We are staying in a self-contained “bungalow” on the beach that has a small deck out the front, large enough for four to sip gin and tonics on. The sunset obliges every night around 6:45 p.m. with oranges and pinks and blues that are indescribable(Photo). The reef is about a quarter mile out so we have a fairly dramatic high and low tide mark. At low tide the water is about ankle to knee deep for the entire quarter mile. The wave crashing is muted by distance, and is incredibly soothing. Every morning at low tide we have a spear fisherman who strikes out and seems to be fairly successful -- we see him dragging a line behind him on his way back.

We've met lots of great folks and had two of them over for dinner on my birthday. Did I mention that it was my birthday? Oh yeah, my first celebrated internationally. Good fun much merriment that night. One of our guests was Mark from the UK (almost exactly half my age, yet wiser than his years would suggest). The other guest was Fiona from Christchurch , NZ and we've already made plans to hook up with her when we get there in a couple of months. She's considering joining us in the north island so she and Eric can dive Poor Knight's island – one of Cousteau's top 10 sites.

I received a number of e-mails wishing me Happy Birthday! Thanks everyone. I thought I'd pass along a particularly nice poem:

You can't escape the universe.  You are ingrained in the texture of being.

But can you influence the rivulets of your experience?

Can you gather them into a stream of consciousness...and does that stream flow into a river, flow into the ocean?  And are you both sitting near the ocean.  Right now.  In the dream of your own creation?

If so, God bless you.

You are the dream makers.

Making dreams out of the only gift god gave us - Consciousness.

Lovely words by a lovely man: Eric Husayn Coleman. A man I am proud to count among my dear friends.

Our bungalow is meant to be shared and we had some “interlopers” for a couple of nights. An American and a Brit traveling together; I felt a little bad for them since we had been in the house for a week before they came and I don't think this was the romantic getaway they had envisioned. Hey, we've spent honeymoons with other couples and had a great time. I wonder what Natalie and Dave are up to right now?

We're heading out to a smaller island later today – Aitutaki. The attraction is a lovely lagoon on its east side; I plan to do a lot of snorkeling. I haven't had a chance to do much since I got a nasty cold within the first three days. Bleech! On the upside, I had to go to the pharmacy for some expectorant and found that everything is available over the counter. I can get antibiotics and loads of other remedies just by asking – very convenient. They tell us Aitutaki is slower and quieter than Rarotonga , we can't wait!

As we spend time in The Cooks, I'm struck by all we've seen. Coconut palms growing next to Norfolk pines (evidence of the Brits who landed and planted them everywhere to ensure they could repair their ships in voyage); every third building is a church (evidence of Western evangelism); many many homes have burial sites on the grounds with the remains of their dearly departed family members (finally an element of pure Polynesian culture).

Rarotonga certainly has developed well beyond what we expected. 24-hour Wireless Internet hotspot, espresso bars. Oh yes, and don't forget the Rarotonga Idol contest! You heard me … this is entertainment at its finest. I'm not kidding. We went to one of the qualifying heats and saw only the last two contestants, but we have dinner reservations to see the quarter finals next week 10/29/05. Oh yeah, we're taking our camera … look for more details next week!

That's all, I'm off to go exploring for a while.

PS: Happy Birthday sis, I hope it was a blast!