Paula and I laid on the beach for awhile but the wind was so strong we considered tying ourselves to palm trees. We felt very nappy but avoided dozing off by walking the beach, wading, and snapping pictures until dinner.
After dinner we were entertained by Cook Island dancers. Interesting because, while similar to the Rapa Nui dance, it was also very different - much more aggressive and war like. The hip movements even more exaggerated - reminiscent of belly dancing. We invited the flight crew to join us for dinner and they all joined in with the dancers. After the dinner we were more than ready for bed. By the time we laid down we had put in a 23 hour day. With the surf crashing on the reef we slept like babies and woke up this morning feeling great.
I forgot to mention we picked up our NG photographer in Easter Island. Cris Rainier was a photo assistant to Ansel Adams and an interesting man. He missed the flight to Peru - he was stranded on Mount Everest for several days. He photographed four people setting a sky diving record - of course, this required that he jump, too. They jumped from 30,000' over Everest and landed between 14,000 and 16,000 feet.
Chris Rainier with Micheline Place on Rapa Nui.
Our flight plan has changed for today. We originally planned a stop in Fiji for fueling. The pilots felt yesterday they could bypass Fiji and make a non-stop run to New Guinea so took on an appropriate amount of fuel; 34 tons. The weather forecast changed which will require re-fueling but we'll be too heavy to land in Fiji due to the additional fuel so, it's on to Cairn, Australia. From there, it's a short hop to Port Moresby.
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