Puddle jumping in the Cooks October 2015 | It's only an hour. How hard can it be?

We’ve just come from dinner at the Kahue Hut just a couple of doors down the beach, where we feasted on Thai beef salad, a yellow curry dish with mahi mahi, and orange almond coconut cake. I needed the walk home to be longer; I’m stuffed. But vertical still—at 8:15—on the next to last evening we have here in Rarotonga.

Yesterday was a shopping day, and we were fortunate to find some local artists to introduce us to the traditional art of the area but also new interpretations of old themes. There are block cut designs, and lots of screen printing using natural materials to create interesting fabric. And applique, or Tivaevae. 

After an afternoon snooze for Margaret, snorkel for me (followed by a snooze), we headed for the night market at Muri, where we met up with our birder friends. We seem to be on the same flight path with Caroline and Craig, who are from just outside Melbourne. We first met on Atiu and bumped into them again at the Modern Maori Quartet concert on Tuesday. And then we were joined by Paul and Lee from Sydney, who are here at the resort. And we bumped into Tuhe again, the guide we met up on The Needle. We knew from Caroline he would have a booth, serving up wholesome, fresh food, made the local way. So the six of us sat and shared stories, while Margaret and I downed an enormous plate of fish and seven vegetables, rice and lentils, quinoa, more veges—all very healthy and wholesome, and chicken skewers. We topped all that off with coconut lime ice cream!

Tuhe is quite a salesman. After feeding and flattering us, he convinced us that after the Cross-Island Track, we were ready for a morning adventure on the water in Muri. Seems if two old babes like us can make it across the island on that so-called track, well, we can do anything (yeh right). It’s half way round the island from our hotel to Muri, but there we were this morning in our snorkel suits, coffee cups chattering in the cup stand, dodging early morning joggers on the dark two-lane road around the island—back the way we’d come just hours before. We arrived just in time for sunrise. Since I'm always confused and disoriented here in the southern hemisphere (going the other way around the traffic circles) it was also a good time to get my bearings!

Tuhe arrived at about 6:15 in his somewhat distressed SUV and got to work preparing us for our early morning SUPYoga adventure.  SUP-what? SUP-Yoga.  Never heard of it? Where have you been? It’s the craziest. Start with STAND UP PADDLE BOARD. Then add yoga. On the board. In the water.

Tuhe hauled out the boards, while we collected rocks from a pile and put them in reusable fabric bags. These were to be our anchors. After a quick few paddling instructions from Tuhe it was time to get on our boards. First on our knees, and then u-u-u-p! Whew. That wasn’t so bad. As we cautiously paddled out into the lagoon Tuhe explained the yoga poses we would be doing: standing up, lying down, and sitting. I was teetering on the board just thinking about it. Well, I got through mountain pose, and then with the next movement, SPLASH…oooh, that was… ahhhh…warm. Very warm. And shallow. Like gently  falling into your bathtub. Now that’s the way to start a morning. A warm bath in Muri lagoon, with the sun just over the horizon, shining squarely in your eyes.

We stre-e-e-tched into dog, and tangled our legs into pidgeon pose. We  bent ourselves in halves and quarters. We balanced and planked. We blessed the day and our good fortune until finally it was time to head in. But not before we’d relaxed in mountain pose, centred our hearts, tossed all our cares in that great Pacific Ocean, counted our blessings, said our Namastes, and consumed the warmth of the now blazing sun. The beginning of a new day in paradise. All before eight o’clock.

But it wasn’t over! We paddled to shore and put away all the gear but one board, and grabbed our cameras for THE PHOTO SHOOT OF ALL TIME. You will not believe this. And a year from now, when we see this photo, we won’t believe it either. And then we will remember Tuhe, who assured us we could do it (on the mountain and on the board), and this beautiful morning on Rarotonga.