AITUTAKI- The Blue Lagoon

This is truly a magical place...

The dark blue is the deep deep ocean. The white demarcating the paradise is the crashing waves. The light blue is the crystal clear lagoon. The green is the land.

This is one of the many coconut trees that densely populate this beautiful island. Aitutakians are affectionately known as COCONUTS ! Wonder why! There are many names for coconuts because they are such important part of the culture.

This is simply spectacular, isn't it? The beaches are largely sandy on Aitutaki, and within 10 minutes walk from the hospital where I stayed at. Even lazy ol' me gets going! The water looks inviting, eh? Swimming is good fun, as the water is warm. You needn't worry about hypothermia.

Close-up view of the waves crashing in at the coral reef. There are reef sharks that patrol the perimeter. However, they are quite harmless; I have been told by locals that the sharks are quite scared of humans. About the only dangerous life forms in the lagoon are the moray eels, the stonefish, and naughty human beings. The moray eels have these really really sharp, angled teeth. They can bite deep when aggravated. Apparently, if you are bitten, you should wait until the eel releases you before withdrawing your affected body part. Otherwise the eel could rip your muscles off! Now, with stonefish you have to be careful. As the name implies, they look like stones. BUT, if you step on them (doesn't matter how thick your reef shoes or flippers are) the pain is unbearable. Those who have stepped on stonefish say that they wanted to chop their legs off just to ease the pain! Okay, okay, okay... I know there's no need for gory stories to spoil this picture...

This is One Foot Island. It is a"motu" or islet situated in the lagoon a couple of kilometers off the main island of Aitutaki. There are many "motus" in the lagoon. They are un-inhabited. A couple of friends actually took a boat on new year's eve out to the motu and spent the night out on One Foot Island beach. There's a story that goes with One Foot Island.

A long long time ago, a father and his son were fleeing from their enemies. They sailed to One Foot Island in a canoe. When the arrived, the father insisted that his child walked in front of him. Then, carefully, the father re-traced his son's footstep. This was so that only one set of footprints were visible Upon arriving at a "pandanus" tree, the father hid his son in its thick leaves, told him not to make any sound, and went to the other side of the island. Their enemies arrived, and thought only one person had made it to this island, and that the other had gone to another motu. The footprints led the enemies to the defenseless father who was subsequently killed. After the enemies had left, the boy came out of hiding, found his father's body and wrapped it up with coconut leaves. The boy wanted to drag his father across to a safe burial ground. However, this was not to be, as the leaves fell apart, and the body was lost in the water. And that is the story of One Foot Island.

Snorkelling is fantastic! It doesn't matter if you have never done it before, because you will learn once you get into the water. These pictures show what you will see once underwater. The fish come right up to your goggles!

Now that the sun has set and swimming, fishing, and snorkelling are no more, ISLAND NIGHTS are the way to go. The locals really enjoy dancing. It's not a tourist-y sort of thing. Aitutakians love celebrating their rich, expressive culture.

I hope one day you will visit this place!