Hello Everyone…
We’ll, we’re in Auckland, NZ right now at an internet cafe. Here’s a quick run down of what has transpired thus far…
The Cook Islands was a blur. The time difference there is 5 hours earlier than Florida. It took us a while to get used to that, but who cares about time differences when you’re in paradise. We were on the island of Aitutaki. It’s basically the caldera of some undersea mountain that forms a ring of islands. The center of the ring is a gigantic lagoon. It’s protected from the vagaries of the Pacific Ocean by a coral reef where we were witness to some truly amazing snorkeling. Words nor pictures could possibly describe the beauty of this lagoon. It’s as close to perfect as you can get. They say that the lagoon at Aitutaki is only surpassed by Bora Bora. If that’s the case, I can’t imagine what Bora Bora must be like, because Aitutaki is paradise on earth.
We stayed at the Popoara Ocean Breeze Bungalows. There were only two downsides to life at Popoara and Aitutaki in general… mosquitos (called mozzies in CI and NZ) and a lack of AC. We soon learned how to deal with both problems by hanging out near the ocean in a hammock built for two.
After Aitutaki we went to Rarotonga for a day. We stayed at the Paradise Inn in a quaint little room. Best part about the Paradise Inn… all the bananas you could ever want… FOR FREE! 😉 We also finally made it to a local Island Night at the Edgewater Resort. Island Nights are cultural performances by local people. Think of them as a type of luau like you might find in Hawaii… only the dancing is a bit more heated. Those women can shake those rumps like you’ve never seen before. The men do a men number too.
Then we were off to New Zealand on a 3:55 AM flight. Ouch! We crossed the international date line and lost a day (we’ll gain it back on the way back home). At any rate, after landing we went directly to Waiheke Island for a tour and to spend the night at Palm Beach Bungalows. It will be the romantic highlight of our trip. Again, it’s hard to put down in words. When I get pictures up, you’ll see what I mean. A beautiful island and a wonderful little bungalow in the trees.
As I said above, we are now in Auckland. We’re just walking around seeing what’s up. It was St. Patricks Day yesterday so we went out drinking. Had a blast, but man what a hangover today. Tonight the time changes, but unlike North America, the clocks go back an hour. This means that after tonight the time difference will be nine hours from Florida, instead of seven. That’s really going to hurt on the way back home.
Well… lots of love! I’ll post another one next time I get a chance. Oh yeah… if you would like to receive a post card… send me an e-mail with your mailing address. 🙂
Love,
–sam (and Liz too)