Raratonga is a Pacific island and one of the islands in the group of islands called the Cook Islands. It is only 32km in circumference so it is easy to get around as the bus travels in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The sea is separated from the island by a lagoon which surrounds the entire island. The water in the lagoon is shallow, calm and crystal clear (when the weather is nice) and so idyllic.  

We arrived at 11pm to be greated by a banjo player standing on a thatched platform in the corner of the airport. We were picked up and taken to our hostel by these 2 cute old ladies in sarongs with flowers in their hair. It was only the next day that we discovered that our hostel was very well located, right on the beach, with the most amazing view. There were a few small islands in front of us just off the lagoon.... it looked like paradise. I must say my first day there was just glorious. The weather was beautiful and the sun shining on the island made all the colours around me appear magnificently vibrant. The sky was amazing shades of blue. Before relaxing on the beach, I had washing to do so took the bus into town and browsed the markets while my laundry was being done. I must say for an island, I was disappointed by the variety of fruit on sale at the market. I discovered that black pearls are a favourite tourist commodity for purchase on the island. The rest of my day was spent on the beach enjoying the sunshine and good weather and 'playing' with the fish in the lagoon.I say playing, because as I rested my hands in the sand, a small fish came up and nibbled on my fingernails - he didn't seem afaraid of me at all. Nearby was a tiny butterfly fish trying to hide behind a small rock which was just ever so sweet; not to forget the Picasso Triggerfish swimming just past my feet! In the evening I took a walk along the beach and was amazed by the number of hermit crabs scurrying along the sand. At first you think your eyes are playing tricks on you as shells move across the sand, but then you realise it is crabs and they are very interesting to watch.

The next 4 days it rained and rained and rained....(after all it was the rainy season). There was not too much to do except read, sleep and relax.... which was good for me as it forced me to relax but when there are not many places to go to you can also feel a little trapped. I followed one of the tracks inland but found it rather boring as it was just more like a jungle and not a path/track. There is a track which you can follow over the middle of the island but you need a guide to take you across. It takes 4 hours and there are many paths branching off the track and it is not sign-posted. I enjoyed cocktails with Tanya (a girl from Stray in NZ) at one of the fancier hotels along the beach and we went out 'clubbing' one night with the locals. All the bars on the island close at midnight so you can't go too wild! We got hit on by some locals who were really annoying and somewhat drunk and we literally danced our way around the dancefloor to avoid them.... they just didn't understand the words "personal space". We had a good night aside from this :-)

Tanya had booked herself in to do a refresher diving course so I went along with her to speak to the instructors about my ear. I practiced equalising in the pool and everything seemed okay so i agreed to dive with the the next day - it was also a good distraction from just sitting around the hostel. It turned out to be the best thing I did all week! I had no problems with my ears (the trick is to equalise your ears literally every second for the first few meters) and the water was a deep blue but with a visibility of about 25m. The Pacific comprises mainly of hard coral, and the water was warm. The fish were amazing! I got to pet Tommy a big blue triggerfish known to the dive school for about 18 years. They cut open sea urchins for him to eat and in turn Tommy lets us pet him. I also got to touch the underside of a sea cucumber, and the suckers on the underside stick to your hand when you pull away from it. I touched ghost coral, which is coral which changes from brown to white when you touch it. I saw some amazing porcupine puffer fish at the cleaning station i.e. where cleaner fish gather to clean these fish (their tongues etc). I did 2 dives and I loved it all! I think in terms of diving, this was my favourite location and I wish I could have done more diving there.

The last day on the island, was beautiful again and I spent it on the beach. I had an evening flight to LA leaving at 10pm. We had to get off in Tahiti to drop off some passengers (I had cut this stop out of my trip) before we continued to LA. In both raratonga and Tahiti we had security checks because we were going onto the States; this was ratehr tedious but I can understand it's necessary.

So... the last port of call... the USA was just around the corner.