On Monday (11th) Keren and I headed back to the airport at LA, only to discover that there was nowhere to leave luggage, so she headed off to her new hostel. She is staying in the US for about a month I think. I loitered around the airport until it was time to check in for my flight to Calgary, which was on Air Canada and departed at 1700. I was really surprised on the flight as we did not get any food - the first time this has happened on any of the m...

On Saturday (9th) we flew from Aitutaki to Rarotonga in the morning, arriving on the main island at about 1030. Our flight out was not until 2300, which meant that we had a fair few hours to kill, which was not helped by the fact that it was Saturday and everything shuts at lunchtime. We had brunch at Cafe Salsa in town and managed to stretch this out until they kicked us out. Whilst sat outside, a couple walked past who had also been disembarked from the ...

Yesterday we booked to do a boat trip around the lagoon, which was breathtaking. Our first stop was on Honeymoon Island, where we saw some kind of Tern (bird) that is only found here and has a bright red beak and tail. Lunch was BBQ tuna on Tapuaeta'i (One Foot Island). The remainder of the day was spent snorkelling and walking along remote beaches and sandbars. Words are not going to do this lagoon justice, so you'll have to wait until I manage to get so...

Just a quick line to say HI!! Internet so slow, so frustrating, soooooooooo expensive, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a while!! Cook Islands stunning and cooler and less humid than Fiji - thankfully. Boat trip around the lagoon tomorrow. Will write soon, I promise, when conditions are better. S xx

Today we checked out of the hostel in Rarotonga and headed to the airport to try and get to Aitutaki, which we did by booking to fly with Air Rarotonga at 1530. The flight took 50 minutes and we were met by the customary ukelele player!! We hadn't booked anywhere to stay, but got on a shuttle bus and ended up at Rino's Beach Bungalows, with a room with kitchen area, our own bathroom, 2 beds as well as a ceiling and pedestal fan! Oh and HOT water - hurrah. ...