5:15 p.m. - 2003-03-31
Playing Scooby Doo with Nancy Drew
2003-03-31 - 5:15 p.m.
I managed to escape LALAland; I'm now in Rarotonga in an Internet cafe. The connection is so sloooooow. I'm sunburnt already and the sun hasn't even come out yet, so God knows how hot it gets when it does decide to show its face. Some people here are OK, but the majority seem to be English morons who like The Stereophonics, sport and too much booze. I'm staying at Vara's hostel on Muri Beach, which has a deck and a long table, which encourages the louts to congregate.
On my second night here, I did manage to have a little adventure. After going to a club and dancing with the local windsurfing instructor, we all came back and sat on the deck for a smoke. The wind was so fierce though, that it burnt the joint right down in minutes. I headed to bed because the wind was pissing me off and the conversation was dull. Steve from Vancouver was the only person to have weed. He was in the kitchen when I was making a sandwich. He was drunk and wanted to party, so I stayed up with him. We went down to the beach and looked at the stars. They�re amazing in the Southern Hemisphere; you can see The Milky Way so clearly. Steve mentioned that there was an abandoned Sheraton Hotel that he'd found somewhere on the island. Well, I thought, this is more like it. So I borrowed Scottish Gary's pushbike and off we went. We must have cycled for half an hour or more when Steve told me he couldn't remember where it was. We were just about to give up when we found the sign for Wigmore's Waterfall. The hotel was right next to it. It looked really spooky. I felt like Nancy Drew. We crept around in the overgrown grass and looked through the dusty windows into the rooms. Fuck it was scary - I expected to see a vagrant living in one of the rooms, or blood smeared on the wall. After scaring myself we went up to the waterfall, which was 1.5 Kms up a dirt track. Luckily Steve had a headlamp on, so we just about see the way. We smoked a joint, of BC Bud, really good shit. We got nicely high and sat on a rock by the water. Steve went swimming, the mad fool. I didn't fancy it in total darkness. I had a moment where I spun out and felt like I was in a dream. It was a new experience just to be able to see the stars so clearly, it was amazingly surreal. I started laughing to myself, here I was sitting in the dark at 3am, on a rock, by a waterfall, on a South Pacific island, whilst everyone I knew back home was probably at work doing the usual Monday morning grind. I was happy, but incredibly thirsty. Stupidly we didn't think to bring any water and we'd been boozing, smoking and cycling. I was desperate for a drink. I felt like my throat would close up and I'd pass out. Luckily, the river water was OK to drink. Crystal clear mountain water, perfect. After a couple of hours spent stargazing we headed back. It felt twice as far going back to the hostel. Frickin' nightmare really. We stopped off at a shop on the way back at 6am to buy some water. The shopkeeper was a bit suspicious of us and thought we'd been you-know-what by the waterfall. I protested, but he wouldn't believe me.
2003-04-03
I'm desperate for some weed. I think there's something wrong with me. Even though I'm on a beautiful tropical island, I can't fully relax and appreciate it. I feel like an observer, rather than living it. I'm finding it a chore to mingle and I don't feel like I'm on anyone's wavelength. Maybe I'm not cut out for this travelling lark. At least staying in hostels is not my bag, I know that much. How does everyone else do it? Maybe I need a few days to get into the swing of things. It is a bit of a culture shock. I'm just bored by the people I've met so far, but surely that makes me boring. Hopefully these things take practice and I'll get used to the hostel life. It's hard work being around so many people. I've always preferred one on one interaction anyway.
2003-04-03
I'm sitting at the airport in Rarotonga, waiting to check into my flight to Aitutaki (pronounced At-to-Tacki). Last night I went to an island night which included traditional food (which was disgusting, apart from the breadfruit) and dancing. A girl called Julie came with me; we were the only people from the hostel to go for the food. We sat on a table with a couple from Oz. They had sailed around the world in a 37-ft boat that they'd built themselves. Spending up to 84 days at sea without seeing land, it took them eight and a half years to complete the trip. I learnt that if you coat eggs in Vaseline, they can keep for up to 3 months because the lubricant keeps the air out. That's one useless fact I will never forget.
The dancing was great, the group had just come back from a tour of the States, and the polished coconut bras impressed the men in the audience. I was tempted to purchase one myself. I drank too many Steinlagers and smoked one too many cigarettes and puked in the toilets. A new guy from Brighton arrived today. He has nice eyes, but he's blonde.
10.30pm
I am in Paradise! When we arrived on Aitutaki, there was a perfect rainbow. Josies's Lodge where I am staying is homely and small. It is situated about four hours walk from town though, but it's so peaceful here that I don't care. We saw a huge fish already, about a foot long. Tomorrow we are going on a lagoon cruise. The lagoon that surrounds the island is huge and also surrounds the tiny motus (islands) nearby.
I'm in bed now; Helene and Julie went to bed at 9pm. There isn't much to do after dark except drink. I've been reading about the history of Rarotonga. It's shocking what the missionaries did when they arrived on the island in 1821. My book says that they established religious control and did their best to wipe out the original island religion, establishing what was virtually a police state. This rigid and enforced law system was backed up by corruption in the police force. Money from fines imposed on wrongdoers was split between the police and judges. Naturally this turned police work into a lucrative profession and in parts; one in six was in the police force.
However, the missionaries did leave the government of the islands to tribal chiefs (ariki). This system still stands today and also the traditional system of land inheritance. No one can buy land on the island. The original religion is still practised among a select few. The Polynesians are generally large people. When 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' (a WWII prison camp drama starring David Bowie (never heard of it meself) was filmed on the island, it proved impossible to find 500 extras thin enough to appear as prisoners. They had to fly them in from New Zealand.
