I had thought my only travel companion on this trip would be David, but I now find out we were joined, without a by your leave, by El Niño. It is he who has imposed his disagreeable countenance upon us, with his heavy cloud, his winds and rain. But we have managed to ignore him and shake him off like the obnoxious bore at a dinner party – in part by running away to Tahiti! Continue reading
As we arrive at the entrance to the church for the Sunday morning service I am greeted with a kiss and given an exotic yellow flower to wear as a corsage. Other people are arriving, the women in long colourful dresses topped with “Rito” hats made from white coconut fronds which have been elaborately adorned with flowers and beads. The men, some holding chubby faced babies, are all grins and oiled hair. Continue reading
Having chosen a privately owned apartment to stay in on Rarotonga, the capital island of the Cook Islands, there was no representative and fancy minibus to meet us as there was for some of the other tourists. Instead we flung our backpacks on and made our way to the bus stop, joining locals as they finished their days work. We sat in the back, our packs propped up beside us, Continue reading
Okay, so here I am in the South Pacific trying to be upbeat and finding the good in all things – see my last post – but the truth is I’m feeling pretty sorry for myself so unashamedly I’m going to dump my disgruntlement here. Continue reading
May be I’m naive, maybe I didn’t do enough research, may be I’m just romantically hopeful, but I really believed that on a South Pacific island I would find sparkling white sand and turquoise sea. Well, I’ve been here for over a week now and despite a thorough search I have not found my idyll. Sure, there are beaches and Continue reading
Travel With Grace 