Bora Bora to Rarotonga

We left Bora Bora to cross the 550 miles to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands after having explored the other side of this beautiful island with the boat. We spent our last night on a sandy anchorage between the motus and edge of the reef and the mountains—the colour of the sea is spectacular and the photos do not do it justice.
Our first day we had a great wind and we traveled 150 miles but the next few days it calmed and we were forced to take one extra night on the passage so we would not arrive at the harbour in the dark so will enter at dawn of our 5th day.
It was fun having Marcie and Don on the passage and the afternoon scrabble/cards/domino games became competitive. Ken and Don also were competitive in their fishing endeavors. Ken hooked a skipjack tuna and as he was reeling it in Don hooked his brother—we will never know though as Don’s got off before we ever saw it. When we were having sashimi for our lunch they both simultaneously hooked a dorado (mah mahi) each. We had to call a moratorium on the fishing for the rest of the trip as sahimi, fish and chips, ceviche and blackened mahi mahi over the next two days were enough. We froze the rest and hope that our next guests Anne and Harvey from NZ who will meet us in Rarotonga like fish!!!!
Our crossing was pleasant as the winds were light, the seas calm and the moon is full so the nights are magical.
Don and Marcie will get off in Rarotonga and decide what their future plans will be—they may join us again later and do another leg but they have not decided yet. We have enjoyed having them and the night watches now are 3 hours each are easy.
Anne, my old friend—not saying how old except we were neighbors and school friends since we were about 5 years old—and her husband Harvey will join us next weekend. We will see Rarotonga with them and sail north to another island Atutaki which apparently is lovely where they will fly out from 2 weeks later.
We are looking forward to having the NZ influence (not to mention the NZ$ which is a lot more favorable than the Euro tied Polynesian French Franc for us) and look forward to fish and chips (not the mahi mahi on the boat kind!!!) maybe meat pies and perhaps hokey pokey ice cream—why is food such an ongoing obsession??? Anne and Harvey have been instructed to bring chocolate!!! Diana brought cheese. Ken bough back M&Ms and oreos --- we need to get a new obsession or need to make sure we climb some mountains soon to work it all off!!!


Well we are now in Rarotonga with our back end tied to the wall alongside 12 other cruisers. It is a very social way of being moored and is the first time since Mexico we have been alongside at all. The locals seem to make it their daily destination to see which other boats arrive and where they come from. They are all very friendly and between the locals and other cruisers there is always someone stopping for a chat.
The island is lovely but a little cooler than French Polynesia—we are further south, the days are still warm enough to wear strappy sundresses but you do need something on your shoulders in the evening. I am not sure how cool it will be in the water.
Our check in was easy and we have applied for Ken to have an extension on his visa to stay there for 6 months. Everyone here is very easygoing and many girls are barefoot at work—even one of them in the NZ embassy. There has been less intermarrying here than in French Polynesia and there are a lot of very heavy Polynesians here.
We went ashore the first morning and had a HUGE breakfast—any ideas of losing weight here have gone. Marcie had an omelet which must have had a half a pound of cheese in it and Don had an equivalent amount of bacon. Ken and I had two huge sausages with our eggs and we each had four full slices of toast with it.
We went out to an Indian restaurant also with a group of cruisers and it is lovely to be able to eat out and feel as though you can afford it.
Anne and Harvey arrive tomorrow and we are looking forward to sharing a small slice of our life with them
We hope you are all enjoying your summer and do keep in touch as we love to hear from you.