Over the past week we have watched a ship sink, swum in an underground pool in a cave filled with stalactites, got two flat tires and were offered drugs.
The ship was sad. It was one of four fishing boats (Chinese apparently) that were tied up together not far from where we were anchored in Pangimotu harbour. One of the boats nearby radioed and told us about it. There was noone on board and it was still attached to the other three but it was going down fast. We called the local port authority (as did a couple of other boats) but nobody seemed to hear or care and in 15 to 20 minutes we had witnessed the death of a ship. (I got some photos of this which I will show you guys once we end up somewhere we can actually upload the things!) We are guessing there was a pretty big leak there somewhere but don’t know any more. Since then nothing much has happened, but strobe lights have turned up on the other three!
The drugs were funny. We were filling up with diesel at the dock in Tongatapu when a chap asked Paddy if he wanted some “good stuff”. Paddy got rather excited about this, thinking he meant good quality diesel (ie without water or other contaminants). When the man mimed a toking gesture Paddy got the picture, was a little disappointed and politely declined. We figure he must be finally unwinding if he’s got that stoner look about him!
We decided to stay in Tongatapu for a bit longer than the bulk of the ICA fleet – partly because we had a few things to fix up on the boat but also because we wanted to unwind a wee bit and have a look around. Cruising in company has been a great way to get to know people and we’ve had a lot of fun but it does seem a little bit rushed. It seemed to be one round of activities after another before rushing off to the next destination and, while it’s great for families with kids, we just wanted to chill out for a bit. There is a small motley collection of likeminded cruisers that we have dubbed the stragglers club who remained behind as well. They are a fascinating and lovely group from all walks of life – including a teacher, a basket ball coach about the same height as me, a former West Coast fisherman and a Christchurch fireman taking a well-deserved break after working in ChCh and Japan after both quakes.
We took a tiki tour around Tongatapu together and had a great time. Our guide, Wesley, took us to some lovely beach spots, Tonga’s version of Stonehenge and an underground fresh water pool where you could swim among cathedral-like stalactites in the dim glow of generator lit lamps while bats swooped about. It was utterly stunning and I could have stayed there all day.
We did however have a couple of setbacks on our trip – though they didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. We got our first flat tire early on in the tour. Tongatapu’s roads are in the process of being sealed by its Chinese inhabitants, but in the meantime there are many that have more potholes in them than road. When jokingly we asked Wesley how many spare tires he had, he answered “two” (which was a good thing because we got our second flattie a few hours later!)
There is an awful lot about Tonga that is very third world but it’s also a place in a world of its own (which is the subject of the next blog).
The stragglers club also took part in a Tongan feast which included traditional entertainment and some of the most amazing fire dancing I have seen, inside an open-ceilinged cave in the side of a cliff on the beach. The food was incredible too – and there was so much of it! One thing the Tongans do particularly well is eat! Some of our fellow stragglers were invited to a feast at a school they had donated uniforms to and were amazed to see a man eat about a kilo of taro and six sausages before polishing off an entire chicken. I have no doubt that if we were to stay in Tonga for any length of time we would definitely end up the size of a Tongan!
The feast was also memorable in that certain members of the stragglers club took it into their head that it would be hilarious to tell the organisers and band that Paddy and I were getting married (don’t get too excited – they were making it up!) This of course meant that we were covered in flowers and forced to get up and dance while the rest of the stragglers cackled and took photos of us. I am plotting my revenge as we speak.
All in all we definitely feel we gained a lot more that we lost by sticking around for a bit longer.
We are now in our next destination (Vava’u) and are looking forward to discovering the places and the people here as well.
