We've spent a week in Rarotonga and I wish we had more time here. It is a wonderful island and we've had a lot of fun here. The second night we were here we had a party at Trader Jack's, a restaurant and bar that serves as the corporate headquarters for the Picton Castle. Trader Jack's was hit hard, along with quite a few other establishments, by five cyclones that came ashore here within three weeks last February. At the party, Picton Castle crew presented Trader Jack's with several items to add to the new decor: a rope mat, a knot board and a beautiful painting of the Picton Castle arriving at Rarotonga, painted by Ollie. (Anyone who has seen "The Rocketeer" or "The 4400" TV show might recognize Ollie as Bill Campbell.)
Several of us then went to a dinner theater for "Island Night". We ate a huge plate full of traditional island foods and watched dancers dressed in the traditional costumes: grass skirts and coconut bras for the women, pareus for the men. The music and dance were terrific. I am still wondering how the women move their hips as fast as they do.
Saturday morning we went to the open air market which is just around the corner from where the ship is docked. It is called the Panganua Cultural Market and they sell jewelry, clothing, crafts, produce and flowers. I had noticed the very first day that we were here that many women wear a head band of fresh flowers as they go about their day-to-day lives, not just for a party. The woman in front of me in line at the bank, another in the grocery store, and others riding their scooters down the road, all wearing a band of flowers. It looks beautiful. So, when I saw the flower headbands being sold at the market, I had to buy one for myself. I wore it all day for two days, including riding a bicycle around the island on Sunday. It felt delightful to be decked out in flowers for no special reason at all.
Saturday night we had a party on board to say farewell to the people who are leaving the ship (Paulina, Dr. Jeremy, Ray, Papa Jack and Jane) and to welcome our new arrivals (Bernie, Dr. Keith and Rachel). We invited a lot of local people, many of whom already know the ship from her previous visits. Good food, good company and good weather.
Some other highlights of my stay in Rarotonga include paddling a double vaka (canoe)...look for a log on the ship's website about this in a week or so; a tour of artists studios and galleries in which we met the artists and watched them working; a picnic lunch on the beach; watching the sailing vaka races; and watching a masterful tatoo artist at work on many of my shipmates and, finally, on me!
We head out to sea in an hour. I'm going to call home, make one or two last minute purchases, then onto the ship.
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