Another day….another country. Today's port of call is the country of Tonga, specifically the Tongatapu Island and the capital city of Nuku'alofa. And of course, there were excursions such as historic Tonga 2 ½ hours for $60 or a scenic drive for $80 3 ½ hours. A trip to the beach and caves was 4 ½ hours for $100, or a cultural tour for 3 hours at $75, and ancient Tonga for 3 ½ hours for $85. On past stops here, we have done a fun boat trip to Fafa Island, but it is no longer offered. Blowholes, caves and an "umu" cooked lunch (underground oven) was also not available. No flying foxes were to be seen, so they may only be here when the fruit is ripe. And some of the places where these tours went in the past have been destroyed by the tsunami a few years ago. That is a subject the locals do not wish to discuss, so we don't go there with questions.
We noticed that it was very windy when we walked out on the promenade deck after the ship was docked. It was also cooler than we have known it and totally fine with us. Several local Tongan dancers put on a nice welcome show on the dock. Some folks even joined in the dancing on their way out of the wharf. What was missing were the dozen or so tents set up on the pier for souvenirs. It appears they have been moved to the left side of the shoreline by Vuna Road. Perhaps it is better because with the strong winds, the tents might have gone airborne. There was a money-changer on the road near the ship although we do not know why a lot of people do this. It is good for small purchases in stores and cafes we guess. But we know that many locals will be happy to take US dollars. And credit cards are widely accepted here.
There was another drill held for the crew at 9:30am, so we left the ship shortly after it began. It happens to be the best time to send the big emails especially the ones with the photos. We still have to prop open our door, but that's not a problem. We had been warned to hold onto our hats and visors coming down the gangway. And they were correct as the wind was strong. There was no mention of rain, so the breeze kept us cooler.
We headed right for the Talamahu Market with the produce and craft sections. It is much smaller than what we found in previous ports. And also much darker in there. In the craft section, there were far fewer tables, so maybe we are at the end of the tourist season. But that made it good for special sales such as the mother-of-pearl earring and necklace set we purchased. The vendor was nice enough to use a Dremel and carve my name on the heart pendant. Once the tool cut the nacre on the surface, she spelled out my name and then used a black permanent marker pen to highlite the letters on the shiny white backround. It also had two palm trees and Tonga written on it. A reasonable price of $10 will make a nice keepsake.
We toured through the veggie market getting the best photos we could considering the low light. Then we went back outside with a walk to their Catholic church. A few blocks down and over we came upon the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua, one of the most modern churches here. Directly across the road was the huge grounds of the Royal Tombs where the Kings and their families have been interred for many years. And from the decorations we saw on a nearby fence, we realized there had been a royal funeral recently. But who, we did not know.
Directly across from the tombs was the oldest church the Centennial Church of the Free Church of Tonga. It was built in 1885, and survived many a storm. However, during the years we have been visiting, we have seen a lot of deterioration and it does not look as if there is money to repair it. Tsunamis and hurricanes have not been kind to the old structure. The most frequent visitors to the interior are the pigeons these days.
Turning the corner at the end of this street, we came upon the newer Wesleyan Methodist Church. This is where the King and his family attend mass on Sundays. Across the street is the military headquarters with guards to keep watch on the Royal Palace. It is an impressive Victorian-style palace built with timber imported piece by piece from New Zealand. It was constructed for King Tupou I in 1867 and remains the official residence of the current King of Tonga, King Tupou VI and his family. When the family is present, a flag is flown. Today there was no flag, so they must be at their home in the island's center.
Vuna Road continues from here along the lagoon for miles. We noticed that the corner nearest the palace fencing had been cleared and leveled, and the street divided with barriers. That's when we also noticed that the pillars near the fence were wrapped in Tongan cloth with a banner above saying long live the King. The windows of the palace were draped with dark black and blue sashes, indicting once again that someone had died. We needed to ask a local.
Continuing up this paved walkway, we stopped at the Seaview Inn, a place where we always have lunch. However today was Monday, and they were closed. There was a lady near the gate, so we crossed over and asked about a recent death in the royal family. She confirmed a family member had died, but with limited English, she said no more. ( We did learn later that the mother of the Queen had passed away at 75 years old at a New Zealand hospital and recently repatriated for burial here.) The nice lady apologized for not being opened but suggested maybe Little Italy was serving lunch. We knew better since we had "googled it" and they only open for dinner at 5pm. We were out of luck for a local lunch today, although beers may have been nice.
It became apparent to us that another storm or hurricane had hit here since the tsunami caused so much damage a few years ago. The landing that had been constructed for this restaurant was destroyed. All of the peeler cores that had been used for the small dock were floating in the water. Even the rock wall that had somewhat of a seating along the way was no longer intact. The areas that took the worst beating as far as the walkway was concerned were repaired. New saplings of the casuarina trees were planted surrounded with half tires to hold the soil and water. Many signs were posted for no fishing in the lagoon. If that was violated, there would be a $250,000 fine and with the currency exchange of 1 US dollar to 2.47 Tonga $, that would be about half that amount for us. We did see one fellow walk out into the lagoon and it was only up to his knees for many yards out from shore. We have been told that it will take the reef many years to recover from the storm damage. Most all of the fish were gone. And the coral as well.
Stopping at a few benches along the way, and taking care with all of the visiting dogs, we went to the end near the mangroves. Another new restaurant had opened up there several years ago called Little India and they served pizza. We went there for a couple of years, then it closed up. Too bad, as it was good pizza. On the way back, we stopped at Little Italy and they confirmed the fact that they opened at 5pm. We knew that.
So we strolled back to the ship by 2pm, and ordered Caesar salads, a beef panini , and one quesadilla. That would hold us until dinnertime. It actually got cool on the veranda as the clouds came over and the wind picked up. Captain Paul came on the speaker early to say we might have problems leaving the pier due to the high winds. We do not have a long way to go to the next port in Vava'u, so he had time to get it right. The ship was in motion shortly after 6pm and by 6:45pm, there was a sunset. Not a really fabulous one, but OK.
We had our minds set on the sweet and sour breaded shrimp for our mains for dinner. But when we saw tonight's dining room menu, the shrimp was gone and barramundi had been substituted. What, not again? Our waiter Mario said he was not impressed with the barramundi, so we order something totally different. One of us had the very British slices of beef with a Yorkshire pudding and delicious creamy cauliflower. And the other entrée was a mix of mushroom quesadillas with extra sour cream and guacamole and three sauced veal and sage meatballs. That added the protein to the vegetarian dish. Good mix. Desserts were one hot fudge sundae and a mango sorbet….just right.
Looking forward to Vava'u tomorrow. Hopefully their marina restaurant will be opened, at least it says it is on their website.
Bill & Mary Ann
