COOK - BOOK

 Days 17 & 18 of 121

Today is a Quiet Sea Day as we make our way to the COOK ISLANDS.  There are a ton of things to do on Sea Days and I actually enjoy them because they give us some down time.  Today we attended a lecture called “The People of Oceania - Polynesia, Melanesia & Micronesia” by Patrick Goodness.  It was a great presentation and really set the tone for what we would be seeing in the Cook Islands which were named after British explorer, Captain James Cook.

We will be traveling to the Island of Rarotonga (one of the Cook Islands) tomorrow.  Today, however, is BOOK DAY!  (COOK and BOOK - get it?)

In an earlier blog post I mentioned that I had joined a book club and our January book was to be the Poisonwood Bible.  I have never been in a book club before and have always wanted to and figured “Here’s my chance!”  We received our book list - 4 books, one for each month that we will be on the ship.  I need to admit that I am NOT an avid reader!  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading, but usually only read while traveling on vacation.  On this trip I started reading “What Happens After” by Portia Moore on the plane and finished it when I got on the ship.  I then read the little book that I bought at Pearl Harbor, “The Children of Battleship Row” by Joan Zuber Earle.  I knew that I had to get started on my January book club book right?  But, I had all of January to get it read and was scheduling my time accordingly.  Well, I messed up!  Several members of the book club finished it right away and were anxious to discuss it and they scheduled our meeting on January 21st.  Yikes, and I thought I had at least one more week to read it.  Is this how book clubs work?  Today, is January 21st and the group is meeting today!  I have only read 200 out of 500+ pages (kindle version) but am attending anyway.  Maybe after hearing the discussion, I will determine if I want to continue reading it and continuing with the book club for that matter……..

As it turns out, I enjoyed the discussion and even though I had read not quite half of the story, I could relate to what was being discussed.  I decided to continue reading and finishing the book.  I better make it a priority though because I have February’s book looming…….  I will read feverishly between blogging, attending lectures and workshops,  attending evening entertainment events, going on excursions, having dinner with new friends……  yikes!  It’s a tough life on a ship!

 (On a side note:  apparently there are more procrastinators like me out there!  Several others who did not finish the book or who couldn’t attend the meeting have asked for another chance to discuss The Poisonwood Bible, and we will be meeting again!  I will be ready this time!

After the meeting I met Mark for lunch.  Special of the day was an Eclair Bar!  Yum, just Yum!

The rest of the day was very quiet.  Mark played Duplicate Bridge and I did laundry and READ!

Early the next morning, we arrived in RAROTONGA, the largest island in the COOK ISLANDS!

Here is the description of Rarotonga that was printed in the Viking Daily: 

RAROTONGA (AVATIU), COOK ISLANDS

The spellbinding volcanic island of Rarotonga is the sleepy capital of the Cook Islands.  Once a New Zealand colony, its needle-like rock, Te Rua Manga, pierces the sky from the island’s center.  Surrounded by a lagoon, its dramatic slopes rise up to scenic agricultural highlands where terraced farming provides the Cooks with fresh vegetables and fruits.  White sandy beaches lined with palms surround Rarotonga, luring visitors and locals alike. Because of the mountainous terrain, a roadway encircles the island, but vehicles cannot cross the island’s center directly; inland routes can be traveled only by foot.  Several ancient “marae”, communal gathering places typical of Polynesian tribes, dot the landscape and enjoy spectacular seaside settings.

The boat anchored away from the island and we tendered to shore.  This morning we had an excursion called “Island Discovery”.  After tendering over to the island, we met our guide and travelled on a small shuttle (only 19 passengers) around the perimeter of the island.  We saw the marketplace, several churches, cemeteries, homes, beaches and resorts along the route.  I was enamored with all the vegetation.  Breadfruit, papayas, bananas, coconuts, mangos and sweet potatoes were abundant as were vegetable gardens with tomatoes, flowering trees and bushes!  Varieties included gardenias, hibiscus, bougainvillea, plumeria and ginger flowers.

Our first stop on our journey was a small museum. (Very small- we were there for ten minutes!)  I captured several photos:

We made several more stops,  including a stop to see one of the churches and a couple of beaches. Here’s some photos that I took:

Mark is looking at the “critters” in the ocean!

These are Sea Cucumbers that were in the water at the edge of the beach.  Many referred to them as being Sea Slugs, but nope - they are from a different family and are edible!  Our guide said that they resemble spaghetti and can be cooked or eaten raw.  No thanks!

Here is a beach resort.

We stopped at a lovely garden.  There was a tiny restaurant there where you could purchase beer and other refreshments.  We didn’t get any but certainly enjoyed touring the property.  Everything there is grown organically.  I got a photo of the owner with her grandson.  They were lovely people!

After circling the entire perimeter of the island we said good bye to Rarotonga and tendered back to the ship.  We were supposed to do a beach excursion in the afternoon but canceled it since we already saw several beaches on this tour.  Enjoyed lunch at the pool grill and spent the afternoon READING!

We have four sea days coming up on our way to New Zealand!  Excited to visit there!