The Cooks - Aitutaki

Visiting the Cooks without doing at least a quick side trip to Aitutaki would be like going to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. The 500-inhabitant-island sports the most beautiful, vast and blue lagoon, with green turtles, corals and reef fish being the gems in the crown of the Cooks. It is surrounded by very small motus (little islands), which you can go to by boat.

On One Foot Island for example, there is a small post office where you can have your passport stamped with a big, smeary, black foot (this can´t be legal, can it?)...which we of course did ;)




One foot island



The lagoon cruise, a MUST on Aitutaki!



Stevie having his leg hair removed by the hords of fish



The one dollar for the Cambodian straw hat still served valuably


But to Aitutaki, you better come prepared (if you dont live in a resort): Vegetables and bread are sometimes not easy to obtain, altough fruits can be picked in abundance, even in town. (That´s were two streets cross.) If you don´t eat freshly caught fish (or moray, in our case - see the food post), the stores are even more expensive then on Rarotonga as everything has to be flown in, first to Raro then to Aitutaki.



Enjoying the beach of the 5-star resort for a while, before we were being...dislodged...



A giant clam, probably dragged into the lagoon for the tourists.



Public transport on Aitutaki - hitchhiking



Nice on the outside, nice on the inside



The island show. The dancers were not as, let´s say professional, as on Rarotonga


The Cook´s choice at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephan_mittas/sets/72157615495037196/