The Bright Lights of Nuku 'Alofa
The Adventures of the Good Ship Equinox
Cate and Chris Galloway
Thu 19 May 2011 12:27
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Hi All,
Today we escaped Pangiamotu for the day and took
Equinox over to the mooring basin at Nuku 'Alofa so we could go to the markets
and top up on fresh fruit and veg. We were joined by a bunch of the other
yachties and had quite a social time of it. The highlight were the ice ceams we
had after lunch, and the markets, which had a really good range of
stuff.
Like most Pacific cities, Nuku'Alofa is a bit
shabby and run down, however the place does have a certain historic charm. Being
the last Pacific Monarchy, there is a palace and grand surrounds, which
contrasts with the generally unkempt appearance of the rest of the place. The
locals are all pretty well laid back - not too many people having coronaries
from stress around here: it is more likely to be their diet. Tonga is home to
the largest of the Polynesians - and there are some biguns among
them
This afternoon we returned to the anchorage off Big
Mamas and as I write we have just had a bit of a dront pass through which has
caused some sonsternation among some of the boats in the anchorage, with several
dragging, Things seem to have settled down a bit, but we will keep anchor
watches until they go a bit quieter.
Tomorrow is school and boat jobs, followed by the
rally protest meeting tomrrow afternoon. Thanks to Al we are going to have to
face a protest for the most excellent crew shirts Judy made for us - I reckon it
may cost us some rum!
Will let you know how it goes,
Until tomorrow, TTFN
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