Rarotonga Girls Trip

I have the best husband ever - and some pretty amazing girlfriends! Last July my good friend Fleur organized a girls' trip to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and as I was in America at the time it was left to Dugald to say yay or nay as to whether or not I wanted to go. He generously told her to sign me up, paid all the necessary fees and then we all sort of forgot about it for months. 

Eight months later I was here. . .

The view from our portion of Muri  Beach

Our rooms were all decorated with flowers for our arrival.

Our deck overlooking the lagoon.

Pre-dinner drinks our first night.

It was magical - three unhurried days of walks on the beach, biking around the island, snorkeling, drinking cocktails, playing cards, kayaking, swimming, napping, eating out, eating in . . . I think we all reveled in the opportunity to just do whatever we felt like doing for a few days. Most of these ladies are in my "Monday Morning Ladies" swimming group or my book group and we all travelled so well together. It's a gift to have these women as friends.

Common Rarotongan practice - burying loved ones in the front garden.

Biking to the beach.

Island bike tour.

These little monsters woke us up very early.

Watching the races from our deck.

I had a massage here, it was amazing.

Learning how to dance like the locals. I don't know the lady on the left who has had too much sun, but you can almost see Lisa on the right.

Island Night and the last night of our adventure.

We all felt rested and relaxed as we headed home to our people (who by this point we were missing madly). Unfortunately we hit the edge of a cyclone somewhere between Rarotonga and Wellington which made our flight somewhat unpleasant, but it was fantastic to be greeted at the airport in Wellington by the smiling faces of Dugs and the girls. Thank you honey for this amazing gift!!