Tonga again

Sept 4-Oct 4, 2014  Tonga

Lovely, lazy, laid back Tonga.  We intended to stay for a week and have been here a month without doing much of anything.  Tonga is hundreds of small islands with about 70 anchorages to try.   Gone are the spectacular peaks of the Marquesas and the Societies and the flat coral atolls of the Tuamotos.  Tonga is low, flat hills that go straight down into the ocean floor  Anchoring is done very close to shore or not at all.  Luckily most of the best spots have mooring balls.  One of the tour complains has produced a map with all the anchorages numbered.   so now everyone refers to them by the numbers rather than the names.  This is actually a good thing for cruisers once you get your hands on a map because the names are very difficult to pronounce or remember.  One of the nicest is hosted by a former cruising couple who have build themselves a house boat/art gallery and shop and host potlucks on the beach every Saturday night.

We got the outboard and generator fixed.  The problem was old gas which had varnished the spark plugs.  We had had that gas since Mexico, almost 6 mos ago.  Time to toss it out and buy new.

Decided not to bother to get the main sail patched here.  We will wait until Fiji where we may have a new one made, since this one is 30 years old and keeps tearing.  We almost never use the main sail any more anyway.  We mostly use jib and mizzen and if the wind is right the mizzen staysail.  We have double reefed it so we can use it if we need to.

A man came by in a rowboat selling bread.  After an exchange of pleasantries and numerous queries as to what else he could provide he asked if we would like to go to church on Sunday.  He emphasized that it was the Wesleyan Church which is the Kings church.  Since Tonga is known for the wonderful acapella singing in the churches we accepted eagerly.  This offer was augmented by an invitation to lunch (for a small fee) and a promise of real Tongan beer.  He claimed that all of the local beer was actually made in New Zealand.  Bright and early Sunday morning we were collected from  the dock and walked through the town and up the hill to his house Where Alan was dressed in the traditional tepee and ta’ovaala.  Since I had worn a long skirt I was deemed OK.  Once dressed, we were taken to the church and escorted into a large meeting hall where about a dozen men were seated on mats in a circle.  Room was made for us and we were introduced.  Among the men were the village chief, the preacher and a high school math teacher.  There was long, quiet discussion among the men and eventually kava was passed around.  As far as I could tell, this was a weekly meeting of the elders to discuss village matters.   Most of the men pulled out pouches and rolled cigarettes.  Everything was done very quietly and deliberately.  After another round of kava the bell rang for church and the meeting broke up.  (The real Tongan beer that we had been promised was the kava)

It was women’s day in church and women ran the whole service, including the sermon.  Several of the speakers were in tears.  Obviously we did not understand a word but when I asked afterward why they were crying I was told that it was because they were so moved.  I was captivated by the variety of kaikai and ta’ovala.  the younger girls all had kaikai that matched their dresses.  Even the little boys wore Ta’ovala     Lunch back  at the house was interesting.  The family was very poor.  There was no furniture but there were several pieces of electronic equipment, speakers, tape decks, amplifiers, even a TV.  I am sure none of them worked.  There were piles of trash around and a pig wandering the yard.  Several cats wandered in and out trying to snatch food off the plates.  Ou host and his wife sat on mats on the floor with us and we were served by his daughter who ate in the kitchen with her husband and children.  The stove was a wood fire.   Despite all, the food was very good, fried fish, taro, pork, stewed spinach, papaya in coconut milk for dessert.


I went to the Catholic church the next week where it turned out to be confirmation Sunday.  The church was packed and and people were sitting all around outside.  There must have been 200 young people confirmed.  Religion is very important to the Tongans.  It is illegal to do any work on Sunday.  The day is spent going to church or eating with friends.  Most of the time in Tonga we were moored right in front of the Catholic church.  The sound of Tonga will always be the ringing of the church bells.  The sound of French Polynesia is roosters.