Honeymoon, Part 1
Before We Arrive & Day 1
There's no better time to reflect on honeymoon than when it's been sub-freezing temperatures here in New York City. Looking back through the photos, it's hard to imagine that it was really only a month or so ago Stacey and I were newly married, on the other side of there world on an island most people had never heard of (us too before booking the trip!).
We left for the first stop of our honeymoon, the day after our wedding (post to come!). It wasn't as far as we expected, only the 1.5 hours from SFO to LAX, and another 10 from LAX to the remote island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
Walked from something like Terminal 2 to Terminal 5. My super long legs served me well here.
Though, whilst at LAX we took this bus for what felt like hours across the airfield to our lonely jet.
When we arrived we were immediately stunned by the tropical quality of he island. I have no idea why we didn't expect this, but when we landed we felt as if we totally could have been in the Philippines or Thailand!
Kia Orana is the Cook way of saying "Be Well/Healthy."
We land on the main and largest island of the Cook Islands, Rarotonga, We breeze through customs and hop onto our private bus to take us to our accomodations
Being a small island (only 1 hr by car around) there were plenty of resorts, but nothing really to our tastes so we opted for a vacation villa on Muri Beach, Crystal Blue Lagoon Villas , easily one of the best decisions we made this trip! Beautifully done interiors, modern adornments, super super spacious (it was meant for 4 people but still more affordable than a resort!), and the property manager, Robyn, was extremely helpful.
Living Room
Master Bedroom, 1 of the 2 bedrooms on the property
When we walked in we were greeted with a breakfast basic filled with local fruit, eggs, and other miscellaneous breakfast items. So what do we do first? Make breakfast and enjoy the view of course!
Because of our red eye flight, we spend the rest of the day meandering the neighborhood, having an incredible fish burger at Vili's Burger Joint, walking along Muri Beach, and enjoying the Muri Beach Night Market for dinner.
Vili's Burger Joint
