Steps Toward Paradise
Today is the first of two Fun Photo Friday dedicated to Rarotonga favorites:
Trees and Water
Surf’s Up!
In the Heat of Battle at the Muri Night Market
Sunset at Charlie’s Café
Tag Archives: Cook Islands
Fun Photo Friday — Rarotonga Favorites 1
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Rarotonga, Cook Islands — Dining Al Fresco at the Muri Night Market
Dining al fresco at the Muri Night Market
Yes, you can eat cheaply on Rarotonga. And well. And with lots of choices.
Baby Pancakes
Four times a week, weather permitting, in the heart of Muri Beach Village on Rarotonga’s east coast is the famous Muri Night Market.
Smoothies
Here you’ll find island food, desserts, Chinese and Indian inspired vendors, and even American favorites such as . . .
There’s even pizza!
Here is a sampling of some of the menus you’ll find here:
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
My favorite place was the Noodle Tent.
My favorite — the Noodle Tent
Interesting story here the first night we went — the charming lady you see above took orders and plated the food. Her husband is in the background doing the cooking. Neither had change for my order. Even so, she gave my order of noodles to me and told me to come back later. Which I did, as soon as I got change at another tent selling desserts. Here’s my scrumptious noodle order being prepared:
Great Noodles!
This is a really great place to get some of the local flavor (pun intended) and mingle with the locals as well as the tourists staying near Muri Beach. Indeed, our bungalow was within about a ten-minute walk of the Night Market.
Smoothies
The cooks really know their way around a hotplate, or a grill:
Cooking at the Muri Night Market
But get to the Muri Night Market early, because the vendors start selling out of their most popular items fairly quickly. Once something on the menu is gone, it’s gone!
Lots of choices at the Muri Night Market
The Muri Night Market is open from 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday. But, again, get their early or your choices will be limited.
Local Charm
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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation, Wine & Food
Rarotonga, Cook Islands — An Airbnb Rental on the Beach; Dinner with Friends
Rarotonga
It had been some twenty-six years or so since Ursula and I first visited the Cook Islands. And, with a couple of back-to-back cruises scheduled for Australia and New Zealand, Ursula decided it was time to return on the long journey to Sydney. So, on February 1, 2020, we flew out of Los Angeles for Rarotonga.
Back Again in the Cook Islands
On our first visit to Rarotonga, I visited with the controllers working the control tower at Rarotonga International Airport in the Avarua District on the north end of the island. Here I met Mark Vaikai, with whom I’ve kept in touch off-and-on ever since. Mark is an aficionado of American-style grilling spices, so I stocked up on some for him in preparation of this visit. More on him and his lovely wife Eunice in a moment, but right now let’s take a look at the wonderful little Muri District beach bungalow Ursula booked for our four-night stay:
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
This charming little place had a kitchen, dining area, two baths, a spacious bedroom, a wonderful living room, and a comfortable back porch with great views of the water:
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
Our cottage even came with a little friend at the base of the steps:
Kermit the Hermit Crab
Now back to Mark and Eunice, who very graciously hosted us at their lovely home for an absolutely delectable island dinner:
Dinner with Mark and Eunice Vaikai
And here are our charming and wonderfully entertaining hosts Mark and Eunice:
Mark and Eunice Vaikai
By the way, if that name Vaikai sounds familiar to readers of my mystery novel Decisions, it’s because I named the fictitious resort setting of that novel after Mark. As Mark explained to me all those years ago, Vaikai is Polynesian for two of the things you most need in life — Vai (water), and Kai (food). Now let’s take a couple of last looks until this Wednesday’s continuation of this two-week series on Rarotonga:
A flame tree in Avarua
The view from the porch of our Rarotonga beach rental:
Rarotonga Airbnb rental near Muri
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Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 