The Cooks Part III

The coral atolls of Aitutaki

My next destination in the beautiful Cook Islands was the small island of Aitutaki, famous for its clear turquoise blue lagoons, coral atolls and as a destination for honeymooners. However, I was not on my honeymoon and definitely did not want to wait until Miss Right came along to visit Aitutaki (FYI ladies, I am single and looking, so address any inquiries to: steve@thehardcoretraveler.com).         

Rarotonga Airport. Looks busy doesn't it?

Checking in for my flight to Aitutaki was quite an enjoyable experience compared with the security theater we continue to endure in the US. No lines, no snarky TSA agents, no disposing of liquids, no removing your shoes and no metal detectors beeping due to a rogue penny you forgot to take out of your pocket! Nope this was as simple as it got; check in at the desk, wait for your flight, board the plane! How I wished it were that simple back home!

The flight over to Aitutaki was relatively short, just over 30 minutes in a small Dash-8 airplane. As we approached Aitutaki the scenery became breathtaking with countless coral atolls in the turquoise blue lagoon fanning out from the main island of Aitutaki. Within minutes we were on the ground and the “frenetic pace” of Rarotonga felt millions of miles away. Rarotonga was nice, but Aitutaki felt several levels up on what I would call “the paradise scale”.

One of the many atolls off the Aitutaki coast.

When I entered the arrivals hall a representative from the bungalows I’d be staying at greeted and escorted me to the shuttle. Following a few moments of small talk she asked me if I wanted to rent a scooter or a car while on Aitutaki. I said no, but that I really wanted to rent a bike. She about ran off the road when she heard me ask this, calmly asking “why you no want to rent moped, bicycle not fast, better to rent scooter”. You would’ve thought I was asking to rent a bright green unicycle the way she acted. She indicated there were not a lot of bikes to rent on Aitutaki, but that it’d be best to check tomorrow with the local moped rental guy in the village.

Since I did not have any wheels to get me around the island that evening, I figured I might as well sit

Who would guess there were mosquitoes?

back, relax and enjoy my bungalow. The bungalow was beautiful, right on the beach with a great view of calm turquoise blue water! Once I unpacked I figured it would be fun to sit out on the deck in the hammock and enjoy some rest and relaxation. As I lay there soaking up all the beauty around me I suddenly noticed a small annoying buzzing sound in my ear. Hmmmm…. I thought, sounds like a mosquito. But, I thought mosquitoes at the beach………..no way! I lay there a few more seconds and I was buzzed again. To my horror I found out the entire island was full of mosquitoes and that along with suntan lotion, repellent was also a necessity for a peaceful vacation!

I quickly went inside, covered every inch of exposed skin with DEET (no Pa repellent unfortunately!) and ventured outdoors again, this time to the beach, which like the hammock looked so inviting.

My beach, but where are all the people?

When I got out to the beach I discovered the sand was not soft like what you would find on Maui or in Waikiki, but rather hard and compact. Oh well, luckily I had not planned my entire time on the island around simply laying out on the beach all day. I’m much too restless of a person to do that.

The next morning I hiked into the village to see if I could find a bicycle, knowing that if I didn’t I would likely have to walk everywhere (not an option since the island was way too big for this) or be at the mercy of a tour group (another option I did not like since I like to explore things on my own!). When I arrived at the moped/bike rental place, the guy said he just rented the last bike. I was rather upset and asked him if he expected any back that day. In typical island fashion he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “don’t know”.

However, when I really pressed him he did say he had a bike, but it was in rather poor shape and needed fixing up. Suddenly there was hope! Unfortunately he said he did not have the parts and would not have them in until the next week at the earliest when the container ship came in from Rarotonga. Having traveled around the world I have learned never to accept no as an answer, so I asked if he was sure he did not have the spare parts just lying around somewhere. He went back into his shop and miraculously found some spare parts thus giving me new life!!

Mind you my bike was not exactly Tour De France worthy, but it did the job and that’s all I could ask. My first stop was out to the “east coast” of the island. As I cruised the near deserted/open roads, I noticed gigantic monster crabs scurrying across the road. At first I thought I had stumbled across the

The Aitutaki "east coast" on an overcast afternoon

elusive blue coconut crab, but unfortunately they were just giant mud crabs. The coconut crab is quite the creature, known to come out  late at night when it climbs coconut trees and break open the coconut shell (not an easy task even I have a hard time breaking open coconut shells). Nobody really knows exactly how they do it, but it’s speculated they likely either break it open with their sharp claws or cut the coconut off the vine, thus breaking it open upon impact. Either way these guys are pretty impressive! I have also read they make a tasty entrée at local restaurants : ( .

After my tour of Aitutaki’s eastern end, I noticed the sun was getting lower on the horizon. I figured I better start making my way to the “west coast” before it got too dark. I thought of going back the way I had come, but wanted to try something different. So, instead of going north and then south, I decided to cut right through the middle of the island, which I thought would get me home faster. Bad idea! As I began my lonely trek home it suddenly became a lot darker due to the thick forest canopy. In the bushes I heard a loud rustling noise as if something or someone was in the thick bushes…….OMFG I thought, what's making that sound, my heart was pounding a thousand beats a second………... To be continued…………….

The lonely dirt road I decided to take home