I'm here!

The day has finally came. After months of waiting and planning I'm on flight NZ28 to Rarotonga. How's that for a food choice: fish or chicken pie? A truly Kiwi meal, like it or not. The trip was pretty uneventful and boring. It would help if there was a good movie on. The landing was pretty bumpy though. At the lending some oxygen masks fell down. They do exist! Must of been freaky for the people to our. It's warm when we get off and we are greeted by ukulele playing dude. A nice touch. Straight away I wander off to duty free shop. 1L Absolut for $20? Yes, please! They don't even scan our bags on the entry. We get a free ride to the International Backpackers. By the time we get there it's almost 11pm... Thursday. Everyone seems to be up and enjoying the night. The place is modest, but for that price you can't expect more really. It's clean and tidy. After we settle down we make a trip to the store around the corner, which is still open to our joy. We get some breakfast for the next day. Pretty limited selection, but they have V, $3 a pop, so I'm happy. I can feed my addiction. The beach is few steps away. It's pitch black, so we can't see much, but there are coconuts everywhere. Everyone is friendly at the backpackers and makes an effort to talk to us. Then I finally meet my roomie, Katia, from Germany.

Friday... again

Oops. Clouds, wind... not good for a wedding day. It's still 3 hours to go, so it might clear up. After getting we ready we are lucky to get a ride to the resort where the wedding is taking place. A really beautiful place with only 10 villas. The ceremony was right on the beach. It was pretty windy, but nothing could spoil that day. Even the sun came out. Drinks and a delicious lunch follows.

We get back to the backpackers to change, but before that we quickly check out our beach. It's really nice. No wind, to our surprise. No waves and crystal clear water. Heaven. All I want to do is get in there. That's when I discover how burned I am, with a lovely triangle on my back.

For the evening entertainment we go to The Pacific Resort for the famous Island Night. It's a huge resort with ponds, rivers and bridges and lash flora. The night starts with the happy hour and cocktails start to flow to the music of a local band, if you can call it that. Then traditional island feast follows. To be honest the reception food what so much better. After we clean out our plates a cultural group entertains us with traditional wooden drums that sound amazing. To go with the music there's dancing of course. It seems basic with lots of hip and knee movements. Everyone from the age of 5 is involved. Desert. More drinks. It's been a long day and busy day, so by 10pm I'm knackered. Whole group of us catches a bus that almost runs me over. Somehow we manage to find our place. It's midnight when I get to bed, hoping I'll have a better sleep than the night before. Luckily for me I have no roomie tonight. Alarm clock in not needed around here. Roosters do a great job. Who cares if it's at 5am. One by one they go off.