Packing is an emotional, stressful thing that ultimately revolves around my vanity. When going to a foreign country, the stress simply magnifies. Will I look OK while there? Will people mock these shoes? I know polyester blends are not so hot when it's hot - but it's so cute; should I pack it? Luckily, we are returning to a familiar environment, so here are my packing tips for Rarotonga.

Yep. That's right. Uh huh, uh huh!
 We're returning to Rarotonga in October, 2010!
Thanks to Air New Zealand for offering such awesome airfare!
Stay tuned for the details, and if you're looking to book a trip to Rarotonga, check out our friends at OTAdventures.com
Skip Hawaii this year, and try something new!
Stay tuned for the details and assumed craziness to come.

Thank you to everyone who has sent doggy supplies/funds for the Esther Honey Animal Foundation. I am now trying to figure out how to get it there! Just an update, on Aug. 25th at 6PM and 10PM PST on Animal Planet, there is a special show called 'Gone Wild' produced by May Street Productions.  Although they feature the plight of stray domesticated animals from several countries in the film, the dogs of Rarotonga are highlighted. Please watch if you can. On the lower left side of this page, you may see a clip of the upcoming special. http://www.wildpetstv.com/dogs_cook_islands.php
 

Kia Orana,
We've made it back to San Diego. We're still in a tremendous fog of jetlag.
This morning, we scrambled to get Breegan off to Zoo Camp. As I was wiping up the counter, I had some bits of bread and thought I would keep them to give to the chickens. Err...wait. No chickens. I stacked all the dirty dishes in the sink and started to wash them by hand. Hey, wait..we have a dishwasher. The hot shower I took was almost too hot.
I'm sure we'll slowly sink back into our citylife ways, but for now it's nice to rediscover things again and reassess priorities here.
Living on Rarotonga for five weeks really was a great life experience for all of us. We made new great friends (both people and animals), learned about Island life, native cultures and New Zealand life. We also learned that living with less, can mean living with more.
The Cookies (Cook Islands), as the Kiwis call them, are a fantastic group of islands to visit, and I recommend this trip to everyone I know. Some of you will like the basic living style, and others will prefer the higher end resorts. Regardless of where you stay in Rarotonga, you'll be surrounded by pristine beauty and friendly people.
I hope that you've enjoyed my little blog - I've enjoyed writing it. Brian and I will be developing this site into more of a informational tourism guide to the Cook Island. My blog will soon take a back seat, and will be filed in the Travel Experience section.
To my new friends in Raro, hope to see you sooner than later, and to my friends here in the States, we hope you join us next time!
Signing off,
'Aere ra (good bye for now)

 
 

Yesterday was hard, so I took a day off from blogging. Brian went on an awesome cross-island hike with 69-year-old, hiker and natural healer, Pa. Pa is, without a doubt, the most famous person in Rarotonga. Breegan and I went to the beach, and babied Spider Pig. His 4:00pm appointment loomed like a dark cloud, and he seemed a bit more agitated today. Pigs aren't stupid.  Click here to read this post.

Today we stopped by the Esther Honey Foundation and two vets from the U.S. took a look at Spider Pig. Unfortunately, Spider Pig's prognosis is not good. He has cerebullar damage, most likely congenital. There is nothing wrong with his legs really, it's just that his brain is not able to communicate with his limbs, hence why he can't get vertical and walk. We have made an appointment for him tomorrow at 4:00 pm to be put down. I have emailed Grace to let her know, and it is for the best since her kids won't be here for it. I have never had to put an animal down before, and even though we've only had him for five days, it's not a good feeling. We had big hopes for Spider Pig. Tonight we are researching foods that baby pigs can eat, as we get ready to prepare his 'last meal'.

Yesterday was gorgeous, and we spent a lot of time at the beach. I went out snorkeling for about an hour, and Breegan played on the beach with a mix of Kiwi and island kids. When I came back, the mass of kids were playing with a dead eel. Read this post here.

We're back from our vacation from our vacation. The flight back from Atiu was uneventful, and we are back in Rarotonga, which seems like a huge metropolis compared to Atiu island. So to recap Atiu - 3 days is simply not enough time to visit this island.
Can you spot Birdman George in this picture (left)? 
Click here to read this post.
 
 

We hopped on a tiny 10 seater airplane yesterday in stormy weather, and headed to the island of Aitu. Aitu, population 438, is the only island in the Cook Island chain that is rising. Of course the process of rising takes hundreds of thousands of years, but the jagged island is made of ancient coral reef that is pushed up 120 feet into the air. Click here to read this blog.

Yesterday was so beautiful and warm, we spent most of it in the water. Brian went diving in the morning (yes the person on the boat saw whales again/divers below clueless), but he saw some pretty cool stuff, so still worthwhile. We all went snorkeling in the afternoon, and almost stepped upon this dreaded, and deadly sea snake. Click here for this exciting post.