Avarua

Avarua is the capital of the Cook Islands and the only town of any real substance. There are a number of small villages, but they don't have the definition of Avarua. This post adds to the overview (see another post) with more detail about this part of the island.
The 1st 2 posts look at the divided boulevard through downtown. Stores are to the left; the ocean is to be he right.
The overview talked of the hostels for each island. The 3rd picture is a couple of these. The performance hall is across the street to the right.
The 4th picture is the oldest school on the island. Apii means to teach or a place to teach.
The 5th picture, taken just before the skies opened up, is street art whose significance is in the message. It is a very abbreviated history, beginning from the indigenous creation myth to modern time, symbolized by the airplane.
The 6th picture looks across a modern cemetery to a raised marae (see other posts) in the background. Cemeteries like this only have foreigners and VIPs. Local families traditionally bury the dead on their own land. It is still the case today.
The 7th picture has a church hall in the front and the oldest church on the island to the rear. It is under renovation for the 200th anniversary (see the overview post). The 8th picture is of the stone where the 1st Christian sermon on the island was preached. This location in a modern traffic circle is the actual location, and the stone was moved back here from where it had been kept.
The 9th picture is the courthouse. The story has it that the current justice minister, in his youth, was a defendant in a suit and was talked into burning down the courthouse. He was caught and did his time. Since his release, he got involved in politics. I'm told that now he is one of the most popular politicians here.
The last picture, in front of the national police headquarters, is a group of officers doing what looked to me to be line dancing. Unlikely, I know.Leia mais