After spending five magnificent days in ports in French Polynesia, we found ourselves back in English-speaking territory once again on Thursday. Rarotonga in Cook Islands was a delightful little island with a very relaxed atmosphere. With no scheduled shore excursions, we, along with six other people, managed to hire a local to drive us around and give us an overview of the island. Owned by New Zealand, they drive on the opposite side of the road, so we had to remind ourselves to check both ways twice when crossing the street. Rarotonga is a small island – about 23 miles in circumference, and we were amazed at the number of schools we saw. Just about all of them had children playing outside in the warm weather, and it was fun to see what they were up to! Equal to the number of schools was the number of churches. With such a small population, it’s hard to imagine how they can support so many schools and churches!
The driver made photo stops at our request so we could take pictures of the beautiful beaches and mountains, and when we had completed our circle, he willingly dropped us off in the middle of town so we could do some shopping.
Friday was a day at sea, and we had made reservations for an Indonesian Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. When we saw the menu we hoped we hadn’t made a big mistake because everything sounded so unusual, and I tend to be an extremely fussy eater! However, we had a marvelous time! The Indonesian waiters had gone all out to work with the chef to make it a very memorable evening, and the food was delicious! One of my favorites was a vegetable salad with peanut sauce. Chuck particularly enjoyed a potato patty that went with the main course of rice (served with seven side dishes). At the end of the evening we were each given a gift of an angklung, a special Indonesian instrument, which had been made by a family member of the Pinnacle manager.
We were delighted to find that we would still be able to stop in Pago Pago (pronounced Pongo Pongo), American Samoa, despite the devastation they experienced in an earthquake and subsequent tsunami on September 29th. Our tour guide was a high school senior, and she really helped us understand what Samoan life is like! We were surprised to find the very apparent evidence of a strong religion (everything is done with God first in mind), and the most prevalent religion here was Mormon. She was proud to indicate how very patriotic the American Samoans are and told us to watch for all the yellow ribbons that were on display in support of the troops in Iraq.
We made several stops on our tour. One of the most interesting (sadly) was at a church near the coastline. Just opposite the church we could see buildings that had been flattened by the tsunami, and everywhere we went throughout the island, we saw signs of support for those who had lost their lives, as well as disaster relief centers and the presence of the American Red Cross. Our guide told us that there had been thirty-two deaths, and one was her cousin, who had just become a mother in August. We also stopped at the famous flower pot rocks (tiny islets aptly named) and sliding rocks (where we saw crabs scuttling over the rocks). Our final stop was to witness a traditional Samoan welcome ceremony. As much as we enjoyed watching the ceremony, we were also quite entertained by a little Samoan boy near us who was making his best effort to mimic the men’s complicated dance moves!
The Samoans are a very poor people; our guide told us her father makes about $150 a week (and they use the American Dollar for currency, so that really puts it into perspective)! Yet we were always greeted with wide smiles and waves – they certainly were outgoing and friendly! They were so pleased that we were here, and we in turn were thrilled that we didn’t have to miss this port.
Saturday we once again set our clocks back (second time this week), but Sunday morning at 7:45 AM we crossed the International Date Line so we jumped ahead a day, eliminating almost all of the 18th of October. That makes seventeen hours ahead of Chicago!
I understand congratulations are in order for our cousins Dennis and Paula Paben, who welcomed Samantha Hope a few days ago! I’m sure Cheryl & Wayne are very proud grandparents! We also want to wish the very best to our friend Dale Sandoval! We’ll be thinking of you, Dale, and wish you a very speedy recovery! Jen, thanks for thinking of us in the tsunami & earthquake areas. Our itinerary has obviously not been affected, but as you will see in the pictures we've posted, we've witnessed a lot of damage as a result of these disasters.
Barb
Although this is Barb’s turn for a blog, I also wanted to add my wishes for Dale’s speedy recovery from his surgery this week. I always enjoy subbing for Dale’s classes at Lincoln-Way East and when he had asked if I would be home so he could request me as a sub, I had to say it wouldn’t be until early December before I was home.
Also, after our tour this morning, I went out after lunch and walked along the harbor. Not too far from the ship, signs of the September 29 tsunami became all too evident. I spoke to one Samoan who pointed out where the big wave hit. He said the wave came in at a height of about 20 feet and gave an example by showing me on a building approximately where it hit. In one respect in this area, they were fortunate because the mountain comes down very close to the harbor, so major damage was confined to low-lying structures and those built up the hill were spared. But many cars and buses were smashed, windows of homes and stores blown in and shattered, sidewalks broken. Men were working with backhoes and heavy equipment to clean the mess. And this was not the area of the island of Tutuila where the damage was worst. Yet despite this, I can’t tell you the number of Samoans that greeted me with a warm “hello” as I passed them on the street, and one or two even with a “have a nice day” amidst the natural disaster evident all around us. I cannot tell you how impressed with the Samoan people I was.
Chuck
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