Swimming with the Fishies

With a few expert taps of a rock William opened up this coconut in less than a minute. With the piece of shell he knocked off, he used it to cut out the coconut meat. FYI, it seriously adds some great flavor if you rinse the coconut meat in sea water before you eat it. This was a tasty precursor to some of the most beautiful snorkeling I've ever witnessed.



As soon as I dipped my goggles into the water there were fish. There were fish everywhere, even only a few yards from shore.



I was alone too. Being there were no other tourists around, I felt like I was the first explorer here in these waters. Yes, that was a weird feeling. I remember thinking, hmm, wonder if there are sharks that frequent these waters. Luckily I had no encounters on that front.



These big boys circled me like they were circling prey. I think they were waiting for me to kick up food somehow, maybe off the bottom, dono, but they certainly remained interested.



The coral reef ends anywhere between 50 to 250 yards from the shore. I had no idea how it all worked. The waves crash out where the coral reef starts, so in this lagoon area it's always relatively calm. The water depth stays pretty much the same only getting a little deeper as you swam out from shore. I probably went out 150 yards or more and could still stand up. Just beyond the reef lies the deep ocean, and the lagoon is a snorkelers haven. Life was to be found here everywhere you looked.



Want to snorkel with me, click on the image above. See how close I really am to shore early in that video.



And yes, even Billbob made it beach side here on Rarotonga. Hope you enjoyed it Billbob. You can see the waves breaking on the reef in the picture above about 75 yards out or so. That's what I was talking about earlier. Big waves never actually hit the shore, they are broken up on the offshore reefs.



This is Aunt Olly, whom William stayed with for numerous years while attending college on the island. She lives right on the ocean. Just behind this greenery is her own private beach. You can walk down to the beach and look in both directions and not see a soul.



William cut down an old banana tree located here, and his two daughters planted a new one in it's place. Hopefully some day I'll be able to go back and pick a banana off that very tree.



This is the view from Aunt Olly's back deck looking towards the ocean. Wouldn't it be great to wake up every day to that view. Got to love it.



The small towns around the island are quite quaint. Just a store or two here and there.



And there are chickens running around all over. They are friendly enough and don't seem to get in the way, well except early morning when you can hear them crowing. lol



The other weird thing is, family members are buried in their front yards. It seems homes are passed down in the family from generation to generation, and since there are no public cemeteries there, the best place to put their deceased loved ones is right in the front yard!



If you do go, please make sure to attend the "Market". A lot of great food, and a lot of good deals on gifts. It's every Saturday, and it only runs until noon. After noon on Saturday everything is closed in preparation for Sunday, the Lords day, where everyone attends church and spends time with family.



I rented my scooter at the Avis pictured above. And this chicken just so happened to have pointed out the "Show and Dinner" at the Te Vara Nui Village, and so we went. If you ever do get a chance to make it out to the Cook Islands, make sure to attend.



The food was awesome, and so was the show. Click on the video below and you'll see what I mean. The show prolly went for an hour. The whole event was quite impressive.





Although I did not do any dancing this time, I was invited in for a quick pic with the lovely ladies.

Kia Orana