Get Lost On Purpose

Category: Aitutaki

  • Happy Birthday America!

    We haven’t sat still much since our arrival here in the Cooks and don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. We have officially met and checked in with customs, agriculture, and health inspectors and are “free to roam about the island”…even though we already had been : )

    I hit my two month mark on the trip back in June and shortly after became a little homesick which is fairly routine for me. I was an unexplainable, emotional wreck and Drew could barely talk to me without me crying. Such a girl. As crappy as I feel for saying this, French Poly had begun to feel a little routine and I was aching for something new, as was Drew. While I could have certainly done without the harshness of the passage, what was waiting for us, in the Cooks, has been an incredible mood lifter and Drew and I have done a complete 180 since our arrival. Neither of us can begin to explain how wonderful it is to be amongst English speaking people again as it knocks down the language barrier we’ve had up against us for both our trip this year and last year. It’s my fault, I should have studied and learned French but I didn’t, and so I am glad to have that part of the trip behind me.

    Then there is the financial aspect of being in a new place and for us things are reasonable again which means that we are really able to appreciate and enjoy the culture without as many limitations and it is making a world of difference. The scooter rental has made getting around the island not only easy but FUN! Some afternoons we just go out and ride around with no intentions of doing anything but sight seeing and feeling the wind in our face. And the food, oh the wonderful food! There are so many restaurants here so it’s been fantastic to get off Dosia and be served instead of having to cook all the time. There is a wonderful restaurant on the oppo side of the island from us called the Boatshed Bar & Grill, right on the lagoon, where we had an amazing lunch of local fish & chips and a thai beef salad. Highly recommend this to future visitors of the island but TAKE BUG SPRAY! Mosquitos are present all over the island but everywhere on the eastern side.

    Of course we’re tag teaming it with Zen and will probably end up sharing many meals and adventures with them throughout our time here. They are an absolutely wonderful family to be around and the mom, Monique, has become my “girlfriend” of the trip. It’s great to see a family experiencing this together and there is such a respect level between Tom & Monique and their children, Cammi & Cole. You feel it within minutes of being around them and I just love it as it can be rare to find that these days. Thursday we ate dinner with them at Cafe Tupuna’s which sits up in the hills of Arutanga. Drew & I split a bowl of seafood chowder that would have made my dad cry (he LOVES chowders) and then both licked our plates clean of the fantastic tuna and wahoo dishes we ordered as our meals. Lemon and passion fruit cheesecake for dessert, stick a fork in me I was done! Last night we attended our first buffet and dance show at the Pacific Resort. For about $45 a person there was an amazing buffet of sushi, sashimi, clams, mussels, lobster salads, pork, ribs, fresh salad, a pumpkin au gratin that was to die for, and tropical dessert plates. It was perfect and after Drew, Monique, Cammi, Tom, and I all participated in the dance show, we were all full, spent, and ready for bed.

    Being in another country makes it difficult to celebrate our nation’s birthday so it’s going to be a low key 4th of July for us. Tomorrow is Miss Cammi’s birthday and I am being given the pleasure of making her a birthday cake so we’ll be joining them in the b-day festivities and on Monday we are going on an island lagoon tour which will take us to four of the remote atolls and we’ll be able to snorkel. So we are going to have PLENTY to keep us busy and lots of food to keep our bellies full! So if you’ll excuse me I need to go on a walk now to try and work off these desserts I’ve been eating lately. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY!!!

  • A slice of humble pie…

    Island life in Aitutaki thus far is fantastic! Our family of buds on s/v Zen got two scooters of their own so we’ve formed our own little “Hells Angels” and we’re cruising the roads in style! Long gone are the mountainous landscapes and cascading hills of Moorea, Tahiti, Bora Bora, and heaven forbid that one in Huahine (which I never hope to encounter again). Those islands were gorgeous, no doubt, but Aitutaki has provided us with it’s own beauty in a much different setting. The roads of this island are mostly flat with a few rolling hills nestled in. Mango, papaya, starfruit, breadfruit, pamplemousse, and mandarin trees are in abundance and instead of dogs (like in the Society Islands), the streets are lined with goats and roosters. In fact, there are no dogs anywhere on this island because they were blamed many years ago for a leprosy outbreak.

    I’ve mentioned to Drew several times throughout this trip that in living on Dosia, in a confined space, I have learned just how little I can live without. I am all for microwaves, hot water showers, being able to blow dry and straighten my hair, air conditioning, and yes, the occasional gossip magazine. And honestly, call me shallow, prior to September of last year I would have laughed if someone told me that not only was I capable of functioning minus those luxuries, but that I could do it and I would enjoy it. It’s only when I think I am living “without” that we arrive on an island like Aitutaki and it kicks my butt right back into place and reminds me what really living “without” could mean.

    Imagine, back in the States, wanting a hot dog. Easy enough, right? You get in your car, you go to the store (sometimes reluctantly because the couch was oh so comfy), not only do you buy your hot dog but you have your choice of beef, chicken, bratwurst, turkey, sausage, and cheese filled. You go home, you make your dog, and you enjoy. Well imagine wanting a hot dog but having to wait four or five weeks for it because the ship that delivers your groceries wasn’t able to get to your island that month!!! Thus was the case some time ago in Aitutaki. A ship delivers goods and groceries to this island once a month and upon our arrival it had come the week prior. So what we saw in the stores was what we were going to get and while the stores here are nice, they are no Carrefour. Thank heavens we have frozen chicken breasts and bacon in the freezer because we’ve yet to come across any here on the island. I can only imagine that when the shelves are freshly stocked that there is a mad rush, similar to the newest video game release back home, for the locals to grab what they can of the stuff that is really, really valuable to them before it is all gotten and gone, like fresh meats and cheeses.

    So for those who are born and raised on this island, what they’ve never had, they can’t miss and the way they receive their goods is the only way they know so to them, it’s normal. For me, it’s a learning experience and one from which I can only hope teaches me and helps me grow as a person. One day, when Drew and I are back into our norm, and that trip to the grocery store seems more like a chore and hassle than a luxury, hopefully the memory of Aitutaki and these people will flash into my mind. Instead of being bothered, I’ll just be glad it’s there and in the present, and for that, incredibly appreciative…

  • Arrived in Aitutaki, Cook Islands

    Pulling out of Bora Bora on Saturday morning, we knew we were in for a rough ride. I had reached that point where I was ready to leave no matter what. We were 8 days past our “legal” date in French Polynesia, out of French Poly cash and tired of the prices, bored with the food (except that Reuben at Blood Mary’s), and oh so ready to see something new. We were attempting our first passage since last year and of course, Margie’s second ever, so we knew there would be some adjustment time to get used to the movement and life at sea. We had two meals prepared and ready to cook. I set up the blog so we could update by email and keep everyone posted on the 485 mile passage. Three hours after we pulled out of the pass we hit our first rain. Soon after, the random 12-13 foot southern waves started rolling in on our nice 8-10′ southeasterly sets. The wind gusts rose into the 30-35 knot range and by 3:30 we were sitting in the cockpit in our foul weather gear surfing down waves at 8.5 knots thinking hmm…I’m not that hungry any more and let’s just keep that computer where it is. Just after nightfall we finally gave up the cockpit and did watches from below. Those intermittent southerly swells would come out of nowhere, slap the side of the hull, and crash across the entire boat drenching anything in the path. We made 162 miles the first 24 hours which was actually slower than I thought we’d be but I think it was the wave height slowing us down. Sunday came with absolutely no improvement in the weather so we sat below all day, hatch boards in, reading and trying to keep the nausea under control. We did manage to get down a couple of tuna fish sandwiches. Day two put 151 more miles out of the way and by late Monday morning the winds and seas had abated some so I put out the full genoa. That along with the mizzen carried us at 7 knots till late night Monday. Then the wind died all together. We wanted to make it to the pass at Aitutaki with some good daylight on Tuesday so with the help of the engine we came around the northern coast at noon.
     
    Then came the pass. I circled around the front of it saying “is that it?!?” for about 15 minutes before finally dropping anchor on the outside (in the swell) so we could explore it by dinghy first and see what we were up against. It looked like the dinghy was gonna run aground in the pass as I entered so I couldn’t imagine taking Dosia in. I discovered it was dead low as one tide program had suggested (the other, of course, said the exact opposite) and we would have to roll around and wait a couple of hours before we could safely enter on the “big” boat. It was nice being able to dinghy around the anchorage and chose out my spot beforehand without coming in blind. About 4pm we wrestled the anchor off a coral head on the outside and headed in. Dosia’s draft is 5.1″ and the shallowest I saw was 5.8″. I had spent an afternoon in Bora Bora calibrating the gauges just for this pass and I was happy I did. Once inside we headed up the small outer channel into 2 knots of current and dropped anchor. As I write this I have three anchors out. Two off the bow and one stern anchor. At full tidal outflow, the current runs probably three knots and where we’re sitting it tends to push on the starboard side of the boat so I feel more comfortable with some extra protection out. The bottom is rocky in places so you gotta check your anchors and make sure they’re set. I have one bow anchor in sand and the other wrapped around a rocky head. This boat ain’t going nowhere and that’s good cause with our smoking scooter rental (code named “Scoot Scoot”) we don’t plan on spending much time on the boat! Yep, that’s right…we got transport for at least the next week. $100NZ ($65US) for a week cannot be beat. Especially when that was the cost for one day’s rental in French Polynesia. This place is G-R-E-A-T! It is wonderful to be back in a country with some sort of earthly pricing. It’s just as beautiful (if not more in my opinion) and with the same friendly South Pacific people. And here they speak English!
     
    Apparently there was a funeral on the island today and with a mere population of about 600 people, it drew the likes of many of the locals, including those in customs so that was closed. We’ll check in tomorrow and be clear to explore the rest of what we’ve already decided is going to be awesome destination!