Kia Orana!

Rarotonga, Cook Islands, day 1

How to describe this place? Alive. Peaceful. When we began our descent this morning all I could see was ocean. Then it appeared. Lush green mountains covered in a cloudy haze.

I became nervous waiting in line to clear customs. I don't know anyone on this island. What if my host from couchsurfjng (www.couchsurfing.org) turns out to be crazy or creepy or worse? He greeted me with a beautiful ei (like Hawaiian lei but the L doesn't exist in Maori language) made from fragrant white flowers. Kees (pronounced "case"), from the Netherlands. 49. Came here on holiday five years ago and never left. Doesn't plan to.

The island has a single road that wraps around it. 32 kilometers, about 20 miles. We pass through "towns" but I can't take my eyes away from the vegetation and ocean long enough to remember the structures. We arrive at his home. No address.  Mango, avocado, coconut, guava and jackfruit trees all heavy with fruit. Wild chickens and roosters promise I won't be sleeping in. An orange tabby named Tigger. Simple home, possibly elegant by island standards. Two bedrooms, a loft, a nice outdoor living space. Windows always open. No central air or heating - no need for either. Kees shows me around and then leaves for work. I eat a mango from his yard and a passion fruit he traded from a friend for breakfast. I've never had a whole passionfruit. Small and round, slightly larger than a lime. Red skin like a pomegranate, tough like an avocado. You cut it in half and slurp up the black seeds covered in a transparent jelly-like juicy goodness. Between the seeds and skin is a spongy squash-like layer. I decide that part isn't edible. All the scraps go into the garbage fire pit out back.

A tiny salamander watches me change into my bikini. Snorkel & goggles, towel, water, sunscreen. A short walk to the beach. I'm briefly overcome with emotion. I'm here. I'm lucky. Im alone. Narrow beaches on a lagoon. The waves break over a half a kilometer away. Clear blue water. Sun peaking through clouds. Shore lined with lush vegetation and lava rocks. Little hermit crabs with intricate shells scurry along everywhere. I come across a group of them feasting on a mango - seems mango is a popular breakfast item here.

Now I'm sitting alone on a deserted beach in the shade if a coconut tree enjoying the view and sounds. Palm fronds rustling, water lapping, waves crashing. Not a single person in the world knows exactly where I am at this moment. Alone but not alone. I feel life living all around me.