 | | So we land in Rarotonga at 6am and this guy is playing the ukulele. Some dedication to the job!
Rarotonga Intl, Cook Islands
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 | | Um, let me try this again. I think this is the correct ear (another picture had it on the left ear)
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Me (lance) holding the sign
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Birdman George laying out a nice spread of us! Too bad we didn't get a picture of it, we were so hungry we just wolfed it all down! (lunch of banana, lime, coconuts, paw-paw)
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Me on the Anatakitaki Cave tour with Marshall
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Sampling some orange bush beer at the Aretou Tumanu, that's good stuff! I wish i could duplicate back at home
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Some downtime at the Aitu Villas
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Handcarved canoes but it didn't look like the use them on a regular basis.
Aitu Harbor, Cook Islands
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 | | Part of the road system goes on the runway. The native thought we were wacked when we asked if it was ok to drive on it. Duh!
Aitu Airport, Cook Islands
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 | | Aitu has some issues with non-native invasive species wrecking havok on the island. Many plants were imported with good intentions but they're chocking off the native plants.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | I caught this gecko at dinner at the bar. Don't like little reptiles at dinner? Then go somewhere else. Of course this is the only restaurant on the island. (and it's only open for dinner.. and not every night)
Aitu Villas, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy sipping some freshly cracked coconut at the Island Night
Aitu Villas, Cook Islands
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 | | Me zonked out on the 1.5 hr plane ride to Raro. I'm not sure why but i was exhasted
Southern Island Group open ocean, Cook Islands
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 | | Having some fish'n'chips
Aramoana, Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy's view from our bungalow in Aitutaki.
Aitutaki Lagoon Resort, Cook Islands
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 | | Breadfruit
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Sacred stones, the villagers used to come to these (and other) for meetings, guidance...
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Dock that the Survivor TV show made. They dumped a lot of money in the local economy, they booked every hotel room on the island for months.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | We kept bumping into this New Zealand couple everyday on both Aitutaki and Raro
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Heading out to go diving w/ Bubbles Below
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | I'm zonked out again, this time at Etu Moana.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Etu Moana- there's a reason why *every* travel rag says they're the best.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Snorkel cruise time!
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | On one of the outlying islands
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Nesting little baby bird
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Sweet! The water is as inviting as it looks! The little speck of land to the right of the island is Exile Island on Survivor: Cook Islands
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | What's not to love here? Warm water, sunny skies, and my wife!
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | That's us again. 100 yds from Exile Island. And 50 yds from a post office
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | The brits are filming a survival TV show here too. See the staring people getting all smelly like?
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Who drank all those!
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | Kickin' it at Sokala Villas
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | Me in front of the Whale Center. We're here by accident, the artist's wood carving center is across the street and i was looking for some souvenirs. But they only make them there, no retailing : (
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Din-din at the Kikau Hut. Very Yummy.
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy, my little trouper, in between dives w/ Pacific Divers
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Post Dive Kathy
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Beach palm tree posing with Kathy
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | Me posing with an Etu Moana at Sokala Villas
Muri Beach, Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Um... there seems to be pictures of me crashed out at every hotel.
Sokala Villas, Muri Beach, Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Foo-foo drink at the Flame Tree
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | Airport terminal for Raro.
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Local bus transport around the island for $4. Great deal, we just sat on the bus the entire way 'round since we had some time to kill before our flight.
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | um... mr pilot...i can see that there is a sale on milk but shouldn't you be looking out the window? Should you be able to see out the window? In his defence the sun is quite strong down here, and it's not SoCal airspace.
Enroute to Aitu from Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Short final to Aitu.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | k-miss just after arrival at Aitu Villas
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Road system of Aitu. They just got phone service in 1993.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | More roads on Aitu, this is one links the outer rim road to the inner roads. They're all in good shape and are easily navigated on a scooter.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Farm fields including taro
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | k-miss under a coconut tree looking for a bird
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Birdman George with a fossilized giant clam. He runs a fantastic tour I recommend to everyone
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Birdman George on a coconut tree to get us something to drink.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | To survivor contenders: learn to open a coconut. Here's george husking the shit of of a pile of coconuts. In a minute he had 1/2 opened and ready to drink
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy at the beach where Capt Cook landed way back when
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Birdman showing the whiteman exactly how to climb
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy after a super lunch
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Us during the warmer times
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | More taro farms. All the locals grow it as a dietary staple. There's a blight going around the south pacific and the traditional root is being wiped out. The new variety is resistant but somewhat tasteless (i can hardly tell but i'm white)
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy taking a picture of some bananas. How often do you see them growing by the side of the road?
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy decending into a sinkhole/cave on Marshall's tour. Another good tour operator.
Anatakitaki Cave, Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Inside the Anatakitaki Cave
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | yeah, picture overload, so sue me. It's my bandwith you're eating up so piss off : ) Anyways here's an opening in Anatakitaki where the roof collapsed
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | k-miss hiking amongst caves
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Kopeka bird. Little birdie can fly around in the caves without seeing. They have a radar type thing and the make chirps to hear where they are. Makes trying to focus on one a bitch.
Anatakitaki Cave, Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | And there's water in these caves, a little chilly but not cold. I still wasn't about to go in
Anatakitaki Cave, Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | The local bar scene, Aretou Tumanu. When the missionaries came they outlawed everything so the men would dissapear for a while and make/drink orange bush beer. Good stuff.
Aretou, Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | So this island only has 1 part time restaurant which isn't all the helpful for folks on holiday. So we had to figure out how to cook ramen.
Aitu Villas, Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Mata pulling her lawnmower into position. She has to husk 60 coconuts a day to feed them! Anyways her coffee tour is great
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Mata and her daughters have to do everything by hand, including removing the silverskin from the beans. I guess that's removing by finger... a lot of work for a few tons of coffee beans
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Pancakes, coffee with coconut creme with Mata. We're in her house so you can see that the locals don't have McMansions but the get by just fine.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Remnants of a ship named in "From Kauri Trees to Sunlit Seas". Decent read by a local ocean goer.
Aitu Harbor, Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | The town's walmart, this is the biggest store on Aitu. They had what we needed: bug spray, ramen, cookies...
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Our pimp ride. That's right, electric start and everything.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | One of the 27 deserted beaches on the island. There were maybe 10 tourists on the island when were there.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | These little buggers are everywhere. Cute little geckos, they make a little 'grrg' sound. Just tell your womenfolk that it's the wood creaking. They'll buy it. Easier to deal with than having them freak out.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Island night at Aitu Villas. They like to fuck with the white people. It's fun though.
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | Packed up and ready to leave the Aitu Villas
Aitu, Cook Islands
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 | | TSA, smee-ess-ay. Puh-lease, they don't even check ID. Ain't no one been hurt yet. This isn't Beruit or Fallujah you know.
Aitu Airport, Cook Islands
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 | | I always hate leaving but we have 2 more islands to visit!
Aitu Airport, Cook Islands
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 | | Oh shit yeah! That's Aitutaki below us! Sweet!
Downwind to Aitutaki Airport, Cook Islands
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 | | This island is a bit more of the western trappings, you're met at the aiport with a lei and coconut drink.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Oh the frigid waters of the South Pacific!
Aitutaki Lagoon Resort, Cook Islands
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 | | The resort doesn't have a road to it so you have to take a boat to get to it. Or wade.
Aitutaki Lagoon Resort, Cook Islands
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 | | The 2nd highest point on the island, you have great views of all the little motus.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | I asked Elizabeth where i could get some breadfruit so she pulled over and asked the homeowner if we could pick some. Cool, nice to live in a small island sometimes.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Obligatory cop car pic. One of the couple moonlights as a DJ, also at the docks too.
Police Station, Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Etu Moana, sweets bungalows ever.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | View from our beachside bungalow.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Because I can't stop taking pictures (of Etu Moana again)
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Back at Aitutaki Lagoon Resort for Island Night
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | The sun always shine with Kathy
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | The beautiful couple
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | I know i'm hot but the hula girls always pick me to go up and dance whitestlye. Of the 3 islands nights i went up 3 times!
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | That ain't no asian statue if i ever saw one. You'll see Tangaroa everywhere you go.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Samade on the Beach. Ok, decent location and food, but it's nothing to write home about. Shoot, they don't have any Jimmy Buffett to play either.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Info on Aitutaki if you're looking to go. It's not a place to get hammered at 3am so look elsewhere if you want to party.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | More info for potential tourists. The place isn't crawling with trinket shops.
Aitutaki, Cook Islands
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 | | Night shot of Sokala Villas. Everyone gets a private pool.
Muri, Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | k-miss needs to take landnav again. She directed me here which isn't the place where we wanted to go hiking : )
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | My new desktop wallpaper, the sunset from our bungalow.
Muri, Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Some downtime while it rains. We can't go anywhere with a scooter : )
Muri, Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | K-miss getting a little stir crazy : )
Muri, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | The reason why the Cook Islands economy is in the shitter. This resort development (with Marriot) took $100m but failed to due corruption, etc.
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | Arts/Farmers Market on Raro on weekends. No major deals to be had but the food is real good and priced to move.
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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 | | Kathy at lunch on the beach
Raro, Cook Islands
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 | | Our last night and dinner on the island, we're about to catch a plane back home. Hopefully we'll be back! It was a great honeymoon!
Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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