I have heard about the popularity of the biggest island of the Cook Islands! In Auckland, once in a while we have Pacifica Festival, as early as my encounter with Pacific nations and culture (I used to only learned from textbooks at Geography lessons in my 9th grade). All I know is their distinctive dances compared to Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji.
And we found an affordable round-trip flight during winter. So here we are!
 |
| This is the moon rising, not sun setting. |
We landed 1 hour earlier than scheduled. Unsure why. The weather was perfect for 1 1-layer of t-shirt, not too humid. But for locals, they are wearing a puffer jacket or a hoodie already :)
The airport was small as expected, only 2 liquor duty-free with a long line. We went to the visitor line right away. After sorting out our internet, we took the taxi that the lady in Vodafone took us to.
Everything seemed dark and so quiet. Reminded me of villages in Indonesia during the 90s.
I can feel and see the artistic aura around the villa. The next morning, we met Kanoe, the lady host, and had a little bit of chat. She is from Maui, with an American accent. She has been here for 20 years, and like the taxi driver, who is from Fiji “This place is safe, everyone is kind and friendly. “
Kanoe showed us her activities, keeping out of the sun. Drawing and painting! I love her work. Detailed and perfect figure of the real animal and beautiful color. Mostly in small canvas sizes.
Overall, we are so happy and satisfied with the villa. The picture doesn’t do justice; it may look old, but we LOVE it! It has access to the beach where we can see the sunrise with many benches and a couple of beautiful ethnic decks. With a sun lounger for sunbathing. Cathy's room is the spacious one with lots of windows and is warm.
 |
| Our deck faces the sunrise |
The villa is also near a gas station with a small supervised that pretty much has everything you need. Including hot-packed food with the Auckland price. We decided not to cook as this hot food is cheaper. Next to it, there is Villi Burger. We wanted to try it for our late breakfast, but it opens at 11:30. We will try it later at night for dinner
Today we decided to do all the water activities up to tomorrow before it starts to be cloudy and raining.
MURI LAGOON
While walking, looking at the mountain, which does not look like in Aotearoa, I feel like in Hawaii lol.
We could not believe our eyes that day when the sky was blue and the wind was not creating much ripple. Again, we were amazed by the pristine, crystal clear water.
This is paradise! And it is not even in Muri yet, lol.
Meanwhile, Cathy was checking on the 1-day tour to Aitutaki, we were so shocked that we all booked out till the next 2 weeks! Aitutaki is another beautiful paradise, with 1 hour flight from Rarotonga. Every tourist we met would say Aitutaki is 10 times prettier than Muri Lagoon!
Next, we book for Muri Lagoon tour. The famous one, Captain Tama, has already booked out for this week. I almost fainted to hear that. But the lady said "Go to the next door, Kooka, they may have it." We rushed to go there as we wanted to prevent the Aitutaki tragedy from happening. And yes, they still have a slot for us for tomorrow! Hurrah!
Next, kayaking or paddle boarding. We rented kayaks, as I was still unsure about having 2 people on a Stand-Up Paddleboard due to my last incident on Xmas. Unbeknownst to me, Muri Lagoon is a lagoon, and it is safe. All Rarotonga beaches are surrounded by coral reefs, hence we have calm water for snorkelling.
 |
| Muri Lagoon |
Next stop is ..... SNORKELING with the TURTLES!
Comments