"TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE, OF COURSE!"

DAY 28: Rarotonga

After a lazy start to the day, I decided to venture to the main town of Avarua in search of some fresh tuna.

As the buses aren't very frequent on Sundays I thought I'd make my way under my own steam and hire a bicycle to ride the 11 or so miles there and back.

As I was walking to the bike hire shop, someone called my name. Most irregular, I thought to myself, given I'd not seen or spoken to anyone for long enough to make friends. But it was the local Polynesian woman from the hostel who'd picked us up from the airport riding her moped. She offered me a ride to the bike place en route to her friends. So I gladly accepted. Now, although very friendly, she's a slightly rotund, almost spherical lady and when I jumped on the back of her 'ped I only really had the number plate to sit on.

We made small chat (shouting actually) and discussed my plans to get some fish from near the airport then I might wander into town to browse the shops. This would have been the perfect, actually critical, time for her to let me know, maybe even just a hint, that today being Sunday absolutely EVERYTHING is shut. Including the bike hire shop she was taking me to. All the same, I did appreciate the lift, even though it was all of 200 metres.

So I decided to wait for the bus. There is only a clockwise service today and there are no buses between 12 and 2, and with it nearing 11.30 am I knew that once I arrived at my destination I'd have a bit of a wait on my hands until I could return. At this point I thought some shops might be open still.

I arrived at the fresh fish shop after about 20 minutes on the bus. Shut! So I walked into town, about a 15 minute walk and it was like a ghost town, apart from a couple of restaurants that were open. So I perched up at the High Tide restaurant and ordered a toasted sandwich whilst I waited for the 2pm bus.

On my way to the bus I witnessed possibly the greatest cliché in joke history. And I managed to catch it on camera... a chicken crossing the road. Legendary!

On the way back I noticed the bike shop opening its doors. Typical. But then again, this is island life and there are no rules, so I can't complain.

Tonight we will probably watch the sun set with a few beers and a nice dinner (for a change) before hitting the sack as we have an early flight to New Zealand tomorrow.

FINAL WORD ON RAROTONGA

I love island life and could quite easily live somewhere like this. I like not having rules, nor deadlines or times to keep to. 'Whenever' is fine by me.

The people are so friendly, which is not only refreshing but vital in somewhere as remote and small as this. You don't need material possessions, just the sun, the sea and the sand. And a beachside bungalow. Maybe a moped. But that's it.

Only problem is that it's literally on the other side of the world from home.

I'll miss the Cook Islands and the relaxation it allows us to have. We've had a great week here and it will probably be the last real sense of doing nothing we'll have for a long time as we'll be pretty full on for the next six weeks. It's a tough life travelling the world.