Cook Island - Aitutaki
Karinya
Tim And Vicki Schofield, Captain Cal 7 and Jess 4
Fri 26 Aug 2011 21:17
16.29s 151.46w
What a change. They speak English, it was the
oddest thing, even Callum asked me to translate, and I told him I didn't need to
- he looked confused!! We haven't been in English speaking since the
Caribbean which was in March. A New Zealand/Maori cross.
Extremely friendly, and an even slower pace of
life. A very small island with a fishing club, and lots of rugby
posts...gearing us up for the world cup. We didn't see them in use, but it
was a welcome change from football nets. The church features very highly
in their calendar with the Sunday service being packed. A fair few
tourists from the fancy hotel on the other side of the island, and us
yachties. It was a wonderful service, spoken half in Maori and half in
English. Singing was out of this world, and if I ever get around to work
out how to put it on utube, I will!
We dingyed off to a picturesque island for the day
with picnic. Lots of snorkeling, and Callum let lose with a spear gun to
catch lunch. he had no luck, but was closely guarded by our buddy Stof -
rather him than me!! We saw the most amazing giant clams. They must
be aobut 1.5 feet tall and 3 feet long. Beautiful colours and they
are so alive. The water was still, clear and the coral pretty, pretty
perfect conditions.
Well, almost at the end of our passage to
Niue. It has turned out to be longer than intended due to the weather
being SH**. Lots of waves from all angles, up to 25 knots of wind, and
guess what, we were doing 0.6 knots!!! Yes, crazy, so lots of motoring to
power through, which increased our speed to ....2 knots!!! so, another
night at sea in our favorite washing machine. About 3 nights in Niue and
then Tonga here we come, lets hope so anyway.
We are all well, and looking forward to land
again. Funny though, the more you do the more you get used to
it!!
Till next time...
leaving Bora Bora - a happy time here.
Wraysbury school gang - I wore this so much it lost
its elastic, so I recycled - a happy girl.
Sunday church. Tim even wore a
collar
a congregation member. They all wear straw
hats.
the first church to be built in the Cook Islands,
has recently been restored with help from some NZ missionaries.
The island has a book where all boats make an
entry. It has been going years, and now we are part of
history.
Seriously, every other sign says this. Big
into Sundays!!
Wonderful water colour
My explorers
giant clams, looks like velvet
mother and daughter
our anchorage, with church right
behind