The Zaandam basically sailed north to a group of islands called Vava'u. They have a far different look about them compared to the low-laying island of Tongatapu. This area is most popular with the yachting and fishing crowds, as well as divers. And with the early-riser among us he spotted a rare sighting of a Pacific imperial pigeon with greens wings and a grey body. There is also another bird to be seen here called the Tongan whistler, basically yellow and black, but we have never seen one. A few frigates flew up high and some black birds flew right above the water in large flocks.
It took all evening of sailing to get here, or by plane, a one-hour flight. Too bad the weather was rather dismal this morning. It sure did not appear to be a good beach or snorkel day either, although that did not stop the many beach folks from going somewhere or anywhere to find that beach. The Zaandam sailed in between the numerous islands and islets on the way to the village of Neiafu located somewhat in the center of the grouping. Tendering began while we were eating breakfast with "green" tender tickets being called a few at a time. Warnings were repeated over and over not to bring any food or drink (other than bottled water) to shore. That includes coffee. Last year, cruise director Daniel, used to add not to bring over any souffles, as a joke of course. We have to add here that it has not been stressed that the bottled or canned water must be commercially-sealed, meaning that lots of folks used their personal thermoses to bring the water. We have not seen any of those being confiscated on this trip.
Sitting where we do in the Pinnacle Grill, we do not miss too much as the tour people file by our "window" on their way to the show lounge. You might be surprised how many folks we see carrying huge loads of stuff in a backpack they should not be toting. We are talking snorkel equipment, aqua shoes, the blue and white heavy beach towels, cameras, cover-ups, and changes of clothing. These back packs can easily out-weigh the folks wearing them. The sporting goods stores where they live must love their business. And we are happy for them to have this opportunity to enjoy nature. Just hope their backs survive the day.
Our buddy Nancy stopped by with the state of affairs concerning some of the odd happenings on the ship. Wish we could help solve some of the problems here, but no one seems to know anything……how convenient is that? It's not like the old days when you could pop into someone's office on deck three for a quick visit, since most of the curtains are drawn and "velcroid" together. At least Hotel General Manager, Leonie was available as her door was always opened.
So here are some of the tours offered here today. A Talehau beach and swim excursion for 3 hours was $60, while a Polynesian cultural tour was 3 hours for $100 with fruit and water. The cultural land tour ran 3 ¾ hours for $120 with dessert & fruit, then Nuku Island & swallows cave was 5 hours for $200 with a packed lunch and one water. That was it.
We left the ship around 10:15am and joined the short line on deck A forward. Shortly afterwards, opened tenders were announced. It has been our experience so far, that if we waited for that announcement, the line could go down the hallway by then. Today we got it right. Due to strict speed limits, the ride was 15 to 20 minutes to reach the tender landing. By the way, Vava'u has about 4000 people that cater to the yachties, mostly from New Zealand or Australia.
Once at the landing, which has to change with the rising and falling of the tides, we watched a small group of locals sing and dance their greeting performance. There used to be many more souvenir tables set up under tents on this pier, but today there were less than half. We explored the Utakalongala Market right near the tender landing. The vendors had gone to some trouble arranging their produce just so for quick sales. They sure have healthy-looking veggies and fruits, especially the pineapples and melons. Stepping inside the building, we found a series of tables set up with lots of handmade jewelry, similar to what we saw yesterday in Nuku'alofa. They had woven baskets, weavings, paintings, and assorted costume jewelry….some plastic and some stones. We did purchase a leather/seashell bracelet as a memento from here.
Then we made our way up the narrow street full of taxis, cars, and small buses to Fatafehi, the main road. On top of a knoll sat the historic church St. Joseph's Cathedral. It did have striking architecture, not indigenous to this region of the world. It appears to be a landmark and center of the town's village. One of us went inside for the photo op while the other waited outside. There was a ramp, but we forgot it was around the side. That's where we met to exit the property.
Close by here is a cliffside bar and grill we like to visit for lunch. They were already opened so we made our way down the long flight of wooden stairs to the water's edge. They have an open-air lanai that overlooks the harbor with many moored watercraft and sailboats. We sat at an end table for two right above the water. It was nice because we could watch a big shoal of small bait fish swimming as well as tropical fish in the mix up to a foot long. The largest ones were hiding under the boarded veranda. This had to be way better than snorkeling for us.
We ordered local Maka beers in bottles (no draft), a BBQ chicken pizza, and the free company of a gold tabby male cat. He insisted on begging food, but we knew better than to feed him. He was too close to jumping on our laps, and eventully laid down under our table. We ended our lunch with two more beers and one order of a decadent chocolate and walnut-studded cake with two generous scoops of chocolate ice cream. Hmmm, death by chocolate comes to mind… So good, glad we shared.
We reluctantly left by 2pm and made our way back to the wharf. There was no shortcut to access the tender landing. All aboard was 4:30pm with the last tenderboat leaving at 4:30pm. You never want to wait for that last boat as it could be filled to the gills. There was an empty boat arriving, and we made it on it with a tad bit of room to spare. The ride took about 20 minutes and we were back in our room by 3pm with wonderful air-conditioning.
The Zaandam pulled their anchors, and we were off and running after 5pm. We watched the scenic cruising from the comfort of our veranda of course. We would have quite a job with photos and reports ahead of us after two full days of being in the Tongan ports. Not expecting it, we were treated with another beautiful Tongan sunset. More "frosting" on the cake.
Dinnertime arrived and we both ordered Caesar salads, one small crab Louis salad and a chicken pho soup…hot-hot-hot. Mains were one German meatball by a funny name with creamy mashed taters, and one blue plate Club Orange chicken dinner. Hands down…..the meatball entrée won tonight. Desserts were sliced pineapple and one small mixed berry tart.
There was an entertainer by the name of CJ Finley, a highly-skilled ventriloquist with his crazy puppet characters and comedy. Bet it was funny, but by the time we finished our leisurely meal, half or more of his show was over.
We will now have four sea days, one of which will be a repeat as we will have two days of October 29th.
Bill & Mary Ann
