Day 2Our second day on Rarotonga was Saturday, Market Day. The Saturday market is in the main town of Avarua and begins at 6:00 am and lasts until 12:00 pm. The market is a combination of permanent buildings that do business throughout the week and temporary booths set up for locals to sell their artwork, food, and other wears. We did not make it up for the beginning of the market, but we caught the bus at 9:00 am and took the 20 minute ride back to town.
We thought this would be a fun cultural thing to do while on the island as well as a chance to pick up some keepsakes from our honeymoon. One of the things that the Cook Islands are known for is their black pearls. According to some of the local salesfolk, black pearls only come from Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and some freshwater locations in China. This seemed like a natural place to acquire some...We had already had breakfast before going to the market, but we still found room in our bellies for some icecream and a little fresh coconut juice! After Meghann found a couple of necklaces, some island clothes, and a statue, we wandered back to the bus station and caught the "anti-clockwise" bus back to the hotel. The day was getting pretty warm at this point so we decided to get out into the water and try out snorkeling in the lagoon in front of the resort.
The lagoon at our resort extended about a about a half mile out from the beach. It is also part of 
a preserve of some kind, so there is no fishing in the lagoon. Since that is the case the fish are not frightened by people and in fact in many cases expect to be fed by them. In any case, we went out snorkeling and quickly learned that it is good to be near the coral to see the fish, but not good to be over the top of the coaral...
a preserve of some kind, so there is no fishing in the lagoon. Since that is the case the fish are not frightened by people and in fact in many cases expect to be fed by them. In any case, we went out snorkeling and quickly learned that it is good to be near the coral to see the fish, but not good to be over the top of the coaral...
After cleaning up, it was time to catch our first sunset. The sunsets at sea are always nice if there are a few clouds in the sky, and Saturday was no exception. After the sun set, we made our way back down the beach for another buffet dinner and more island singing and dancing. This night was probably the best show overall as it had the most dancers, the best music, the best food, and lasted well into the night. 
The main course at the dinner included pork, beef, chicken, and fish that had been cooked in an "Umu", or an earthen oven. This is basically like a luau in Hawaii. The food was great though. Besides the regular dancers they also brought in some kids (some of the dancers) to show off their moves as well. Overall a great experience.
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