May 27, 2000, Tonga, The Friendly Isles

Nuka a'lofa Mooring

Tonight we drink our wine to a quiet island night. Evita plays on the stereo, and believe it or not, the Three Stooges are on TV, silent, but we aren't watching. We have been on deck watching the sun go down and the Nikon camera is hanging from my neck: we love the light in the Tongan sky tonight, it is good for photos, and we have snapped a few shots as the sun slowly faded in the gentle sky.

The air in Tonga is so soft. It washes over us and we are glad to be back in the tropics. We spent a week adjusting to island time and doing preliminary work prior to ordering new rigging components. Now the new parts have arrived from New Zealand, we have a lot of work to do, but just being in the tropics is so relaxing. The pace in the town of Nuku'alofa is slow...sleepy even. The people here have friendly smiles and are so willing to help, but things move a little more slowly. We are actually enjoying it immensely. The boat work is beside the point. Maybe we will work at their pace and enjoy the island time for a while.

Nuka a'lofa Waterfront
Main Street
King's Palace
Church
King of Tonga

On Saturday night there are many distractions in Nuku'alofa, the capitol of the Kingdom of Tonga: We took a taxi ride to the Sea View restaurant but it was closed. On the way we passed a nice old house surrounded with barbed wire and soldiers. "The King's Palace," said the cab driver, from Palo Alto. He went to the States in '74, came back last year, liked it back in Tonga, decided to stay.

He took us to the Billfish Restaurant. A nice "middle of the road" place. A few Palangi (us), a Royal party (the princess's niece and her entourage), and quite a few Tongan party goers. We loved the place. Great seafood and then we went to the bar for after-dinner drinks and talked to locals while the Royals sang karaoke to old Righteous Brothers and Eagles tunes. Some could sing, not many. Some patrons of the bar that night were transvestites who have a special place in Polynesian culture, here just like in Tahiti. Nick, the Australian owner confided that while you could dress the transvestites in women's clothes, that didn't mean they could sing like women.

Aloe

Going Visiting

Town Square

Nuka a'lofa Market

On the next Friday night, in the Nukau'alofa grandstand, we leapt to our feet as we watched the Tongan rugby team dash toward the end zone to lead Fiji by 22 to 15. Penalty kicks and a missed field goal gave the game to Fiji; no surprise to the pessimistic Tongans, but we were disappointed. We wanted to see our home team, Tonga, win the game. Yes, at this time, Tonga is our home team. Maybe we are capricious or fickle, but while we make our home in Tonga, Tonga is our home, and we love it.

Rugby in Tonga

On the boat parts front, the Tongan shipping agents have been extremely helpful. Our parts were coming, and if we had to get the customs officer out of bed Saturday morning to clear them, they would do it. No problem. During waits I talked to them about world politics and economics. Many Tongans travel overseas, they are educated, and they bring back to Tonga the attitudes and views of USA, Britain, or Australia, shaped by the traditions and religious views prevalent in Tonga. We are impressed by the sophisticated Tongans, even if they prefer their island time to the Wall Street pace of the USA, at least it seems to be an educated choice.

In the next few days we will finish our work and set sail again. Our next destination is Vava'u, also in Tonga, but in the North. We will stop in the Hap'ai Group first then we expect to make it to Vava'u before the end of June. Maybe email will work there, if so we will send a note to you, If not...well you'll hear from us from somewhere.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Tonga