'Uiha Island, Ha'apai, Tonga
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sat 6 Jun 2009 01:30
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19:53.494S 174:24.883W
May 29th we left Uonukuhihifo Island and motored
two hours through what the guide book said was essentially a minefield of
unmarked and uncharted coral heads to 'Uihi Island (pronounced
'oo-WEE-hah'). Lucky for us Storyteller offered to go first and bear
most of the risk. They have a newer set of electronic charts that
seem to be a lot more accurate than the 1/4 mile ours are off. Even so,
the light wasn't perfect and we had difficulty seeing reefs and coral
heads. In fact, we didn't see any of the coral heads that are said
to lay along this stretch. This of course doesn't mean they
weren't there. Knowing hazards are there and not seeing them is
definitely worse than the reverse. The good news is that all is well
that ends well and our two hour motor through the minefield ended
well.
We stayed only one night off the somewhat unlovely
coast of 'Uiha which meant there was only time for one afternoon walk around the
island and its two villages. Sue and I were the only two willing to make
the trek. Below are pictures taken along the way.
Picture 1 - Another burial ground and another
quilt, this time with a twist - an entire family of pigs decided to
visit the graveyard just as we were passing by. Maybe they knew the
deceased? Pigs generally run free in Tonga, but the island of 'Uiha seemed
to have more than its fair share. More than once Sue and I felt the need
to detour around particularly big and scary looking pigs that
didn't appear to be in a particularly happy frame of mind.
Picture 2 - One of the many churches on the island
- this structure is typical of the small island churches we've seen in the
Ha'apai Group so far.
Picture 3 - We were not exactly sure what
purpose this little building serves, but as you can see by the small
Digicel sign attached to the right-hand side of the building, you can get
your Digicel cell phone topped up here. We thought the cushions on
the fence pillars were a nice touch.
Picture 4 - Like most places we've been to in
Tonga, the people are very friendly and extremely willing to help wayward
palangi like us. As we walked through one village on our way to the next
one, a young man joined us and pointed out the highlights (churches)
as we went along. Eventually we came to the island school, which is
located halfway between the two villages. It was Friday, about ten
minutes to three in the afternoon and it was obvious by the number of
little kids running around the schoolyard that the weekend was close at
hand. As soon as they spotted us, all the younger kids came running
to where we stood with our guide, just outside the schoolyard fence. They
were anxious to practice their English, 'Hello! Hello! Hello!
Hello! Hello! Hello!' they yelled at the top of their little
lungs. Sue asked them how old they were, and when they didn't answer, she
tried to encourage them by saying 'Four? Five? Six?'
Several of the kids caught on to the game and shouted out 'Seven, eight, nine
ten! Seven, eight, nine, ten! Seven, eight nine,
ten!' Counting to ten in English was definitely something they knew
how to do.
When the camera came out, the kids needed no
further instruction. The unruly group immediately snapped to
attention and assumed various poses for the picture, poking at each other
all the while to gain a better position for the camera. The thumb's
up, hang loose and peace signs were the most popular. It wasn't
long after that when Sue asked the kids what the name of their teacher
was. They all shouted their teacher's name several times and then broke
into song - all singing in unison for a minute or two. It was the most
amazing thing. A bunch of shouting kids yelling this and that, pushing and
shoving each other, vying for our attention, suddenly breaking into song.
Completely in unison. We had no idea what they were singing as it was all
in Tongan, but still it was like the world had stopped turning for a
moment. Shortly thereafter the spell was broken when our gaggle
of kids turned and trotted back across the yard to the school building waving
and yelling the whole way, 'Bye! Bye! Bye! Bye!
Bye! Bye! Bye!'
Island kids always have a way of crawling right
into your heart. Even when they aren't necessarily trying.
Anne
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