28/7/01
Hey guys!
We're writing from Rarotonga, Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Family is close in the Cook Islands. It is so close that generations now long departed are often never to be found further away then the front garden. With great ancestors buried near the back and those more recently deceased under the herbaceous border, ones entire family tree can often be found growing on ones front lawn. The Cook Islanders are very eco-friendly and recycling minded, and its nice to know ones family is doing its bit, even if it is fertilizing the vegetable patch.
We arrived in Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands on Thursday, and though intermittent if brief, vertical torrential downpours outnumbered sunny spells 3-1 for the first couple of days, the sun has at last got on his riot hat and Raybans and continued his job of finishing off those tourists that are still medium rare. Although officially mid winter here the temperature is in the 30's during the day, and we would sleep with the windows open were it not for the local mosquito's’ ferocious appetite for roast tourist with crackling.
Rarotonga is only 32km in circumference, with reefed in lagoon surrounding the East, West and South of the island. We have managed to work our way clockwise around all the beaches of the island, with the aid of a plain-clothes Harley. As there is only one road on Rarotonga this has dispensed with most (if not all) the arguments of -which direction? And we've only lost our way once or twice.
We've been fortunate enough to arrive for the week of the Maire Maeva Nui Festival (constitutional celebrations) in which representatives from all the Cook Islands gather on Rarotonga for music competitions, dance competitions, football leagues, parades and so on. We managed to peel ourselves off the beach long enough to see one or two of the free cultural exhibitions, but other than that it was a toss up between an entrance fee or a tube of after sun. No contest. In this light, the diet is going superbly; we can no longer afford to shop for food, and have resorted to hunting and gathering in the local forest. The whole resort has put a contract out on the 7:00 a.m. cockerel, and we have been tracking it with a crude boomerang fashioned from a well-into-rigamortis sweat sock. Coconuts have been a problem, as it costs you more in calories and first aid to open one than you gain from its contents. Papayas are an easy meal, growing on trees not much over 6 feet tall. However most seem to be planted in gardens ontop of someone’s great uncle and so we thought perhaps not. We've been living in a bungalow with a couple whose deliciously aromatic cooking causes us to flee the premises each time their stomachs grumble lest we gnaw our own legs off in envy.
3/8/01
Just touched down in Fiji a couple of hours ago. We've been skipping back and forth over the international date and time lines so often we are playing a game of inter-era hopscotch worthy of the Time Bandits. So far we've relived a couple of hours ago three times, been back to yesterday twice, and we are currently writing to you from tomorrow. Fiji is looking very interesting already. We'll let you know about it next time.
Take care all,
Lots of Love,
Natalie & Jonathan
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
P.S. Sorry for the lack of piccies but the computer we're on keeps on crashing every time we try to send them. We'll send more with our next letter.
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