Yesterday after clearing in with the health inspector we were directed to see Ricardo, the village police officer. Enquiring with a few locals, we were soon whisked into the back of an open truck, driven a half mile or so and deposited on Ricardo's front yard. Ricardo, hailing from New Zealand, is a lumbering, head-shaven hulk of a man that looks more like a professional rugby player than customs agent. But his role as police officer on the island seems well cast as no one in their right mind would mess with this guy. As it turned out, Ricardo was rather soft spoken, welcoming, polite and extremely helpful. Once cleared in, we ended up spending most of the day within about one square block. The open air primary school, nestled on the lagoon side of the motu (next to Ricardo's home) was in session and changing of classes were sounded by the ringing of a real bronze bell. We sat in the shade of the cyclone center and were allowed internet access to catch up on gmail accounts. There we chatted with Terapii, administrator of the island cyclone center. When we enquired about exchanging currency, we were directed 1-door away to "the bank" - a 1-room office branch of BCI (Bank of the Cook Islands) where Marama, the bank officer kindly assisted us. Sitting in the shade, we chatted some more with Jean Marie (health inspector) and his wife, Kathy. Kathy (from Tahiti) explained that due to the island's small population of about 400, spouse-seeking is usually done off-island. Terapii told us a bit about the history of Manihiki and that her great grandfather, William Greig was the very same who had started the phosphate mining operation on Fanning Is. in the early 1900's. Jean Marie had also mentioned while aboard Radiance that they still consider Fanning to be part of the Cook Islands instead of Kiribati. Though there are clear ties to Fanning, Kiribati does not provide much in the way of support, infrastructure or opportunity for the Micronesian people of Fanning - and there are not many passports. In Fanning, the 2500 population rely almost entirely on subsistence for survival. By contrast, The Cook Islands (a protectorate of NZ) allow free travel between NZ and Australia. Although Manihiki once boasted a population of about 2000 people, most of the youth now go to NZ or Australia to work - leaving behind the resident 400. There is no high school here so once a child reaches that age, they are shipped afar to finish their schooling, and then usually find work afield. This must be very hard on families. Last night - just after we finished our dinner aboard, we heard drumming on the shore and I wanted to go investigate. We quickly finished dishes and set out in the darkness to find the source. Upon landing, we found a bit of a going away party at the church for passengers departing on the plane tomorrow. We were immediately ushered to seats (next to the bank officer, Marama) and encouraged to eat. Politely declining was not an option and so we ate - fried Napoleon fish, tuna, bread fruit, taro root, cold noodle salad. Though stuffed to the gills, we still managed to each finish juice from a chilled coconut juice - drunk from the shell. There we met Tommy, a wild-eyed slight-built Maori Polynesian native sporting a bright colored green shirt. His lighter skin, hair and green eyes gave him a distinctively different look than the very dark Micronesians we'd just seen in Fanning. Tommy had just returned from working in the coal mines of Australia since the 1990's. There he also taught traditional dance to the many displaced Polynesian island natives. Though he came back for a visit, he's now torn with what must certainly be a common dilemma. In Australia, Tommy has been assimilated into a cash economy. To survive, one must have cash. To have cash one must work and to work one must be where there is work - a self perpetuating system. "In Manihiki," he says, "you don't need cash. You eat fish from the sea, coconuts, papaya's and banana's from the trees. Here, I have family land, free land to build a house on." Though his family has land here, they have all gone afar. The elders are trying to persuade Tommy to stay. "Perhaps", he says, "I'll go back and work for a while, bring back materials for my home and come back to stay�....but I have not decided." He is obviously torn. He originally left complaining about lack of jobs and opportunity - not wanting to become an oyster diver. But now, having sewn some oats, perhaps he is ready to objectively compare the diametrically opposed lifestyles and appreciate the beauty and simplicity of staying here. "It used to be that when we had visiting yachts, we'd meet them right here on the beach with a big feast and hula dancers." We were proud of our culture and wanted to share it with visitors. Now I'm trying to get the people to hold onto that culture." With cell phone service, internet and relative wealth from black pearl farming, he has much work to do and it may be too late. From what I can see, Manihiki seems to be doing a pretty good job of balancing prosperity with traditional life. But there are certainly more changes on the horizon. The Prime Minister of the Cooks Islands is rumored to be heading to China for talks of financial assistance. China has cash and cash can fix short term problems. Tempting. But short term fixes usually result in longer-term problems. If the cost of the cash means selling out Cook Island natural fishing rights - for certain and massive over-exploitation, The Cook Islands will certainly loose in the end. "I don't yet know what to do. But, in the meantime" Tommy says with a chuckle, "I have free land here. You can come and live on my land if you want to." a prospect which left me pondering for much of last night�....