Snorkelling, diving and chocolate Mon 6th Jan

This morning we were up and about early enough to enjoy the dulcet tones of the local rooster choir. 

The turtle snorkel touring party were out of the house by 6.15am (a struggle for some). However the experience looked amazing based on the photos. They were in their own group with a tour guide and a photographer, and it was the first tour of the day, so the turtles were all feeling super friendly and photogenic. The tour, plus 'coconut experience' took a little over two hours so they had to find their way back to the house using the Rarotonga bus service plus a bit of Shanks's pony. On the way up the drive, they struck up a conversation with the lovely farmer down the way and the deal was made for us all to come for a Chocolate Factory tour in the afternoon in exchange for a box of delicious passionfruit which were growing wild alongside his house - more about the Chocolate Factory later.

The divers also had a great morning, with two dives just outside the main Avarua Harbour entrance. Our dive guides, Amaley (pronounced Amelie!) and Chris were very knowledgeable and professional, though friendly and welcoming too. The dive shop cat's name was Leslie, and he was a gnarled old fellow, slim, (pretty much reminded me of Marvin!) The dive van was a rugged old rusted beast, and we had to leave opening the sliding door to Amaley and Chris because there was a specific 'knack'. Out in the boat, the swell and surge were quite strong, and became stronger, so the second dive was brought in closer and cut a little short to ensure we were safely back on terra firma before the weather packed in. The divemaster told us he cancelled the afternoon's dives, and will possibly not go out again until the weekend as the forecast is not too flash. There was definitely a big mental game going on for me to go out diving but it really is the most incredible experience. The coral reefs are otherworldly, rising up from the white sand and surrounded by all kinds of sea life, who pay humans absolutely no attention at all and just go about their day. When it is a bit rough, the sand swirls along the bottom like a sandstorm on the moon (I imagine!) It's interesting to see the little fish, flat ones in particular, getting tossed about by the currents too. Everything seems to move in slow motion, and it's so individual because you can't talk or communicate readily. We did spot a turtle lying at the base of a coral rock, but it honestly could have been a plastic one stuck there for tourists as it didn't move at all! The water was very clear, making it easy to lose track of the depth, especially as the seafloor dropped away beneath us. I think I need to make sure I go diving regularly to keep on top of my nerves, as the anticipation part is quite hard work but the reality is actually quite fun!

Naps and toasted sandwiches in the early afternoon, then we wandered down the road to the Chocolate Factory. Old Willy Wonka was just a very cool character, very earnest, knowledgeable and honest about the growing cocoa industry here in Rarotonga. He showed us the life cycle of a cocoa tree, from the seed pod, to young trees on his farm, to an 8-year-old tree showing its first fruit and the flowers growing on it (from which the seed pods grow). He showed us the steps in making cocoa mass (by fermenting cocoa seeds), and then cocoa nibs (by washing and drying the fermented seeds). When the nibs are ground to a paste, this produces 100% dark chocolate, and this is what they sell to chocolate producers. The dark chocolate is mixed with other ingredients (mostly sugar and milk solids) to form the chocolate we buy from, eg, Whittakers. He explained how the lower grade nibs require extra oil to be added to get the right texture (sound familiar Cadbury??) and also talked about the cocoa industry here in Rarotonga. He is part of a co-operative of Organic Cocoa Farmers who all have mini cocoa farms. At the moment they have about 3000 cocoa trees, but they need to have about 12000 before they will be able to produce enough 100% chocolate for selling to a big chocolate producer like Whittakers. The life cycle for a tree from seed to producing pods is around 9 years, and because they are farming organically, they clear and plant the land manually (spending 6 hours a day on the farm, and the rest of their time earning income by doing tours like ours) - so it's a long timeline.  He showed us his farm, which has about 50 trees planted (about 2 years old) and he is clearing the rest of the paddock for more. In between the cocoa trees, the farmers plant other plants like chillis, kumara, guavas and banana trees so that the whole area is productive and organic. The Chocolate 'Factory' was literally his garden and a lean-to beside his house - he mentioned that the co-operative do some of the processing but he had little plastic containers of cocoa seeds at all the stages of preparation that we were able to smell and touch and taste. At the end, we were able to taste test some of the other products his group produces, including banana wine, passionfruit and chilli liqueur, cocoa vodka and vanilla extract. He was such a lovely genuine guy, and so passionate about what he was doing - we all loved the tour and learned heaps, and were glad the opportunity had presented itself the way it had, as we may not have sought it out otherwise.

Peter and Caelan made a mercy dash to the supermarket and then Caelan and Shannon cooked a delicious dinner of wraps which we enjoyed on the balcony. The lizards put on a bit of a floorshow, chasing insects and then taking on moths. Two lizards fought over one moth, and then, as the crowd became more and more invested, there were literal cheers and groans as the moths v lizard fights played out. (The lizards won!)

It has felt a bit cooler this afternoon/evening, dare I say comfortable even! Compulsory cannonbombs and swim to complete the day!

Turtle tour pics

Turtle tour pics

Turtle tour

Turtle tour

Leslie the dive shop cat - pretty similar build to Marvin

Looking good pre-dive

They loved what I did on my dive so much they made a sign out of it

Rarotonga from a distance

Details of the dive for our logbooks

Chilling in the afternoon

More chilling in the afternoon

Not sure about the cocoa seeds

Not sure but I'll eat one anyway

Baby cocoa tree, about 15 months

Cocoa farm emerging

'Companion planting' of chillis, kumara and bananas

Willy Wonka was an awesome character

Cocoa flower

Willy Wonka's doggo

Fermenting cocoa seeds are a little confronting

Cleaned and dried cocoa seeds start to smell chocolatey

Yes please I'll try some cocoa nibs

Vanilla extract

Trying out the banana wine

The chilli part of Chilli and Passionfruit hit hard in the throat

Coconut shucking lessons

Dinner on the deck

Amelie showing us how to do selfies

Compulsory c-bombs

Highest bomb award goes to....