center of the pass, as the current is way stronger, and other than flying through in a couple of minutes there is not much to see as the current prevents coral from growing. The current was plenty strong by the side walls, no way you could swim against it, to stop you definitely had to hold on to the rock. Again I only had a shorty wet suit, but did not get cut by the coral, a small scrape but no blood no foul.

The second dive was a “reef dive” although there is still current to be aware of. They drop us a bit further from the pass and we eased along the wall with the usual sharks and Dolphins toward the pass, but before we enter the pass we pulled up and over the edge of the reef for the end of the dive, as the water was getting ready to go out. This dive I had a Green turtle curious about me. He came to me three or four times, until I petted his neck and fin, then he moved on. Two spectacular dives with great visibility and lots of things to see. Back to the Maitai for a shower and a wonderful lunch: salad, grilled steak with Roquefort sauce and fries and Ice cream profiterole for dessert. As I said at the start, another great day, and time for a little nap!

enjoy the small things as well

I’m slowing it down a bit now. Saturday night I eased into Rarotonga and the hotel transport was nowhere to be seen. I checked in with the Air Rarotonga office to see if my vouchers were there. They weren’t. When I got to Rarotonga last Monday they had for no apparent reason sent my vouchers on to Atiu and said I should get them when I arrived there. But when I got to Atiu and asked, they said they had sent them back to Rarotonga on the earlier flight but that they would get them sent on the next flight, Wednesday which is the same flight I am catching to Aitutaki. The Wednesday flight didn’t have them and I almost missed the plane while the Air Raro guy had me in the office on the phone with the door closed. Fortunately my host at the Atiu Villas, Roger came running around to the window yelling, “your flight is taking off!!”. We flagged down the pilot who opened the door back up and I got on. Off to Aitutaki and when I left there on Saturday I asked and she said, “oh yes, we had them and sent them back to Rarotonga.” So I guess my vouchers have done more traveling than I have. A friendly shuttle driver was taking a bus load of Tahitians to their hotel near mine and gave me a lift to the place.

Sunday is a day of rest in the Cook Islands, and I did enjoy it. Monday afternoon I had a much better two tank dive. Visibility was good, and we saw lots of things; turtles, a huge octopus, lion fish, trigger fish, Scorpion fish and even a white tip reef shark which are fairly odd to see at this end of the island. There are plenty of Kiwis (New Zealanders) here and they are a very friendly lot. I was invited to share tables and just generally taken in and chatted with. I have gotten two invitations to “stay with us when you get to New Zealand, here is my card, please call.”

Tuesday I rented a scooter and cruised around the island. They are having a week long “Constitution Celebration.” I missed the parade on Saturday, but all week they are having competitions of teams from each island showing off dance, singing and chanting. When I stopped at the “trade days” booths for shopping and eating I ran into several of the folks I had met in Aitutaki; Dave and Elizabeth from snorkeling and even the German mom and daughter from Atiu and again from Aitutaki. We had a wonderful curry chicken “family” lunch.

That evening I went to the competition and was blown away. The teams were each around 30 to 50 singers/dancers which is incredible when you think about how small the population is on some of the outer islands (500-1000). The performances were spectacular, interesting design and choreography to express the theme: The signs of my community/Island. Three hours of a great show. Then I rode my scooter back to the hotel, the headlight was less than one might hope, but there was enough traffic and some occasional streetlights so I made it in one piece. The speed limit is 40, but thats in kilometers per hour which is about 25 miles per hour.

Wednesday’s morning dive was even better, I was a little iffy in the stomach when I got up and couldn’t decide if it was the roasted chicken, the curry chicken or the Island version of Jim Beam (at least the bottle looked the same, though the liquid was a little pale). But I am glad I went anyway. We went to the south end of Rarotonga and six of us plus two crew took the six foot wide boat out through the winding seven foot wide reef passage in the breaking surf. The dives were great, 100 foot visibility and a good group to dive with. A spotted eagle ray just kept circling right below me for my last 3 minute safety stop, very nice.

Wouldn’t you know the transport out to the airport was as good as it was coming in. I went to the desk at 2:15 PM and was told the ride would be there at 2:30. Saw and said goodbye to the Italian newlyweds. At 2:35 I asked them to call, as they told me they were not booked to take me to the airport, it was another transport. They were “looking for the driver.” I explained the situation again and they called Another team, the Raro Tours again! Lynne showed up and took me to the airport, even though I didn’t have any voucher to give her. She explained that this happens a lot with JetSave, and Gaynor in particular. She says yes, yes, yes but doesn’t get it booked. I got to the airport, and checked the bag, went to the departure bank and paid the $55 departure tax, did the security line, (oops fill out the papers first) then scanned me. My hip didn’t make the hand scanner beep, but I wasn’t arguing. Stand in the left emigration line only to be told “Tahiti is the other line.” A sign would have been nice. Finally in the departure area with six minutes to spare. Duty free anyone? 1.25 liter Jim Beam $20 but now I have $19.20 left in New Zealand/Cook Island dollars. I thought about pan handling for a buck, but noticed a second duty free shop and lo and behold they had Early Times whiskey for $18!!! SOLD. The plane ride was smooth, a bunch of teenagers were returning to Tahiti after a visit to Rarotonga. They were happy and singing. There was also a little girl, maybe 3 or so who wandered the aisle and was fine leaning on my leg and looking around.
The Cook Islands were thought to be settled by people from French Polynesia. Their languages are very close, and the people share a very close connection with each other. The dancing, drums and other culture aspects are very similar, so there is a lot of visiting back and forth. That explains why the domestic airline Air Tahiti flies to and from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
A smooth meet at the airport, transfer to the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort and into my room. Quite the posh place, a huge pool with waterfall, lagoonaria for swimming and tonight on their “motu” is the Heiva celebration, a mini version of the cultural festival that was on the island the past week. I had some dinner and now am getting ready for my trip over to Rangiroa tomorrow.