Pacific Islands
August 14, 2000 - Carrie's Polynesian Quiz
August 22, 2000 - Notes From Abroad (Fiji)
Hello everybody!
We are in the Cook Islands,halfway between Hawawii and
New Zealand. 'Twas a very long plane flight-- 7 hours
to Hawaii,2 hrs in the ultra-air-conditioned lounge in
Honolulu int'l,andanother 6 hrs down to Rarotonga in
the Cook Islands. Made it through customs fine despite
the out-of-country food stashed away in backpacks (1
Starbucks bagel and 1 old cheeseburger from BK in LAX
-- now we really have a cheeseburger in paradise!)
We are staying at teh Tiare Village Hostel and have a
decadent poolside double with in-unit
kitchenetee,bathroom, and unlimited rooster noises for
$NZ50, about $25 US per night. Wow.
Today we went snorkeling on the other side of the isl
and (tropical fish everywhere, just like in the
movies! and no sir Bites-a-lot,no sharks anywhere),
took the bus all round the island, and now are off to
see exactly where we shall eat tonight. Literally
paradise -- everybody's nice,food is clean, English
spoken everywhere, and a 2-for-1 discount ont he
currency!
Love and kisses
-- Scott and Carrie
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August 14, 2000 - Carrie's Polynesian Quiz
Hello all!
It's time for the Polynesian Quiz version of Jeopardy.
Test your travel knowledge and predictive powers on
the following multiple-choice quiz. (Answers at bottom
--no peeking!)
1) Homemade banana cake with creamfrosting,
fresh-squeezed pineapple juice, Lady Grey tea,
high-fiber crackers, fresh coconut milk, intestine of
sea cucumber, pan-fried tuna, adn one unsuspecting
bug.
These are
a) things Scott has eaten
b) things Carrie has eaten
c) things for sale in Rarotonga
d) things we dare not eat
2) Hawaiian shirts with cargo pants andflip-flops;
white linen shirts with colorful sarongs; Pokemon
T-shirts and matching Pokemon shorts; coconut-fiber
hats with fresh flowers on them.
These are what people were wearing
a) Sunday morning at church
b) on the beach
c) on the airplane
d) in a Cook Islands mail-ordercatalog
3) We went to an Isladn Night with Cook Islands
traditional dancing, drumming,and dinner. One of the
following did NOT happen:
a) Upon hearing Ricky Martin's "La Vida Loca",
Scott was overcome by an urge to shake his booty and
went out dancing
b) Carrie lost her "Michigan Tennis" T-shirt after
participating in a Miss Coconut Boobs contest
c) Scott refused to dance to any rap
d) We bought a round of 750-ML beers for a table of
6people for $8.00, including tip.
4) It is thousands of nautical miles between here and
anywhere. Polynesians have been here since
approximately:
a) the time of Christ (AD 0)
b) the time of the Vikings (AD 1000)
c) the time of the Conquistadors (AD 1500)
d) 250 years ago -- just in time to kill and eat
Captain James Cook off the coast of Hawaii on his
third voyage out here
5) A "stubbie" is
a) a term of endearment for a short man
b) a slenderhome-rolled cigarette
c) an alcoholic beverage
d) an outrigger canoe which seats fewer than 10
people
BONUS: "Noni" is
a) a very impolite term for a part of the body
usually covered by a grass skirt
b) the family name of our hosts at the hostel
c) a "miracle plant" whose dark brown juice can
serve as bug repellent,an after-dinner aperitif, ,anda
shampoo
d) the local God of Rarotonga Island who was
displaced in 1823 when English Missionary John
Williams brought the Gospel to this island
----------HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME AND MISS YOU ALL
JUST A LITTLE BIT!!!! -----------------------------
-----------ANSWERS BELOW---------------------------
1 - b
2- a
3-b
4-a
5-c
bonus- c
Well...we are now in the wonderful Fiji Islands. We
are staying at a resort that normally holds 60 guests
at this time of the year. Currently there are 3 of
us...and it is kinda strange....like a party gone bad.
The new government seems to be doing well, but the
people here are really missing the tourist moneys.
Carrie is becoming a certified diver, and having a
great time with her instructor (private....lucky us).
Yesterday I went for a dive and saw a ton of fish and
huge sea turtle. Today we will go out, and if we are
lucky...maybe we will see a shark.
Picture soon....
Scott
p.s. Beer is good....
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August 22, 2000 - Notes From Abroad (Fiji)
Hello all! It's Carrie sitting in a cybercafe (the
only air-conditioned part of Nadi) with another Fiji
Quiz for you.
Match the term to its definition:
TERMS:
1. Vinaka
2. Fiji baby
3. "I want to suck on your octopus"
4. "Bula Bula"
5. Cloudbreak
6. Scuba Sam the tour guide
7. Fiji Omelette
8. All-Day Fiji Breakfast
9. Barney the boat driver
10. Deep Throat Coral Reef Cave
DEFINITIONS:
A. Spaghetti on toast
B. Has big feet, shivers, missing front tooth, tattoo
on chest "Loving someone means never having to say
you're sorry."
C. Scuba term for "I'm out of air"
D. THank you
E. Small bitter alcoholic drink
F. WHASSUP???
G. World famous surfing spot
H. Peas, corn, carrots, cheese, egg
I. 157 Feet long, takes 2 minutes to dive into it and
45 minutes to decompress on exit
J. Huge feet, big belly, wears rubber duckie yellow
raincoat, likes to sleep on boat while waiting for
divers
--------------- answers forthcoming --------------
Seriously, other notes from Fiji. It's a
disconcerting mix between first and third worlds.
At our last place we stayed, the tide rose and fell 2
meters per day. It went out close to half a mile, and
when the tide was out we could walk on the mud flats
(you canactually play golf on them if you like) and
watch the yellow little hermit and fiddler crabs come
out of their mud homes. There are starfish and little
stripey black-and=white fish which get stuck in
tidepools and are picked up by these large blue
crane-like birds. Very interesting (for teh easily
amused!)
The pop here is different. Specifically, Coke tastes
like Old Coke (before they made New Coke and Classic
Coke) and Sprite tastes really sweet (made with cane
sugar, not corn syrup).
And on the bus today back into Nadi -- it was about 20
minutes into the bone-jarring ride when the most
horriffic "clang!" came from the back of the bus.
Where the engine is. The driver stopped the bus, got
out, looked at the damage, and then stopped the
engine. We waited until another bus came from behind
us, and our driver asked the other driver if he'd seen
anything fallen out onto the road. When other driver
said no, no debris from our engine that he'd seen, our
driver picked up one metal thing from the dirt road,
stuck it back under the bus somewhere, started up the
engine, and we drove the rest of the way here. I must
say, I didn't think ANYTHING could make Alameda County
transit look good ... but I hadn't been on the
Sigatoka-Nadi bus before!
Having a wonderful time and missing all of you
tremendously. Love and kisses (especially from
Scott!)
:)
Carrie + Scott (the Road Warriors)
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