The Kingdom of Tonga
Jackamy
Paul & Derry Harper
Sat 26 Jun 2010 01:37
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18:39.482S 173:58.913W
Saturday 26th June
We're now at Tonga, our next destination on
the rally. Once again it is completely different to any other places we've
visited so far. The Kingdom of Tonga consists of four main island groups:
Tongatapu, Ha'apai, Vava'u and the Nuias. Today the Tongan war canoes are
vessels of the past and christianity has taken deep roots producing an
unpretentious and gracious way of life.
We are at the Vava'u group of islands which
are encircled by an outer reef meaning that cruising is free of swell and
the crystal clear waters and white beaches are well protected. The archipelago
is made up of one big island of an odd shape and lots of other little islands
dotted in between the main islands nooks and crannys. It is regarded as one of
the world's great sailing locations.
Tonga is referred to as 'The Friendly Isles'
but we haven't really felt that. On our first outing the people would really
stare and didn't acknowledge us when we smiled or said hello. They were staring
mostly at Amy and we put it down to the fact that she had her shoulders on show,
as some people say you are supposed to cover up. Anyway, the next day when we
went out Amy completely covered up and the still stared so we decided it was
nothing to do with her clothing, they're just quite rude. Although, having said
that, they do seem to have warmed to us over the couple of days that we've been
here.
We're anchored in Refuge Harbour at Neiafu.
The anchorage itself is very picturesque, we're completely surrounded by land
which is covered in lush vegetation as the entrance to the harbour is a bit of a
dog-leg so it appears to be landlocked. There are lots of bars and restaurants
but the shops and supermarkets are bit bizarre. The supermarkets are very sparse
and sell a very strange mix of goods. The first one we visited sold frozen
meats, crisps, tins, clothes and gentlemens dress shoes! The next supermarket
has a few rows of tins and packets of food and aroun 5 rows of benches for
people to collect their aid money. They are very poor here and the town is
completely run down, it's a bit of a sorry sight.
 The inter-island ferry loaded
up with people
 The tourism
centre.....................The daily market
 The supermarket......Locals
sitting around on the street
 We had a spot of breakfast in
this tiny litlle restaurant, the 'Crows Nest'
 There are pigs
EVERYWHERE
 The Catholic
Church
We attended the Wesleyen Church
on sunday as this is the closest to the Church of England but the ceremony was
very different to the one we went to in Raratonga. It was quite serious, less
colourful and it didn't have the same atmosphere. Once the service was finished
and we were walking back to the boat we passed the Catholic Church so we popped
in to catch the end. We walked in just as everyone was holding hands and
praying, then they all shook our hands before the service was brought to an end.
It was completely different to the Wesleyen, it was jam packed, people were
queueing out the doors and everyone was dressed in brightly coloured clothes. We
only caught the end but we were doubly cleansed that day!
 The stunning
scenery
  Refuge Harbour at
Neiafu
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