GETTING BACK ON SCHEDULE IS TAKING SOME TIME. Somewhere in all this water we crossed the International Dateline. In addition to blowing off Good Friday we also skipped our port call in Nihue. It seems a resupply ship beat us to the anchorage so the Maasdam just kept on sailing. At any rate, we spent the Saturday before Easter at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
If you come to Raratonga/Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
We splurged on our first — and probably last — official shore excursion. Our goal, not that of the tour, was to see the endemic Rarotonga monarch flycatcher in the Takitimu Conservation Area. I’m not sure what prompted some of the others. They were too noisey for birding and few were fit enough for the steep narrow trail. A couple actually had canes! We got a glimpse of the monarch, despite the noise, but no photo. Likewise the Polynesian starling and the Cook Island fruit dove.
A wasted $180 and a good walk spoiled.
