I wish I could say that we just had the most amazing, relaxing time, swimming, eating, sleeping, sunbathing… but this trip turned out to be one of those ones you just kind of have to laugh about because it really wasn’t that great at all. At its lowest point we decided it was the worst week we have had in all of our four and a half years together but we did have some really fun experiences as well, and it’s easier now that it’s over to look back on it semi-fondly… anyhoo… to spread out the complaining so it doesn’t seem as bad, here are some photos that actually make the trip look quite good, and you can find out more about our series of unfortunate events down below.
On our first day in Rarotonga, we didn’t have any cash or mode of transport. Sam’s brother told him to make sure we had cash before we went but he forgot and it didn’t even cross my mind because I had been so caught up in wedding planning. We walked about four kilometres in the 31 degree heat trying to find an ATM or somewhere to eat. Two shops had broken eftpos machines and many more were shut because it was a Sunday. To make matters worse, we hadn’t had lunch and no one seems to sell food there between 2pm and dinner time. The owner of the house we were staying at scooted past us and told us we were probably only halfway to town and most places were shut until the next day anyway. At this point I was super hangry and like why the heck did anyone recommend this place to us?! We ended up going back to one of the restaurants we had passed and having cocktails for lunch. We met a lovely old couple who we talked to for about two hours and they offered to take us home after we’d had dinner, hooplah!
On the second day, we went to wait for a bus so we could get to town and hire a scooter. We waited so long we ended up walking to the nearest rental car hire place and hiring a car. It took an hour to get the car as ‘Island time’ is no joke, it’s a real thing… we watched as the man wandered down the road, casually drove a car back and proceeded to wash and vacuum it in the slowest motions you can imagine. Once we had our car, we managed to enjoy ourselves a bit, we got to see the rest of the island, do some swimming, and found the Mooring fish cafe which had been recommended to us. The fish sandwiches were amazing and we ate there twice.
On the third day we went snorkelling and this is where our trip went downhill again. The snorkelling itself was amazing! It took me a while to get used to the mask but once I got out there, it was a blast. The only problem was that Sam had no sunscreen on at all and I did but didn’t reapply when we took a break. We both ended up with the WORST sunburn we have ever had in our lives. We had to lie down barely moving for a day and a half. At the end of the day and a half, we were super bored so went out even though we both had very limited mobility. We ended up at a cafe that was about to shut so we sat with no coffees (well I stood because my legs were too sore and sunburnt to sit) on their front porch, miserably watching the rain that never stopped and that we ended up having to scooter home in.
Love the shape of the mountains!
Our little friend.
Two minute noodles and wine in bed. Classy!
Cafe to ourselves.
Finally, on the last day, we managed to get out to the Saturday markets which were really cool. We also hung out on the beach where we made some crazy rock faces, had $4 gin and tonics, and ate at a restaurant called Trader Jacks. I also got to have a piña colada which had been one of my goals so I was happy about that.
