Birthday surprise
My birthday falls on mid January. For this reason we usually don't make an occasion out of it to celebrate properly. Who has the energy after all the Christmas and New Year fuss?
This year was different. I got treated to a fantastic trip to the Cook islands and spoilt rotten!
Cook islands was another item on my bucket list which made the top ten long time ago and has not budged since. At first I was a bit nervous that I might be disappointed, after all, expectations were high. But boy, was I wrong! Bálint did a fantastic job in picking just the right places and arranging everything. No doubt it could have been a very different experience had the organization not been done with such skill!
First stop was Aitutaki, a small atoll surrounded by a large lagoon of turquoise clear water, and a reef on the other side. We were greeted by our hosts at the airport with a traditional lei, a necklace made of scented flowers, who then drove us to our cozy beach-side villa and we were offered fresh coconut to quench our thirst! I was delighted! I am a great fan of coconuts and somehow I did not get any in Fiji.
It was early afternoon and high tide when we arrived. The water looked so inviting that we had to jump in and say hello to the fish. Once we had enough, as it was already dinner time, we sat out on the veranda, watched the sun go down while we had our fish and chips. Bliss!
For my birthday I was surprised with a fancy dinner on the beach secretly organized by my wonderful boyfriend and ever so thoughtful, he got me a great present too!
During our stay we explored the island by bike (!). Those of you who already tried, know that it is not a straight forward task getting me on a bike, but it was fine on lazy Aitutaki. In fact, I went on three consecutive days!
Snorkeling became a daily activity,
and we also had a few good days kayaking.
By the end of our stay on the island I may have become a bit overconfident in my kayaking skills— selecting randomly a small island in the distance, I announced that this is where we are going to travel to today on our kayaks. Turns out it was approx 8 km round trip and, since at times we had to go against the tide, no doubt we ended up doing at least 10 km. Great fun though!
Needless to say we had no trouble sleeping after….
Then on our last day we decided to get up early and watch the sunrise from the top the only “mountain” (123 m) on the island. We duly summited just after 7 am, having just missed the sunrise, and were greeted by three islanders. Judging by their state they did not miss the sunrise, in fact, they may have been there for sunset as well. Excited by our arrival, they insisted that we join them for cold refreshments to catch our breath, since we have done so well in climbing up in this heat. We gratefully obliged….We were presented with cocktail of vodka and cranberry, nevertheless quite cold indeed. Sunday is fun day on the Cook islands and the locals take it very seriously!
Next stop was Rarotonga which is a bit busier than sleepy Aitutaki. We did a fair bit of snorkeling, wondering around, sampling local cuisine here too, still not particularly strenuous, apart from a few hikes which rewarded us with splendid views of the island.
