Aitutaki, Cook Island

So sorry I cannot share pictures of you at this time.. hopefully soon!

WOW WOW WOW! Everyone must experience the island of Aitutaki at least once in their lives. It truly truly truly is a piece of heaven on Earth!

There is not a lot to do in Aitutaki, but take in its views from above and on a lagoon tour, snorkelling and boating, but it is definitely a place to see..

Now some of my plans went to crap because of an injury, but I will lead us there first.

Arriving in Aitutaki was amazing. The flight over the lagoon shows the shallow clear waters in its full beauty. The weather was warmer than Rarotonga, but we had a bit of wind. I stayed at Ranginui's Retreat in my own little bungalow with a bed, kitchen, couch and bathroom (with lovely warm water!). I was about 30 feet from the water and had amazing views from the front porch! LOVELY!!! AND I got to drive around for the week on a very cool yellow scooter! SO fun.. I think I need to get one now!

It was so relaxing there I finished 4 books, if you can believe that! Well I had a lot of time to lay around.

I started my visit with an Island tour with a very cute Cook Islander, named Nakitai. We cruised around the little island in his yellow jeep to the high points (some 220m) and got some amazing views of the lagoon (as well as a chance to watch the clouds rolling in!) It was a great way to get acquainted with the island. There are no dogs on Aitutaki and there are two stories.. one that a dog attacked and killed the chiefs daughter so he had them killed and banned and the other is that there was a leprosy outbreak and the belief was that it was caused by the dogs, so they were banned! Your choice.. hard to get a straight answer out of a 'Cookie', they tell you what you want to hear!

In the afternoon (after an amazing downpour of rain and clearing to a beautiful day) I headed off to be pampered at a fancy spa. My therapist (or whatever they are called these days) was a nice young girl from Zimbabwe. I had an amazing scrub and massage and then got my lashed tinted. While the lashed were dying, she started a bikini wax... and well.... dumped the entire wax jug (or container or whatever it was I could not see) on me!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? I screamed, she was in shock and didn't know what to do, but after what felt like forever finally started putting cold water on the burn... for about an hour before I could stop freaking out and get in the shower to keep it cool...

So needless to say, my lovely relaxing time in Aitutaki was marred (and I am sure to be scarred for a long while, if not forever)...

So therefore I got to read books while keeping ice on the burn. I went to the doctor after a couple of days and of course it was infected so I got some meds for that.

BUT I did go on a lagoon cruise, so so so spectacular. Clear waters, giant clams, lots of fishes and amazing beaches! I also went to three island nights where you get a big buffet meal and a display of traditional dances. One of them I snuck into to watch the fire show (just like the locals do! just the show - no meal) I cruised around on the scooter a bit, but that upset the burn and was uncomfortable, so that was not too often.

I missed out on a dive or two, kayaking in the lagoon and getting out for a snorkel as much as I wanted, so that was disappointing.. but Aitutaki will still be one of my fondest memories for this holiday, that is for sure!

So I don't know what I did to upset the 'gods', but I almost never got out of Tonga, and ATM stole $400 from me (and the bank cannot help me!) and then I got this nasty burn! I hope that is it. Off to French Polynesia next! 3 more weeks til i get back to Canada. I hope you are all doing well. See ya soon!