I’m greeted with this view as my plane from LAX lands in Rarotonga:

I’ll take lush mountain peaks any day! I’m giddy with excitement as I climb off the plane.

I have a six hour layover in Rarotonga before my afternoon flight north to Aitutaki. Here’s a map of the Cook Islands for reference:

(image via)

I plan to take the local bus loop around Rarotonga and then grab a bite to eat. There are two buses that circle the island: the clockwise bus and the anti-clockwise bus. (Yup, anti-clockwise.) The island is so small — less than an hour round-trip including all bus stops — and this two-bus system is so easy that you can’t get lost.

I rode this bus on Monday and then again on Thursday. On Monday, I climb onto the bus and hand over some New Zealand dollars (the currency of the Cook Islands) and I don’t even know what to say to the bus driver. Pretty much everyone speaks English in the Cook Islands so there isn’t a language barrier. But after stepping off the plane an hour earlier, I feel like a fish out of water and a little overwhelmed. Thankfully my travel legs come back quickly and by Thursday I hop on the bus with confidence, hand over the exact fare, and state my destination without hesitating. Traveling Erica is back and in full force!

Notice that they drive on the left hand side of the road here.

I pay extra attention as the driver negotiates turns because my friend Allison and I plan to rent a car in New Zealand next week and driving on the other side of the road is intimidating.

I stay on the bus for the entire loop just to get the lay of the land and snap photos out the window.

I have a few hours to kill on my first day before flying to Aitutaki so I grab a latte and chicken sandwich from this little plaza near the bus station (below). I chat with a guy who was born in Pasadena but has lived in Fiji and the Cook Islands for several decades, owning property and running accommodations and restaurants. He and his son operate the rotisserie chicken joint where I buy my lunch. Despite the fact that chickens roam Rarotonga freely, they import their own from Texas of all places.

The rest of these photos are from my return trip to Rarotonga on Thursday. By this point I’m a little more adventurous and hop off the bus at Muri beach. I find a shady spot to lay down and go for a swim.

I dive into a new book (Jonathan Tropper’s The Book of Joe) and indulge in an overpriced lunch at Sail’s (Vietnamese chicken salad and a soy latte – my first coffee in three days!).

The pricey lunch (the latte and salad cost around $26) is justified by this view. I take my time eating and soak it all in.

I’m about to take the anti-clockwise bus back to town when I meet a woman closing up the dress shop she owns (which is right next to the bus stop). I ask her where the post office is and she very kindly offers me a ride into town on her scooter, since she’s going that way anyways. I’ve never been on a scooter before and jump at the chance — I’m not brave enough to ride on my own, so this is the closest I’ll get. During our 15 minute ride into town she explains that she’s from New Zealand but has lived in the Cook Islands for 13 years now and operates three businesses. She has four children between the ages of 6 and 19, the oldest of which just knocked up a girl during his year abroad so now she has a grandkid on the way. We chat the whole time with the wind in our faces. The ride is thrilling and I’m amazed by her kindness to offer a ride to a stranger. She says she believes in good karma and is happy to help me out.

After my stop at the post office I walk about thirty minutes back to the airport, snapping photos the whole way.

That wraps up my time in Rarotonga… tomorrow I’ll detail my arrival in Aitutaki, also known as paradise on earth.