First and foremost…..Happy Thanksgiving to all!
There are 176 islands in the country of Tonga. And this is the only country in the South Pacific that is still ruled by a monarchy…..King George Tupou I in the 1800's and his many descendants. The present day ruler is King George Tupou VI, and he recently turned 60. Captain James Cook arrived here in 1777, finding the natives to be among the friendliest of the Pacific Islanders. Eventually, missionaries came here, converting the locals to Christianity. So Tonga has many types of churches.
Most of the population lives in the capital city of Nuku'alofa on the island of Tongatapu. It is a walkable city, and easy to locate the points of interest within a two mile walk around downtown. Maps handed out on the pier were excellent. One nice thing is that most all of the city folk speak English, and they drive the British way as well. Good thing they drive slow, because it takes us tourists a while to get used to the opposite flow of traffic.
Outside the city, you can find beaches, snorkeling, sailing, and swimming. Going out to some of the islets are great places for water activities. There is an area of water-spouting blowholes (when they are working), and trees with fruit bats, called flying foxes. Traditional food is cooked in the underground ovens, and kava ceremonies also happen here. Shore excursions included many tours to see some of these sights and activities.
On past visits, we went on an island tour, as well as took a boat to Fafa Island for the afternoon. The best reason for the small island visit was that we were here on a Sunday, and most everything was closed. However, Sunday church services are well worth seeing and hearing, as the church choirs are pretty good. The one time we strolled to the newer Free Wesleyan Church, we ran right into the King and his family exiting the parking lot in their limo. He rolled down the window and said hi, while waving to the crowd. Good timing. Truthfully, we were really there for the sighting of the fruit bats that hang in the huge tree next to the church. We got to see both the king and the flying foxes.
So today, there was a welcome group of singers and dancers at the spacious pier, Vuna Wharf. Years ago, we used to share the commercial and ferry dock, which was much further from the center of town. We followed the map and went directly to the produce and handicraft market called Talamahu Market. It is a huge 2 story building quite close to the pier. Half of the lower section has the Tongan arts and crafts, baskets, and tapa cloth items. The other half is a produce market, while upstairs has clothing and island jewelry. We took photos, but bought nothing today. Some of the wood carvings, tapa products, and woven baskets can be pricey, although they are willing to bargain here.
Many historic buildings are in this section such as three churches, government quarters, the Royal Tombs, and many shops and cafes. Doing some internet searches, we found a new pizza place has opened at the beginning of the year. The name was a funny one…..Fatty Boys Pizza. That should not be hard to find. On the way to the produce market, we had passed by Marco's Pizza, but it looked totally closed. It is still on the ship's map, but these are not always reliable. Like for instance, Little Italy, a lovely small hotel and restaurant, is recommended on HAL's list. However what they fail to mention is that is opens for dinner at 5pm. No lunch.
So we happened to walk by what looked like an ice cream stall with the sign, Fatty Boys Pizza on the outside wall. Boy, this sure did not look like what we saw on the internet. So we asked, and they said yes, this was it. Perhaps they sell the pizza by the slice, but there was no café attached to it. So we changed our minds, and went for our long walk as usual.
This hike took us past the bat tree and the newer Wesleyan Church. We did see a few bats hanging, but nothing like we usually see in February. Perhaps when the fruit is gone, so are the bats. Across the road from the church is the Royal Palace, used only for official functions. Built in pieces shipped from New Zealand, it was erected in 1867. It sure makes for a good photo, even if the king and his family do not live there anymore.
Continuing up Vuna Road, the seaside road, we followed the path for a few miles. At least the weather was not extremely hot today, and there was a saving breeze. Hoping to see the swimming pigs, we only spotted two small piglets. Seems that the adult pigs were gone, probably turned into bacon and ham by now. What we did see were more dogs than people. They seem to be attracted to people along this street, because many locals will come here for a picnic or lunch break. And they feed the dogs. Most of the wandering dogs today were females with puppies. We only saw a couple of males, and hoped they stayed clear of us. Remember, a friend of ours did get bit here several years back, through no fault of his own, other than the dog did not like his bike.
We went as far as the mangroves, watching some of the locals walking out in the low tide to gather the sea worms. Some shore birds were working the sand and rocks for these delectable treats. The few boats that were in this shallow surf seemed to be stranded until the tide came up. One nice thing about this hike is that there are many benches along the way. And we gladly utilized them even if it was for only a couple of minutes.
Turning back once we reached the now-closed Little India, we made or way back to the Seaview Restaurant and Lodge, which faced this same area of the ocean. A few years back, we also stopped here for beers. Today they had plenty of space in their screened dining room, so we took a table inside, and ordered the local beer, Maui. Cold and refreshing, we really needed to re-hydrate. Although we had water, it was not enough. Then we ordered two interesting open-face sandwiches of toast, ham, pineapple and cheese. A side salad came with it, and it was a perfect lunch ending with a shared dessert of ice cream and fruit. The original owner had sold this property a year ago, and the new locals have taken it over. In our conversation with the waitress, we found out that the closed Little India was sold to the Chinese, and they would be developing it soon. Instead of Indian and pizza, they will serve Asian cuisine. Anyway, spending an hour here was most relaxing. Or maybe it was the beer…..
Downtown has hustle and bustle, so we were happy we had left town when we did. Back on the pier, we checked out all of their treasures and added one more t-shirt to the collection. Coming back around 4pm, we never left the comfort of our room and veranda. Watching the sail out of the harbor, while listening to the local singers, was really nice. We caught the sunset before we headed for dinner.
The dining room entrance was dressed up with a real cooked turkey displayed on a platter. The chairs were decked out with gold and orange covers, and the wait staff were wearing long sleeve shirts and aprons. One of us had the traditional turkey dinner, while the other one had the fish entrée of arctic char. The comment was it was excellent…again. Dessert was pumpkin pie and one cranberry clofoutis. Then our assistant waiter brought an extra dessert of pecan pie with ice cream. We had not ordered it, but shared it anyway.
We even had time to watch some of the show, Abba Fab, four singers that sure sounded British. They sang the familiar Abba songs from years ago.
One more Tongan port tomorrow……Vava'u.
Bill & Mary Ann
