Bienvenue et Tahiti!

January 15, 2007 - Rarotonga via Papeete

The warm welcome at Papeete, Tahiti, and eventually at Rarotonga, made the very long haul worthwhile.

The journey began in Edmonton, with a flight to Vancouver, then to Los Angeles. Then the long night flight began. Over eight bumpy hours later, we were informed of our descent into Tahiti, and told we would all have to disembark. Tahiti had been my original plan, until I read about the Cook Islands. We exited the aircraft into a warm tropical mist, the breeze bathing us in humidity. Before entering the airport, we were greeted by ladies handing out flowers. Once inside, there was no evidence of computers. The terminal was constructed to appear tropical. As we entered the waiting area, we walked by a garden with three carved wooden gods. Upstairs was a cafe that poured a gorgeous shot of espresso. I put my two bits down and received French Polynesian Francs in return. The crema of the shot tasted of earth, that same way dirt smells wet when you water the garden after a long period of time. I did not ask but assumed it was probably Tahitian coffee. I scoped out the gift shops, but decided against purchasing any coffee because it did not come in whole beans, meaning if I tried it in Rarotonga, it would be quite stale by the time I got home.

A deluge escorted us back to the aircraft, soaking everyone in the process. Wet and warm, we awaited takeoff for Rarotonga.
My seat was an aisle seat in the centre section, right at the front of the wing. The way the aircraft is configured, not only did I not have a window, I did not have any way of stealing a peek out anyone else's window. I did not see the island from the air before we hit the tarmac. My teeth jarred a little and after a familiar sense of floating, we fell back to the runway for the last time.

Kia Orana!

The greeting at Rarotonga was not as pretty as in Tahiti. The terminal building is old and shows its age, and there are no nice Polynesian design touches. Once inside we were entertained by a local with a ukulele while we endured the very slow customs lines. Again, no sign of computers. Once through customs (they confiscated the Tahitian flower I'd tucked behind my ear) I was met by Adrienne and given a lift to my fabulous new home.

Tiare Village is almost equidistant between the airport and the town of Avarua. It is made up of several A-frame self-contained chalets, the main house, and a couple of pool units. The chalets hold four people and each has its own kitchen and bathroom. I love my little chalet. I have one of the upstairs rooms, and unless I am quite mistaken, I believe the tree right outside my window is a mango tree. This guess is only supported by the ripe mango that is going to have to rot on my roof - because I don't trust the roof enough to go out there and get it. My goal for today is to find a mango for dinner. Not walk back into town and buy one, but actually find one.

The four sides of the chalet are surrounded by window-tickling jungle. I recognize frangipani, and I think I saw pohutukawa, but that is about it. All I can hear is the wind in the leaves, the sounds of exotic birds, and the gentle babble of the stream really nearby.

Adrienne took me and two other travellers for a driving tour of Avarua, dropping us where we wanted to go. It is a small town with not much going on other than retail. The Cafe is unfortunately closed for the rest of January. It had the best coffee in town, which means I am down to the rest of the cafes, none of which particularly specialize in coffee but will make some if you ask. The lady who was in the soap shop told me the Bus Stop Cafe makes one of the best espressos in town. I put it on my list for tomorrow morning.

Holy mother of god. A rather large rooster.... two rather large roosters are making their way across my back yard, mere feet from my wide open door. House lizards I can handle but not house roosters!

There are roosters and chickens all over the place and the three cows I saw did not appear to be penned in any way shape or form. There are some fences around property but mostly ti seems to be natural boundaries - hedges and the like.

I have not yet seen either the large flying cockroaches or the giant centipedes. I believe the mosquitos more than make up for that in their tenacity. Special thanks to Mum again for the most useful birthday gift in the history of birthday gifts: my mosquito net. Without it I doubt I'd get any sleep at all. The mosquitos still buzz around even though I am covered in repellant infused with DEET that is specially formulated to last for six hours at a go. The only option there is the possibility of Dengue fever. I know little about it other than if you take Asprin to get rid of the fever, you will start to bleed internally. No thank you very much.

Rarotonga appears to be a little-inhabited paradise. I tried to look at the mountain Te Mangua, also known as The Needle, today, but its needle was obscured by rain clouds. I expect that is all the exploring I am likely to accomplish today - little sleep makes for a nice low-key, relaxing day. Hunting mangoes. I'll let you know if I get lucky.

Holy mother of god! The rooster is back. I did not see him but he was so loud I jumped. Hope he doesn't like mangoes.