I would have to say that nothing impressed us more on our visit to Palmerston Island (in the Cook Islands) than the friendship and generosity of our "host" family. Paul had set up a mooring that held us safely during a 30+ knot blow one scary night. His mooring is one of two that exist on the west side of the island that survived the last cyclone. We were met at the mooring and tied two of our lines to it. They came back later to bring us ashore for a communal Bar-B-Que and fishing contest awards.

Palmerston is fairly remote and visitors are asked to bring mail, basic supplies (rice, sugar, veggies, and other food and clothing). We were glad that we were able to do this because the "supply" ship had not come in months. Unfortunately, this is the same "supply" ship that goes to all the northern islands and as we visited Suwarrow and Penrhyn we found their situation to be worse!!

This atoll belongs to the descendents of William Marsters, who settled there in 1860 with his three wives, then 17 kids and 54 grand children. They have a tradition of welcoming seafarers and being an example of the Gospel message. We were impressed. Palmerston is the only English speaking island in the Cooks - all the other islands have their own native tongue. We found that the Penrhyn people have a distinctly different dialect from the people on Rarotonga.

We usually try to arrive at a new island early in the day. So, we tied up to the mooring and saw some of the ladies fishing from the reef. We learned later that they were part of a fishing contest. The men were fishing from their boats outside the reef and there were prizes for the largest fish and the largest total catch. Our host, Paul, won the overall prize.

When we got ashore we were impressed by the neatness of the community. People take a great deal of pride in their homes and the areas around their homes. They have decorative plantings as you see to the right.

While walking around the island (Only one island of the atoll is inhabited - by 50+/- people). it would very discourteous to pass by one of the "Auntie's" home without stopping and greeting her! This is the inside of one such home - quite pleasant!

To the right is a typical scene while we walked around the island. These are three of Paul and Sue's children. Scott's on the right.

The lagoon is incredibly beautiful(left). We did go snorkeling here, but it was after the night of 30+ knots of wind which had stirred up the sand and diminished the visibility. What you see is clumps of coral which usually shelter small fish and other marine life. In the distance is the other side of the lagoon and one of the surrounding islets, called motus.

This is one of my first attempts at underwater photography - at Palmerston (right). This is Kuhl's stingray (Dasyatis kuhlii). He has a tail spine which is capable of inflicting a painful and sometimes fatal wound. Near him are some sea cucumbers (Holothuria atra). Sea cucumbers can spurt some tubules that are toxic and cause a slight rash.

We went out on the reef spear fishing with Paul, Sue and Palmer (left). Believe me, spearing a fish is a skill that takes practice! We speared quite a few parrot fish which are a favorite of many - visitors and locals.

Because of the history of the island, English is the first language of the people on Palmerston. As a contrast, there are many people in the rest of the Cook Islands that don't speak English very well at all. We visited the local school and here the teacher is telling us about the curriculum. It's a one room school house (except for kindergarten) and students progress at their own rate. It's a home school method that works well in this situation.