Our port of call for today is Neiafu, the capital of Vava'u. It is located in the northern group of 61 Tongan islands belong to Vava'u. By the looks of it, this has to be their yachting playground, thanks to their many sheltered coves and atolls. There is deep-sea fishing for blue marlin, as well as sea caves and shipwrecks to explore while snorkeling.
But their biggest attraction is swimming with the humpback whales from June to November. They arrive here from Antarctica to calve, raise their young, then breed for another generation. Unfortunately, we think the season has ended, and the likelihood of spotting whales is slim.
We calculated that this is our fourth time to visit here. On our first visit, we took a tour of the island which took use to a vanilla plantation as well as the Ene'io Botanic Garden. The second time, we actually walked to the plantation, although there are two tours that took folks snorkeling on a ten acre motu, Nuku Island. Then there was a boat ride to Swallows' Cave and coral gardens for snorkeling.
Doing some research online, we found a good restaurant that was not on the ship's port guide. That would be our last destination today.
The Amsterdam was early to sail into Koko Bay, and as this was a tender port, the ship was positioned within a 20 minute ride to the city. The tender ticket pick up point was once again in the Ocean Bar, but since we had arrived early, those who were in line were allowed to go down to deck A, and board the boats. Then there was a window, where those who were ready to go, could do so immediately. After that, the tickets were handed out like usual. As for us, we were in no hurry. Nothing opened up that early, so by the time we were leaving around 10am, many people were already coming back to the ship.
This can be a tricky tender process, because of the tides. But now that we are using the newer tender boats, access to these piers have been a bit easier. Once ashore, we walked to the produce and craft market near the dock. There we saw the usual fruit and veggies, but we also saw something different. It was a massive root, similar to taro, but four feet long, and really thick. Turned out to be hearts of palm, although you would never recognize it the way we see it when served.
The back half of this building was set up with craft vendors selling tapa cloth and mats. Tapa cloth is made from the mulberry bark, and is considered a very important traditional gift. They offered fans, artwork, paintings, and even boxes or purses made with this cloth. Another part of Tongan crafts are the woven mats. The mats are woven by women that gather in small groups, and are treasured possessions. They can be presented at births, weddings, funerals, and any special occasion. And there was jewelry which included blister pearls, which look like a buried pearl that did not develop correctly. They fuse to the shell, and are covered with nacre, mostly creamy white. They had many pearl and shell jewelry sets, which were quite affordable. The more you bought, the cheaper they got. And of course, later in the day, the prices fell.
We got to talking to one of the nice vendors, who explained about the whale migration. She said that most of the whales will hide from the tourists, because they really don't like to be bothered, especially when they have their young. There are green turtles here, and the locals are allowed to harvest them. And finally, when we asked about the kids, she said they were out of school today, and off for the entire month of December. It is the beginning of their summertime. Ended up buying three sets of shell and pearl jewelry for a really good price, then left before we did any more damage.
Going up the steep road, we walked to the church of St. Joseph Cathedral. It is the landmark of the city. From there, we followed the road, going in the same direction we always walk. We must have had at least 10 offers of rides from the locals. Yes, they are that friendly, and no one walks here on this island. They think we are crazy to walk in the hot sun. Actually, today was pleasant, and there was a wonderful breeze coming off of the water.
Going about half of the way we usually go, we made it to the high school before turning back. Our time was limited, with all aboard by 2:30pm. And we did want to stop at the seaside restaurant on the way back. Taking enough island photos, we found the sign board for the Mango Restaurant, which was accessed by a steep driveway, or a flight of stairs. It would be worth it for the cold beer and breeze that blew through the open-air restaurant. The Mango was far from fancy, but the food was really good. Can't go wrong with their Hawaiian pizza and Maui draft beer. It was nice watching the yachts and small boats in the bay right at our feet. We ended the meal with sharing a banana split.
Walking back to the pier by the way of the main street in town, we saw their fire and police departments. Straight down the road was the pier once again. This time we checked out the souvenir tables set up on the dock area. We found much the same items we saw yesterday in the Nuku'alofa market, only some things seemed to be much higher here. There were more things for the ladies, and very few t-shirts for the fellows.
We were back to the ship by 2pm, and stayed on the veranda until we sailed out of the harbor. The scenery was beautiful here as the island has many coves and bays, all covered in jungle-like foliage. We even saw some tropic birds with their long tail feather streaming behind them. Spotting a whale or two would have been nice, but that did not happen.
At 6:30pm, we were invited to a small gathering of the President's Club members in the Lido Pool area. They had cordoned off the grandstand where the band plays, since our group only numbers 12. Henk wisely set up two stand-up tables, since he knows that Howard and Gyl and the two of us prefer that to sitting in chairs. That way, the officers can move freely and easily join us. The Captain was the first to arrive, and shared some info about the cruise. When he moved on to the rest of the group, we had Thomas, the new Food and Beverage manager join us. He is from Germany and was fun to talk with, as he shared photos of his family and his two big dogs at home. He admits that he is not missing the cold weather at home.
We were served drinks of our choice, and three different types of sliders. They were like mini burgers, but quite filling. After the party, we did go to dinner in the dining room, but had one appetizer and the entrée. The marlin they served tonight was excellent again, and the small chicken Caesar salad was good as always. A little dessert, and we were on our way.
Showtime was a performance by the singers and dancers with "On Tour", which we have seen on past cruises. It seems that this group has been onstage way more that on the grand voyage. Their shows are still popular with the crowd.
Tomorrow, will be a repeat of today, meaning that we will cross the International Dateline on our way to Niue. So the date will be November 29th, the second time around. Confusing, huh?
Bill & Mary Ann
