Today's port of call was Nuku'alofa on the island of Tongatapu, Tonga. The country of Tonga has a total of 176 islands with a recorded history over 3000 years. This monarchy, the last one in the South Pacific, has lasted 1000 years, and they are most proud of it.
Captain Cook was here in 1776. He has been everywhere, it seems. The missionaries followed afterwards, and Christianity became prevalent in these islands. Nuku'alofa is the capital and home to the Royal Family. It is also a most walkable city with beaches , snorkeling, sailing, and swimming, but mostly in the outskirts or at nearby islets.
The ship was docked by 8am at Vuna Wharf, originally built in 1928. A railway ends here and was used for loading copra and crops. Recently, this pier was re-built with the help of the Chinese government. We were greeted with a band and a group of natives singing a welcome to us.
Some of the tour group were already heading off to the waiting buses. There were five land tours priced from $60 to $100 and lasted from 2 ½ to 4 ½ hours. The other excursions were adventure or water tours from $140 to $380 and were longer in duration. The expensive one was a swim with the whales, although a warning came with the tour: the humpback migration is about over, so no sightings can be guaranteed. Not sure how they justify the price, since the lunch was a boxed one. Come to think of it, we checked our photos from last year, and we had pictures of dolphins and whales, sighted when we left the port. So we do hope the folks that booked that tour got to see some whales.
Choosing to stay in town, we enjoyed a nice breakfast in the dining room first, having our fill of berries. Our walk today would include lunch, so we did keep it light.
Leaving the ship by 10:30am, we picked up two maps from the information gals. These are so handy, since one had a walking map of the city, and the other had a complete map of the island and surrounding islets. All the facts were given for each major site.
As we exited the port gate, we took a left turn towards the Talamahu Market, where Tongan produce is sold, along with artistic arts and crafts. They had hand bags, fans, baskets, and wood carvings, along with traditional-type jewelry.
Going up the ramp to the second level, we found better jewelry and island clothing. Hundreds of colorful t-shirts were for sale along with sarongs and Sunday-go-to-church dresses. Lots of kids clothes too.
From there, we made our way to the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua, their Catholic church built in 1980. A private school for little ones is on this property. They were out for recess, so the boys and some girls begged us to take their photos. Kids are so cute no matter where you go.
Across the road from the church, is the fenced-off Royal Tombs, dating back to 1893. It is reserved for Tongan Royalty.
Near to this cemetery is the Centennial Church or the Free Church of Tonga. It is the most striking structure because it is built of coral rock dating back to 1888. This church operates the high school nearby. It was not oen today, although we have seen the inside on past trips here.
Down the street, we took a right turn, and arrived at the Centenary Church originally built in 1885. It was called the Royal Church, because this is where the king and his family attend services on Sundays. A few years ago, we happened upon this church just as he and his family were being driven back to their home by the golf course. Today, there was a service in progress, and stopped long enough to hear the parishioners singing harmoniously. This particular church, built in 1952, is called the Free Wesleyan Church, and holds up to 2000 people.
Across the road is His Majesty's Army Forces, which is part of the bases for 700 soldiers. There are three bases on Tongatapu. Across this road, is a tree that houses many fruit bats, or flying foxes as they call the here. Since it was fairly cool today and overcast, the bats were not too active. They were content just "hanging" around.
The Royal Palace was down the end of this road. This impressive building was brought over in pieces (pre-fabricated) in 1867 all the way from New Zealand. Although the king and his family do not live here, he does attend official functions here. A large fenced green field extends from the house to the seawall. It is called Pangal Lahl. It is used for royal events, feasts, kava ceremonies (yes, they have them here too), and parades.
On the corner where the road turns, we saw the British High Commissioner's Residence. It is called the "White House" and is used for government functions. It has cannons in the front yard. There are two Royal graves there, the two wives of King George Tupou 1, buried in plots surrounded with casuarina trees.
A bit further up this seaside road is the Mala'o'aloa Cemetery, which is also for royal people. The graves are mounded up with sand filled with seashells. A huge handmade quilt is displayed in this site.
From here, our walk was simply a pleasure. First of all, it was fairly cool and comfortable. Usually we are dying of the heat, but with the overcast skies, it kept the heat down. We're sure that the ladies that had waded out into the low tides of the reef off shore, were glad it was not extremely hot. They were collecting something in the sand under the shallow water. Think we remember that they were gathering a large worm, that is considered a delicacy here. One of the ladies actually showed us her bucket full of these the last time we were here.
We had hoped to see the "fishing" pigs, but they were absent today. Maybe later, if we are lucky……..
It was a long hike, but we found Little India, the restaurant where we had the best pizza last year. Boy that sounded good. Anyway, they were just opening, and we had the best seats in the house……outside at a table under a gazebo. We happened to be the first customers of the day.
Bad news…………upon asking for pizza, we were told that their pizza oven was broken, and they have not been able to locate the part to fix it. No pizza for us. Even though the main menu had mostly Indian cuisine, we did find a page of light lunches. This was funny. We each ordered a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, expecting one sandwich. Not sure that was enough, we added French fries. Well, when the food came, the sandwiches were double….two sandwiches each. And the fries? They came in a large bowl, heaped in a pile. Hot and salty, just the way we like them.We asked for the local beer, which was cold and tasty. This must be the typical Tongan portions……ample. Good thing we had a long walk back to burn off those calories. But who's counting at this point? Not us…….
We sat for two hours before heading back towards town. By the time we passed by the grade school, the kids were getting out. Some had made their way to the water, but unlike last year, the boys were not in the water catching little fish and eating half of them raw. Yes, we really did witness this.
Also on the way back, we saw what we think was a wedding party driving towards one of the churches. The lead cars had handmade quilts on the roof, which we understand are the gifts that would be given to the newlyweds. The following cars had young folks that yelled and waved to us. It's the younger crowd and little kids that are the most friendly here. Much different than the people in Fiji, who all said hello, or bula, bula.
And that's when we spotted them………the fishing pigs. They were back, rooting in the wet sand with their snouts and feet, searching for those same worms the locals had been collecting. These hogs are not wild, but are kept behind the homes along the water's edge. We both said, "Who let the pigs out? Oink, oink." Fun to watch, they seemed to love being in the cool water, and could care less that we were so close. Today, there were four of them, all sows.
Time to get back to the ship, we slowly walked a different direction through town. Many more cruisers were exploring the town, since the early tours had gotten back by now. We passed by the Nuku'alofa Men's Club, a private club for guys only where they can play snooker and drink beer. On main street, we took a picture of Rain Tree in the Raintree Square, dating back to WWII in 1941. A huge tree marks the spot, giving shade for many businesses here.
Government buildings such as thee Parliament and Supreme Courthouse may be the buildings under re-construction. A large sign indicated the money for this project was supplied by a Shanghai company.
Wanting to check out the souvenir tents, we strolled up and down the isles. The typical trinkets were for sale, but also many Tongan handicrafts. Nothing was inexpensive, so that tells us many ships come here.
We worked on photos until sail away. Yesterday, we had received a notice warning about the exhaust particles that would be emitted through the stacks one hour prior and one hour before leaving a port. The messy soot, which stains clothing, has become problematic, causing the staff to move the sail away party to the lower promenade deck. We have found that if you know the direction of the wind, it is still OK to stand at the aft railing on deck eight. At least it is not crowded back there anymore. All of the appetizers and drink specials are gone too. They go where the people go…..deck three.
Once again, there was no special sunset, or sightings of dolphins or whales. A little disappointing, since we did see some last year.
Dinnertime found only four of us at the table. Kind of nice to visit with our British couple…….one-on-one. We had chicken kiev, and it was delicious.
The entertainer this evening was a unique performer by the name of Pingxin Xu. He played the hammer dulcimer, a very different type of instrument. He "wowed" the audience for sure.
Tomorrow's port is another one in Tonga……the island of Vava'u. Only it will be a short stay with all aboard at 2:30pm.
Bill & Mary Ann
Tonga, another South Seas nation
The welcome bands and singers
Dancing and singing
The Royal Palace - 1867
Sure looked like rain, but it never did
Souvenir tents and buses wait
Long walk to the shoreline
Fish under the pier
Amsterdam docked
Portable post office
Like we said, a long walk to shore
T-shirts added the color
Tables of treasures
The current king, Tupou VI
From days gone by
Ice cream is always good
Makati Talamahu – produce market
Assorted vegetables
Tongan-crafted fans
Woven ceremonial belts and fans
Purses made from tapa cloth
Matching sets
Tapa art (very expensive)
Carrots and bell peppers
Healthy tomatoes
Short, fat carrots
Produce downstairs, clothing upstairs
Cabbage and tomatoes
Nice island clothing
Veggies down below
Every color
Wood carvings
Bags of peanuts
Walking through town
Largest city in Tonga
Marco's pizza not open yet
Rooster and hen
Typical Tongan house
Bright colors
Tiger Bar
A building on the school property
Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua & school ground
Kids out for recess (church bells)
Letting off steam
Stairs to the basilica
Most kids do not wear shoes
Front entrance to the basilica
Catholic
Indian curry house and a ukulele shop
Centennial Church - 1888
Story behind this coral rock church
The Royal Tombs - 1893
A king was buried here a few years ago
The newer church
Royal Church - 1952
Local mom keeps her baby outside the church
Kids outside the church having fun
She was about two years old
This church holds 2000 people
Attending in their Sunday best
So cute
Fragrant tree blossom
His Majesty's Armed Forces
Across from the Royal Church
Lazy dog
Fruit bats
Gate to the Royal Palace
The king was not there today (no flag was flying)
More colonial buildings
Home on the water
Royal Palace sign
Constructed piece by piece from New Zealnd
Dedication plack
Ship was docked right in town
Vuna Road by the sea
Clever way to use old tires
A very white building
Mala'o'aloa Cemetery
Reserved for royal people only
Good shade tree
Looking for some of that shade
A decent lodge along Vuna Road
Inviting stop
Menu of the Seaview
View of the ship