So the resort internet is quite slow and I was trying to use Ziad's iPhone to keep this blog up and for some reason that wasn't working.
Back to Rarotonga...the resort as I mentioned in located on a protected marine habitat. Unfortunately the activity manager, who gave us an orientation tour at the resort doesn't educate the guests much on protecting this habitat. They basically tell you that you are not allowed to fish, but don't say anything about not stepping on the coral. As a result, the coral is all pretty much dead which is really sad because it would be so beautiful. Instead it's all black, and for me, considering I have a fear of drowning, it was scary looking. For some reason I kept thinking that it would attack me or something would swim out of it and attack me. Neither happened thankfully.
The sun decided to play hide and seek for the first few days we were there, so my tan isn't as dark as I would like, but it's a start at least. Cloudy days in the Cooks, just like Cuba, are still much better than a day at the office. On our second day, we rented a scooter and Ziad had to go to the police station and get a Cook Island driver's licence. The cost was $20 and because he already has his class 6 back home he avoided having to take a driving test. His licence is good for one year, so it would make sense to head back here before it expires to get his money's worth. :) Afterwards, because the sun was not co-operating, we decided to scooter around the island after having lunch on the wharf at Trader Jack's. The food was good and reasonably priced. We ended up at some much better restaurants through our stay, which I'll get to later.
Driving around the island doesn't take very long, about 45 to 60 minutes depending on the speed you drive. If you don't wear a helmet you are supposed to maintain a speed of no more than 40 km/h, which of course is difficult to do...so I'll let you try and figure out whether Ziad was able to keep at that speed. Ziad told me we were breaking every safety rule he's every been taught while riding this scooter....we didn't have helmets, wore flip-flops mostly, shorts, t-shirts and of course, no gloves. It wasn't that dangerous though, there is only one road around the entire island which is one-way in either direction and once you figure out which side to drive on, not the side we're accustomed to, then you're fine. Only important thing was to keep your mouth shut, especially during the 6 o'clock hour when the bugs are out or you'd get a little appetizer/protein before dinner. There aren't any traffic lights on the island either, so you don't really get any traffic hold ups unless someone is driving slow and you just end up passing them anyway.
We were searching for a particular beach called Muri beach, which was supposed to be really nice. We ended up finding a really sandy beach and the others at this beach said the snorkelling was really good here. We were trying to figure out exactly where we were and it turns out it was located right next to our resort. We drove all the way around the island in search of a really nice beach and it turns out to be right next door. We could have walked...even funnier we never did go back to it once we figured out the beach right in front of the building we were staying in was sandy, unlike the other half of the resort.
Back to Rarotonga...the resort as I mentioned in located on a protected marine habitat. Unfortunately the activity manager, who gave us an orientation tour at the resort doesn't educate the guests much on protecting this habitat. They basically tell you that you are not allowed to fish, but don't say anything about not stepping on the coral. As a result, the coral is all pretty much dead which is really sad because it would be so beautiful. Instead it's all black, and for me, considering I have a fear of drowning, it was scary looking. For some reason I kept thinking that it would attack me or something would swim out of it and attack me. Neither happened thankfully.
The sun decided to play hide and seek for the first few days we were there, so my tan isn't as dark as I would like, but it's a start at least. Cloudy days in the Cooks, just like Cuba, are still much better than a day at the office. On our second day, we rented a scooter and Ziad had to go to the police station and get a Cook Island driver's licence. The cost was $20 and because he already has his class 6 back home he avoided having to take a driving test. His licence is good for one year, so it would make sense to head back here before it expires to get his money's worth. :) Afterwards, because the sun was not co-operating, we decided to scooter around the island after having lunch on the wharf at Trader Jack's. The food was good and reasonably priced. We ended up at some much better restaurants through our stay, which I'll get to later.
Driving around the island doesn't take very long, about 45 to 60 minutes depending on the speed you drive. If you don't wear a helmet you are supposed to maintain a speed of no more than 40 km/h, which of course is difficult to do...so I'll let you try and figure out whether Ziad was able to keep at that speed. Ziad told me we were breaking every safety rule he's every been taught while riding this scooter....we didn't have helmets, wore flip-flops mostly, shorts, t-shirts and of course, no gloves. It wasn't that dangerous though, there is only one road around the entire island which is one-way in either direction and once you figure out which side to drive on, not the side we're accustomed to, then you're fine. Only important thing was to keep your mouth shut, especially during the 6 o'clock hour when the bugs are out or you'd get a little appetizer/protein before dinner. There aren't any traffic lights on the island either, so you don't really get any traffic hold ups unless someone is driving slow and you just end up passing them anyway.
We were searching for a particular beach called Muri beach, which was supposed to be really nice. We ended up finding a really sandy beach and the others at this beach said the snorkelling was really good here. We were trying to figure out exactly where we were and it turns out it was located right next to our resort. We drove all the way around the island in search of a really nice beach and it turns out to be right next door. We could have walked...even funnier we never did go back to it once we figured out the beach right in front of the building we were staying in was sandy, unlike the other half of the resort.
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