January 26, 2016 - Day 22 - Rarotonga.

Today's adventure began early. We were to commence tendering at 8:00. The first tender went ashore to bring out the officials, 3 more tenders hovered alongside. Repeated attempts to bring the tender to the boarding platform found severe bobbing in the swell. It was unsafe to transfer passengers here.

The captIn had warned us yesterday that this might be the case. We were off the north coast. We would move to a lesser channel through the reef on the west side. This was just wide enough for the tender. 

We got in the tender line at 10:20. At 11:45 we boarded and made our way through the narrow channel. Ashore we took the complimentary shuttle to downtown. We did not recognize the town. 5 years ago we had boarded a van at the main dock. The lot was gravel as was the road. Today everything is paved and there are curbs everywhere.

Our first stop was the information center. We were given a very good map and directions to a library and museum. It would be a decent walk. About half a mile later we saw the church steeple. As we turned toward it we could see the mountains of the interior behind the steeple. And of course, there was a cemetery. We toured the cemetery, and tried the locked door of the church. 

Moving along we found a Peace Garden and the library. The library was closed. Across the street was the University of the South Pacific campus. The entry was open and we walked in. There were several classrooms and walkways to housing and lab buildings. The office was closed, but the restrooms were open. A real plus at this time.

The campus looked very nice. There were students coming and going in the distance. We were unable to find anyone to talk to. We moved on. Down the road, past the side road we should have turned on, we came to the theological seminary. This had beautiful grounds with classic old buildings nestled at the foot of the mountains. The palm trees made a beautiful picture against the puffy white clouds. We walked around quite a bit before returning to the road to the museum. 

On the way we passed several apartment buildings before coming to the National Auditorium. This was a large enclosed stadium for sports events and musical performances. Nothing was currently scheduled.

A block away we found the museum. It was very primitive. We opted to pass it up, and walk to Victoria Park. This is a large soccer and rugby field. We took a short street back to the shoreside road in order to cover new ground. Good move.

As we walked we came to the Have Anything store. Here we found a large collection of Pareos (women's wraps) and men's shirts. I got a brautiful shirt for $12, and Alice found a very nice Pareo for just $6. We spent some time in the back room, too. This was filled with bolts of fabrics. Again, the patterns and colors were outstanding. The prices were reasonable, but we could not decide on what to choose.

We walked on, and found a bunch of kids swimming and jumping off a beached boat next to a boat launch. 

Next door was a small seafood restaurant. As we walked away we met a couple from the ship. They asked about the prices at the restaurant. We had not checked them. They explained that they had to find lunch as they were very hungry, and they could not get a tender back to the ship. An incoming tender had been swept onto the reef at the channel and nothing could get past it. They were waiting for a tug to come to pull it off.

The shuttle stop was some way ahead. We started shopping the shops along the road. Prices seemed outrageous. We were so glad we fund our off the beaten path store. It was definitely where the locals shopped. After exhausting the rip off shops we went back to wait for the shuttle. While waiting one fellow showed us his Cook Islands drivers license. It had his picture and everything. It was $20 at the police station next to the shuttle stop. He got this instead of a t-shirt.

At the tender pier we heard more about the grounding from someone who had been on the tender. As it approached the channel, a breaking wave lifted it and carried it right onto the reef. The propeller was damaged, and it could not generate enough force to back off. The tide was going out and it was getting more hung up. The captain and hotel manager walked out from shore to bring water to the 100 or so stranded passengers. In an attempt to lighten the load and float the tender off, people were moved to the front of the tender. This did not work. They asked for volunteers to walk ashore. The couple we were talking to had on beach shoes, so they got off. The reef was very uneven. As they walked they kept dropping into depressions that made the water chest high. They were now in line with us, waiting to go back on a tender. While they were ashore the tug arrived and pulled the tender off the reef. The rest of the passengers were transferred to other vessels.

There was no sign of the tender now. It had been towed back to the Amsterdam inoperable. It was tender number 9. That is our lifeboat. When we were entering Cook's Bay on Moorea in 2011, we had a tender damaged when it was dropped from its davits. We could not sail away until it was repaired and cleared for lifeboat duty. This time we were allowed to leave without repairing the lifeboat. We do not have a full passenger complement, and those assigned to tender 9 will be directed to other tenders in an emergency. Repairs will be made in New Zealand.

The captain apologized profusely for the problem and succeeding delays. We had free wine at dinner the next night as compensation.