Here in my last night in Tonga.
Yesterday we went on 'Toni's tour'. We travelled in a very
tight bus indeed to many sites including . My favourite places were
revisiting the blow holes and the giant beach arch.... We all thought
that lunch was included, (it wasn't) so we ended up having to buy chips
for lunch in the middle of nowhere through the usual street shop run by
Chinese with giant prison style windows. Speaking of prison windows,
the Prison market' sells some of the best produce around. The barbed
fences are only thigh high, as this island is so small, if you tried to
escape, you would be found the next morning.
We learned more about the produce of the land. Papaya grows
easily in Tonga, and New Zealand are willing to buy the Papaya for $10 a
crop but it needs to be treated first. So the Aussies have offerred to
come in and provide a treatment plant and go in to business with the
Tongans.
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| Captain Cook's landing |
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| Making the traditional grass skirts by hand. |
I had dinner at 'Marco Pizza' with a lovely English couple.
Dinner was super yummy. This couple have quit their jobs in England,
gotten married in Fiji, they have taken a 6 month honeymoon in the South
Pacific and they hope to open a hostel with an attached bar in Fiji. I'm
really excited for them to take such a bold move, and hope to be their
resident at their hostel some day. :)
And today, I finally got to experience my long awaited
swimming with the Humpback whales. This is what drew me to Tonga. One of
the diving photograohers reccomendef this to me 2 years ago while I was
swimming with the whale sharks in exmouth in Western Australia.
The weather was off the last 2 days, so my dive was
postphoned on both of these days. Today was my last chance to do the
dive as I head home tomorrow. Alas, the sun came out, the waters were
still, and I was able to swim a couple of metres away from giant Humpback whales and their babies. Incredible.
A day on the boat,
speaking Spanish with a fellow traveler Eduardo from Madrid and
learning about Business consultancies from a very cool girl 'Nao' from
Japan and David from Germany. When not in the water with the whales,
sitting in the sun in the middle of the turquoise ocean and drinking
coconut juice.
I've picked uo some sort of bung eye on the way, a reflection of how much fun I have been having. :)
Sio, from the hostel and his 2 brothers and friend came to
pick me uo and drop me back to the guest house. They didnt even know
where I needes to be picked up, so they just drove around till they
found me. Island life. :) Sio's brother, who asked if I would 'keep him
company' for the next few days told me that he had a 'mid career
crisis'. After working at Toni's for 7 years, he had enough. So he spent
two months drinking kava and sleeping, and now he has found work
helping run another guest house. All 4 of the boys were being very
cheeky with me. They keep on asking me if I am married and my age (even
though they know this). So I am cheeky back and say things like 'I am
15, so I am much to young for you. ' Then they say 'age is not
important!' They are very cheeky but the attention is nice. Sio says
that I am missing a very important Tongan experience, and that he will
tell me what this is before I leave. I am thinking that he will say
something very bold and cheeky. Or perhaps it will be something like
'you never did dance while drinking a coconut juice, this is the Tongan
way. '
Tonight I am meeting Naw and David for dinner and then maybe drinks.
Tomorrow is back to Australia, hopefully by passing protests at Sydney airport in the way through!
So Tonga;
Humpback whales, kind people, nevee running in time ir
communicating messages. Turquoise ocean, beautiful sun and intense
humidty. Crazily flirtatios men, old standing traditions and cultures
maintained. Community atmosphere, delicious ceviche and coconut juice.
Poverty, primative life and approaches that can be sad, frustrating but
also endearing. Teaching me to slow down and not take me and my life so
seriously. Strong cocktails, big smiles, adorable children. Powerful
voices in the church choir and devotion to God. Love for food and for
partying.
Malo Tonga, for everything.
Nofo a, Xo
Rasa
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