Click on the arrow for a little background music...
.
I officially turned a peachy shade of pink today!
I am back once again in Polynesia and it is like coming home to an old friend. Yesterday was my first day teaching, and so some things have started to fall into place now that the first lecture and series of classes are underway. I have several “regulars” already and they are fun to work with. My pride and joy is Father Pedro, an older Mexican American priest from San Antonio on for the Easter cruise. He is a joy to be around and I think I learn as much from him as he does from me. Perhaps more!
Today in Rarotonga, Cook Islands , we did tender, something we never did last year on this journey and I did take a wonderful tour! Rarotonga is a South Pacific island, so it has the lush rolling hillsides that Polynesia does, but the port area looks a bit more British than it does native. Kind of like Falkland Islands with volcanic hills as opposed to penguins, if that makes any sense. Rarotonga means “down south” in local language as it is the southernmost of the Cook Islands . A part of New Zealand , it is an unusual mix of cultures. The Polynesians who live here have Kiwi accents!
I took a wonderful lagoon cruise on sparkling turquoise waters. Graceful white birds flying in pairs serenaded our small boat. I never did get their local name down correctly “cococoye”?, but learned that they are in the family of doves, and as such, always travel in pairs. A stop for snorkeling - an overabundance of colorful fish, a feast for the senses, and lots of giant razor clams, a large spotted eel, and a sea of unusual yellow and blue striped fish that the Argentine passengers and I concluded resembled their flag. There are in fact over 200 Argentines on the ship right now but probably double that number of yellow and blue fish flitting and weaving around our legs in the luxuriously warm and tranquil turquoise waters.
We docked on a small uninhabited motu (island) that was fun to explore. Scavenged for a few pretty shells and took lots of photos. I learned how to split open a coconut and grate the flesh, tie it up in palm frond and squeeze the milk out over my sunburned skin, and then drink a little as well. Yum! But where's the rum?
Our lunch was a locally caught fish, grilled over an open fire along with some leftover coconut milk, onions, and sweet bananas. Freshly squeezed mango juice to drink. Carambola and passion fruit for dessert. I am in Polynesian food heaven!
It is Easter Sunday so our guides advised us that there is no drinking on the island today. However, when I got back to the tender dock, I ran into Father Pedro who told me he was off to see the local priest in town for a drink. When I told him about the “no drinking on Easter” rule, he laughed and scuttled me along with him to the local parish. So now I know the truth, and apparently, the natives are none the wiser. Only the clergy (and specially invited guests) drink on Easter. After all, as Father Pedro says, Easter is a day of celebration, is it not?
Hugs,
Jeana
I am back once again in Polynesia and it is like coming home to an old friend. Yesterday was my first day teaching, and so some things have started to fall into place now that the first lecture and series of classes are underway. I have several “regulars” already and they are fun to work with. My pride and joy is Father Pedro, an older Mexican American priest from San Antonio on for the Easter cruise. He is a joy to be around and I think I learn as much from him as he does from me. Perhaps more!
Today in Rarotonga, Cook Islands , we did tender, something we never did last year on this journey and I did take a wonderful tour! Rarotonga is a South Pacific island, so it has the lush rolling hillsides that Polynesia does, but the port area looks a bit more British than it does native. Kind of like Falkland Islands with volcanic hills as opposed to penguins, if that makes any sense. Rarotonga means “down south” in local language as it is the southernmost of the Cook Islands . A part of New Zealand , it is an unusual mix of cultures. The Polynesians who live here have Kiwi accents!
I took a wonderful lagoon cruise on sparkling turquoise waters. Graceful white birds flying in pairs serenaded our small boat. I never did get their local name down correctly “cococoye”?, but learned that they are in the family of doves, and as such, always travel in pairs. A stop for snorkeling - an overabundance of colorful fish, a feast for the senses, and lots of giant razor clams, a large spotted eel, and a sea of unusual yellow and blue striped fish that the Argentine passengers and I concluded resembled their flag. There are in fact over 200 Argentines on the ship right now but probably double that number of yellow and blue fish flitting and weaving around our legs in the luxuriously warm and tranquil turquoise waters.We docked on a small uninhabited motu (island) that was fun to explore. Scavenged for a few pretty shells and took lots of photos. I learned how to split open a coconut and grate the flesh, tie it up in palm frond and squeeze the milk out over my sunburned skin, and then drink a little as well. Yum! But where's the rum?
Our lunch was a locally caught fish, grilled over an open fire along with some leftover coconut milk, onions, and sweet bananas. Freshly squeezed mango juice to drink. Carambola and passion fruit for dessert. I am in Polynesian food heaven!It is Easter Sunday so our guides advised us that there is no drinking on the island today. However, when I got back to the tender dock, I ran into Father Pedro who told me he was off to see the local priest in town for a drink. When I told him about the “no drinking on Easter” rule, he laughed and scuttled me along with him to the local parish. So now I know the truth, and apparently, the natives are none the wiser. Only the clergy (and specially invited guests) drink on Easter. After all, as Father Pedro says, Easter is a day of celebration, is it not?
Hugs,
Jeana
J
.
.
