At anchor: 21º11.70′ S 159º46.89‘W
At 7:55AM: temperature 75ºF, relative humidity 83%, wind from the NE at 25 kts 6 Beaufort. We have traveled 7103 nautical miles from Fort Lauderdale.
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the 15 Cook Islands. It sits by itself, smaller than Tahiti but larger than Bora Bora with 9 thousand people—11,300 in the whole country and 110,000 abroad. It has two roads that circle the island, an old coral road—that is now paved over—and a newer one closer to the shore. Most days there are two bus routes, both use the outer road but one runs around the island clockwise and the other runs counter-clockwise. The former is labeled ‘Clockwise’ and the latter is labeled “Counter Clockwise.” Since today was Sunday, only the Clockwise bus was running. Also all banks, most stores, etc. were closed. A few of the locals had booths near the dock with their crafts, jewelry, and shirts.
I got out on the deck about 6:50 AM and saw that the island had a rain cloud hanging over the saddle between a couple of the mountain peaks. I subsequently learned from one of the Cook Island Customs Inspectors at breakfast that they had had rain for the last week. (Well it is the rainy season, but residents of some of the other islands we have been to on this trip had commented on the lack of rain.)
I then noticed that the crew was beginning to get the tenders and platforms ready. But the seas were pretty rough and the tender at the platform was bobbing and weaving. They did eventually run the tenders with advise that only the fully mobile attempt the landing. There were a few pauses in the service and they finally stopped letting people go ashore about an hour and a half a head of schedule so they could make sure they could get everyone back.
John stayed on the Amsterdam, but Janice and I eventually made it ashore. We just wandered along the main street. Yes, most of the stores were closed but the churches were full. We stopped for a few minutes to listen to their singing. The rain made it off the mountain and down to the shore once or twice, but we didn’t get too wet. Around the public market area the free-roaming chickens were the only occupants. Probably half of the people we saw on the street were fellow cruisers.
We bought some T-shirts with really neat Maori-like/tattoo designs. Tattoos are a Polynesian tradition. They often were clan identification. When we were in New Zealand five years ago we learned how the Maori used to tattoo just about all of their bodies. Robert and Bronwyn said they talked to a native who showed them the tattoo that stretched up her arm from her wrist and recorded the history of her family.
We got back to the ship after a wild ride in time for a late lunch. Janice then went to the movie, Robin Hood with Russell Crowe, while I hung out on deck looking at the island and the tenders struggling to make it back to the ship. Unlike Easter Island where the problem was land-side only, today the problem was ship-side.
Even though they stopped taking people over, and had everyone back, ahead of schedule, we were two hours late leaving our anchorage because they had a problem with one of the winches and couldn’t raise the last tender until they repaired it.
Entertainment: “The Comedy Magic” of Chris Blackmore. We found him very funny. For example, at one point early on he grabbed a set of large steel rings and asked how many people had seen a magician take solid rings, link them together, and then separate them again. After a lot of the people indicated they had, he threw the rings behind him and said, “so much for that trick.”
Listened to Diane while working on our journal/blog. Savored some Benedictine. Requested Etta James’s At Last.
Clocks set back one hour.