Wise Woman Travel

On the patio closest to ours, a father is having an earnest chat with his pre-school daughter.

“But of course Santa knows where you are,” he tells her. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Calgary or the Cook Islands. Santa always knows just where to find you. That’s the cool thing about Santa.”

His little girl appears mollified by his explanation, and runs off to the playground hand in hand with her friend, both of them singing, “Santa Claus is Coming To Town.” She can certainly be forgiven for harboring a few doubts about having left Christmas behind in snowy Alberta. It’s 27C this afternoon, and a light breeze is stirring the palm fronds. Although the town of Avarua is busier than usual as Cook Islanders come home for Christmas, no one’s rushing out to the mall for a last minute buying binge, because there is no mall to rush off to.  On Monday, we noticed an electrician in a bucket truck just getting around to putting up Christmas lights across the main road “downtown.”

That said, as the week tiptoes closer to Christmas Day,  it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go around Rarotonga.  Even though it’s not the Christmas Island, it’s become our Christmas Island this year. So it’s no wonder that the lyrics to “How’d You Like To Spend Christmas on Christmas Island?”, recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby to Jimmy Buffett to Bob Dylan, have been running through my head every day since we got here:

Let’s get away from sleigh bells

Let’s get away from snow

 

Let’s make a break some Christmas, dear
I know the place to go

How’d ya like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?

How’d ya like to spend the holiday away across the sea?

How’d ya like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?
How’d ya like to hang a stocking on a great big coconut tree?

How’d ya like to stay up late like the islanders do?
Wait for Santa to sail in with your presents in a canoe

If you ever spend Christmas on Christmas Island
You will never stray for everyday your Christmas dreams come true.