Even the locals didn’t want to see us go; they were all out in-force at the Aitutaki Airport for our departure on Sunday, Dec. 28th. Oh, I guess they weren’t really protesting our departure specifically… but they were protesting. You see, for the Aitutakians, Sunday is quite literally considered a day of rest, and a few months ago Air Rarotonga decided to start flying two and from the island on Sundays. This is a big no-no for the people of Aitutaki, and it completely goes against their deep convictions. For hundreds of years they have not done any work on Sundays. (Uh, I’m not sure if Americans would really classify what they do on the other 6 days as “Work” for that matter … hmmm? - but that is neither here nor there.) They take “Day of Rest” to mean just that, I mean you can’t even exert yourself doing things we would consider as R&R - snorkeling, fishing, jogging, or playing tennis (Fred and Kristine learned that one the hard way). So, every Sunday they have a nice little party at the airport to quietly and respectfully protest Air Raro’s decision. The plane only holds about 20 people, and the protesters numbered a couple hundred. Hey, they take their day of rest seriously here on Aitutaki! I kind of liked it. Even though it seemed a bit legalistic, we did admire their conviction and traditions.
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