Aitutaki is called the Bora Bora of the Cook Islands because it's a small hilly island at the apex of a triangular barrier reef with small flat islets surrounding one of the South Pacific's most beautiful lagoons. The island is only 8 sq mi and is dotted with coconut, pineapple, banana and tapioca plantations worked by most of the 2,500 inhabitants.
Captain William Bligh discovered Aitutaki in 1789, a few weeks before he was set adrift in Tonga by the crew of the Bounty. Our guide on the island tour was Rua (means 2). Here is is explaining the warrior stones where chiefs and counsels met, where enemies were sacrificed and where boys were circumcised to become men.
I'm not sure when the missionaries arrived, but they did a good job - the islanders started burying their dead instead of leaving them out to the elements (rather like the American Indians did) and there are a lot of churches on all the islands we visited.
Whoever has the motor scooter franchise in these islands is making a fortune. They are for rent in all the ports and seem to be the main form of transportation for the locals.
We were taken to the highest point on the island - 134' - it was breezy but as you can see, the view was beautiful. You can see here the dark blue of the ocean and the aqua color of the water inside the reef.
Here's another lovely view but the long strip of land is Aitutaki's airport - which we visited. While we were there we saw one of the island tour planes landing. There's a marine research facility there and great snorkeling at the tip of the island.
Just behind the airport we stopped for a quick break - there was a motu (small island) adjacent to ours and it looked like a picture postcard. On another note - Each village on the island has a community hall which is rarely used, but bigger is better and competition is rampant between them.
On board ship, in La Palette, they held a honeymooner and anniversary get-together. Each couple was wrapped in a traditional quilt and pictures were taken. These are our friends, Rob and Kim - it was quite touching.
When we left the calm waters and ventured out into the Pacific, we encountered some good-sized swells. Here's the swimming pool which was being empties - you can see how high the water splashed.
Finally, a photo of my dinner. The food was magnificent - in taste, choice and presentation. We had our own table for 4 every night in our favorite restaurant - I didn't have dinner every night - this was fish served on sweet potatoes, with veggies. Sweet potatoes grow on every island we visited and are very popular.
Aitutaki is called the Bora Bora of the Cook Islands because it's a small hilly island at the apex of a triangular barrier reef with small flat islets surrounding one of the South Pacific's most beautiful lagoons. The island is only 8 sq mi and is dotted with coconut, pineapple, banana and tapioca plantations worked by most of the 2,500 inhabitants. 
Captain William Bligh discovered Aitutaki in 1789, a few weeks before he was set adrift in Tonga by the crew of the Bounty. Our guide on the island tour was Rua (means 2). Here is is explaining the warrior stones where chiefs and counsels met, where enemies were sacrificed and where boys were circumcised to become men.
I'm not sure when the missionaries arrived, but they did a good job - the islanders started burying their dead instead of leaving them out to the elements (rather like the American Indians did) and there are a lot of churches on all the islands we visited.
Whoever has the motor scooter franchise in these islands is making a fortune. They are for rent in all the ports and seem to be the main form of transportation for the locals. 
We were taken to the highest point on the island - 134' - it was breezy but as you can see, the view was beautiful. You can see here the dark blue of the ocean and the aqua color of the water inside the reef.
Here's another lovely view but the long strip of land is Aitutaki's airport - which we visited. While we were there we saw one of the island tour planes landing. There's a marine research facility there and great snorkeling at the tip of the island.
Just behind the airport we stopped for a quick break - there was a motu (small island) adjacent to ours and it looked like a picture postcard. On another note - Each village on the island has a community hall which is rarely used, but bigger is better and competition is rampant between them.
On board ship, in La Palette, they held a honeymooner and anniversary get-together. Each couple was wrapped in a traditional quilt and pictures were taken. These are our friends, Rob and Kim - it was quite touching.
When we left the calm waters and ventured out into the Pacific, we encountered some good-sized swells. Here's the swimming pool which was being empties - you can see how high the water splashed.
Finally, a photo of my dinner. The food was magnificent - in taste, choice and presentation. We had our own table for 4 every night in our favorite restaurant - I didn't have dinner every night - this was fish served on sweet potatoes, with veggies. Sweet potatoes grow on every island we visited and are very popular.
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