Adventures in Paradise 36

Adventures in Paradise 36

Kia Orana, everyone!  Our excellent adventure continues with some thoughts concerning the passage of time and those things that we will miss about our second home, Rarotonga. Twelve weeks ago, I wrote a blog about what home feels like to me. I admitted to feeling pangs of homesickness and that blog focused on those things that were constantly in my thoughts.  Items and events that may seem mundane to others were dear to my heart. I missed snow, and a cold glass of milk. I reminisced about football games, live theater and autumn leaves. These were pieces of the puzzle that spoke of home to me.

Now twelve short weeks later, the calendar tells me that we are now at our half-way mark. As of next Monday, we will have less time here that we have already spent. How is that possible? Where did the time go? How could the days have passed so quickly? My perspective has changed from those early days when eighteen months seemed like an eternity. Now my heart tells me that eighteen months is not long enough. I find myself taking more photos and committing more sweet experiences to memory. So, I thought you might like to have a sense of what our second home feels like to us and what we will miss dearly as we are forced onto the plane in March. Mentally, fit these puzzle pieces together, and you will have a sense of what this island home feels like to us.

                            Liquid black eyes, barefooted children, swaying palms,
                                                      dodging falling coconuts

Flowers in your hair, black pearls, papaya smoothies

High tide, low tide and knowing the difference

Smoke from underground ovens, a full moon rising over the mountains, starlit skies

30 mph speed limits, scooter traffic jams, open-bed trucks packed with passengers

Roosters in the morning, roosters at night, roosters all day long

Flip flops, welcome eis, and colorful clothing

Drummers, dancers and ukuleles

Kindness, fresh fruit left on our doorstep, coconut milk

Saturday market, greeting friends, Kia Orana, Metaki Maata

Netball, rugby, shouting fans, playing barefoot

Drenching rains, rainbows, the sound of the surf, walks on the beach

Seashell collections on the veranda, hermit crabs, clams

Tivaivais, island artists, dance contests, native culture

The world’s best chocolate doughnuts (2.00) beetroot on burgers, taro

Spectacular sunsets and sunrises, humidity

Wild orchids for a wedding cake, sounds of a falling coconut outside your window

Beautiful children, beautiful children, beautiful children

Snorkeling (yes, we are allowed) colorful fish, sailing ships

Kai Kais , wedding feasts, holiday feasts, feasts for no reason

Baptisms on our beach, marriages on our beach, children on our beach

Canoe races, canoe carving, beautiful outrigger canoes

Kisses on the right cheek, kisses on both cheeks, kisses hello and goodbye

I could go on, but again you get the picture, or I should say our picture. These are many of the pieces that make Rarotonga the paradise puzzle that it is. What part could be left out and still make the puzzle complete? Nothing!

Today, I made my second wedding cake. I had only to mention that I was going to bake one and a friend offered home-grown orchids to decorate it. Someone surprised the bride with a wedding dress that she had not expected. Still others will bring food that the bride and her family did not have to cook and we are betting that everyone will go home with leftovers. That’s the way that it is here.

For the sports-minded, we mentioned netball. This is the Cook Island version of basketball, but it  is played only by females. There are no backboards, only nets on poles. You may not dribble and the game consists mostly of players passing to each other, with only two team members being allowed to shoot.

Many of you may be familiar with rugby, but perhaps not the Cook Islands Seven’s version. No pads, no equipment, no time-outs, no stopping, no kidding! The Seven’s version is seven men on a team and seven minute halves. This game is not for weaklings and even the spectators are worn out at the end. Oh, and players under sixteen are not allowed to wear cleats, so they play barefooted!

We have experienced thoughtfulness and kindness from our friends. They have shared the bounties of the island with us. We have mentioned deliveries of pork and bananas, mangos and papayas. Now it is avocado season and it reminds me a little of home when the zucchini are ripe. There is only so much one can do and so much guacamole one can make with softball-sized avocados. It is our privilege to have such kind and sharing friends. We should also note, here, that these same friends help each other. Just like at home this help is administered quietly and without fanfare. We appreciate their simple acts of kindness and will miss them when we leave. As we move into the next nine months, we will try to slow down those sunrises and sunsets. We will savor our island and will leave knowing that we can always return. It is home after all, and who can resist the pull of home?

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard. We are lucky to have so many places that feel like home to us, and so many people in our lives who feel like family. We have been enjoying visits from friends and family and the Belliston Hotel (ok motel) still has a few openings. Please check with the management for details.

Love, Ward and Susan               Elder and Sister Belliston, serving in the Cooks

As a postscript, we would  like to add that we just returned from the wedding where I delivered my cake decorated with freshly picked orchids As we made our way to our seats for the kai kai (feast), we were ushered to the table next to the bridal party. This table is always reserved for honored guests.  This is just another piece of our island puzzle.

One morning's catch. The boys are holding octopus and the blue and pink fish in the foreground is a parrot fish.

A Cook Island Clam

The ride home. Where are the seat belts?

LudwinaWilliams in her orchid greenhouse. She cut some beautiful blossoms for the wedding cake. 

Yesterday's wedding. The groom will be baptized Saturday in our ocean.

The wedding feast. Taro, potato salad, chop suey, roast chicken, mayonnaise salad, bananas, cabbage salad, papaya, raw fish in coconut sauce, etc, etc. There is one more buffet table and only forty guests!

Eleven-year old Ivan about to be baptized by his father.

The view from our backyard

This avacado arrived this morning

Part of my seashell collection 

The end of another beautiful day in paradise