11/1/2026 Recovery in Raro

After yesterday's extremely emotional day the night bought the now usual mares.  Tiresome for sure.  I set my alarm so I would be having my breakfast on the dot of 0700hrs. As I locked up the door to my room I noticed a cat had made itself very comfortable on one of my chairs and it made no signs of moving at all. It just watched me lock up and walk away and probably went back to sleep.  I didn’t blame it!  

There was a nice choice of fruit on offer in th chiller watermelon, bananas, papaya pineapple and mixed tinned fruit.  Yoghurts, dried fruits, grated coconut and nuts and seeds are also available.  Toast pastries and muffins were all included, and If I wanted I could order a hot breakfast from the menu. It was pretty substantial but to be honest the fruit and yoghurt were more than enough. It’s not as if I’m doing anything to use up the energy is it!! Tea and coffee on tap which I had a few mugs of, because as we know tea makes everything ok. 

I sat outside and through the palm trees could see the pool and just beyond that the ocean. The tide was coming in and the waves were crashing over the outer reef, and the noise was soothing. 

Once I’d finished my breakfast I took a little walk to get my bearings. There is a ‘beach’ area that overlooks the ocean, with safety rails and a set of steps leading down to the ocean. The beach has large chunks of  old coral that have washed up and there are large rocks in the water which is lovely and clear, because of the coral and rocks the resort supplies reef shoes for guests to use, which you can take off site if you’re going snorkelling. 

The steps down to the water are my biggest problem for the best few days so I’ll give it a miss until I’m over the flight.  I carried on up the front of the resort and checked out the sea view rooms, they are ok, but never worth the extra $100 a night. Directly in front of them are the beach loungers, extra seating with huts for shade and the area where the band set up.  So any view is significantly blocked although It did have a lovely breeze blowing in from the ocean.  

The resort is definitely beach front and as the tide comes in and the Lagoon area fills up it will be great for swimming. The pool is not that big but is popular due to a swim up bar and has plenty of loungers around it.

On my way back to my room to change into swimmers, I went via the bar to pick up bottled water. It was $8NZ for 1.5 litres, which seems a little excessive. However when I factored in  the $10 return bus fare to the supermarket and the effort required to actually get the water, load it in my rucksack and carry it back it suddenly seemed very reasonable! When I’m feeling better I’ll take a trip into town and nose around and pick some up while I’m out. At least it will be a worthwhile journey then!  I also picked up a beach towel from reception and the receptionist was wearing a beautiful white floral headdress. I asked her what these flowers were because I couldn’t remember the name of them yesterday. I could have kicked myself when she told me they were Gardenias.  It was stunning and with her brightly coloured dress she was everything you’d imagine a pacific islander to be.  I will ask her if I can take a photo tomorrow.  With the towels you just collect one and when you want a new one they swap it for you. I think they try to keep a track on them as there is a charge if you don’t return it. Fair enough.  

Once I got back to my room and changed I chuffed half the water.  I hadn’t drank much yesterday and was feeling the effects today!  Stupid Mrs Leonard.  Feeling a little more refreshed I changed and packed the rucksack so I could go and lie on the loungers overlooking the ocean.  The resort has 75’rooms, I don’t know if they are all full but there is plenty of space for everyone. When I walked past the pool a man spoke to me and asked how I was going, I stopped and passed the time of day with him asking when he had arrived and if he liked it. He looked at me a bit funny and said we arrived yesterday,  we were on the same flight as you. You were sat opposite us. Hadn’t even noticed or recognised him, I obviously apologised and he said he and his wife could see something was amiss and they hoped I was ok. They are here for his daughter's wedding on Monday. She's getting married on one of the other resorts, the name I don’t quite catch just that it began with an ‘A’. What I did notice about the people sat opposite me was they were treated well, the crew seemed to know them, they were given the first class noise cancelling headphones, bubbly and constant snacks. That was all I noticed about them; their faces didn’t even register… obviously!

I continued onto the lounger  I’d eyed up earlier and when I was almost there the security guard came from the other direction, asked if I was ok and said the band were just setting up to serenade me which made me smile. I settled in to my position and lay back , closed my eyes and listened to the waves crashing over the reef trying to empty my mind.

The band were good and I listened to them for an hour before they were joined by the entertainment crew led by Mamma Erica. There seems to be a daily activities program, and although I’d seen the program in my room, I’d not paid much attention to it as I thought it was at the other resort for some reason! Today's activity was 101 ways to tie a sarong, or as Rarotongans call them Pareu. I watched, utterly fascinated because there were ways I would never have even thought of to keep them on . The key is to make sure your Pareu is large enough which is why I think I’ve been struggling as all my sarongs are on the small side by comparison to what she was working with.  That went on for a while and the lady who was teaching the Pareu tying then moved on to a traditional island dancing demonstration. That woman has snake hips! All then while she was demonstrating the band who were called Lindsey and the Island Boys were playing. They finished off the whole demo with a drumming session which was brilliant.  

A couple of people picked up reef shoes and went for a swim and did some snorkelling, I don’t know how good it is down there but they were only out a little while and I wasn’t feeling sociable enough to strike up a conversation with them to ask. I made a new friend too, a large sheepdog came walking up the beach through the shallows, it had obviously been in the ocean as it was soaked through. In a considerate way it did a full body shake before walking around the people who were either in chairs or on loungers before deciding that the patch of sand by me was the most comfortable. Or maybe it was because I was the only one who didn’t shoo it away either way I have a friend. 

The tide had come in a lot in the time I was lying there and when I looked up I could see lots of people fishing in the lagoon.  There are places marked on the map that you aren’t allowed to swim in as the rip is too strong and there is as high risk of drowning. At least that's what it says on the map guide, and from what I could make out the place where people were fishing is one of those places.  I’m guessing they were locals.  

I’d had enough by the time the demos were done and decided to go back to the room for a lie down as I’d also developed a thumping headache.  On the way I picked up another large bottle of water as I’d finished the other one, and some trip information from the stand in reception. There are a few I quite like the sound of but as I’m here a little while I’m not going to rush and book them. I also picked up a little Map of the island which will be really handy for when I take my bus trips. 

As I walked out of the reception and back towards my room a cockerel walked in front of me and went and jumped up onto a chair in front of one of the rooms and started crowing. I’d heard one yesterday but hadn’t expected it to be roaming the resort. When I went around the corner there was another one just strutting out of another room. Unfortunately my phone was in my bag on my back and I couldn’t easily get at it and I expect the cockerel will be around for the duration anyway.  

The air con is switched on by inserting the key fob from the door into a hole in the wall under the machine to save power when you’re not in the room. Thankfully the room stays cool and takes only a few minutes to cool down. It was actually so cool in there I ended up under the fluffy blanket as I was a little chillly. Amazingly I slept for a few hours although the headache hadn’t subsided by the time I woke up. 

When I woke I took more tablets and managed to find the instructions online for Si’s earbuds which I bought with me but not used as yet. With them finally linked to my phone I popped them in and did some meditations which I think helped ease my headache a bit.  I fell back asleep and woke up when it was pitch black outside.  It feels like a wasted day but is unfortunately necessary.  Feeling a bit meh I had a shower and washed my  to liven me up a bit which did help.  Although forgetting the tiny 2inch  step out of the bathroom into the bedroom was a silly thing to do and I now have a stubbed and bleeding toe.  FFS in disgust I plastered it in arnica cream and drowned it in tea tree oil so it should be ok by the morning. It’s just throbbing like a Tom and Jerry toe. 

A reasonably good day, there seems to be plenty going on in the resort to keep me amused. I was most impressed by the free book exchange, I shall try and read stuff to keep my mind quiet and stop it wandering to the dark places.  I’m hoping my dog will return tomorrow, although there’s a full day of rain forecast, so he may not be wandering up and down the beach. If it’s not around there are always the cockerels and the cat to keep me company.  

The other guests are mostly couples of varying ages and there is a group of younger lads who look to be in their early 20’s. No other solo travellers but that might change in the next few weeks. The staff are lovely with the exception of one of the bar staff who has an epic resting bitch face and I’ve yet to see her smile, she’s the only one though, the rest can’t stop smiling

Much Love

Mrs Leonard

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