This message is to establish the South African blog and send out the email advising everyone of the blog website and password

Today was a quiet day as we contemplated our return to the north country. We snorkeled and read and laid about enjoying the view and the sounds of the surf. I was able to take some video of the fish and the reef. Today is the start of the canoe races in Rarotonga so we went into town to watch the blessing of the canoes. There were several countries represented including Canada. I was having difficulty getting our scooter to sit on its stand when we got to town an...

No blog yesterday but for a reason. The wonderful restaurant we went to on Tuesday night turned into a problem on Wednesday. We had shared a couple of appetizers during our meal and one of them left Jean and I a surprise present from Montezuma's Polynesian cousin. Wednesday was not a good day, first for Jean and later at night for me. Jean appears to have recovered and as I write this, I am watching her way out in the lagoon snorkeling. It is a totally glorious d...

Woke up this morning to an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was shining and the sky and the ocean are a brilliant blue. We were up early as we had an appointment to spend the morning with a Cook Islander known as Pa. He took us for a long walk up into the mountains and talked about the medicinal qualities of various plants along the way. A very interesting character with the quirkiness of a Stan Arnold without the craziness. He had just received the Air New Zeala...

It rained very heavily in the night which is good from a Cook Islander's point of view as they have not had much rain for several months. The cloudiness is sporadic during the day with rain that is more like Scotch Mist than rain. We had a wonderful breakfast of tropical fruit again and then decided to venture into town. Jean had been somewhat reluctant to hire a vehicle but riding on the bus whet her interest so later in the day I rented a motor scooter. In the ...