18:39.48S 173:58.91W

 

 

We had the wind on the beam for the 230 miles to Tonga and got into the islands at about 4pm the next day, having left at 0800 it was a good sail. It was chucking it down and as we made our way through the myriad of tiny isles we eventually came across the main port of Vava’u, pronounced Vava-oo. It’s very different to Niue, sandy beaches, very large locals and the national dress seems to be a raffia carpet rolled up around the midriff and tied with something akin to bailer twine. It’s not the most fetching of outfits and there is no doubt about their bums looking big in it!!

 

Immigration was easy and we only had customs to do after the weekend, it being a bank holiday on the island. It was Emancipation Day on Monday so everyone took the day off, having had Sunday in church. Church is taken extremely seriously on Tonga, thanks to our missionary friends, and even cleaning your boat on the Sabbath is frowned upon. Sunday means everyone packing into the mainly Catholic churches for at least 2 hours of fire and brimstone, with any late arrivals having to listen to the service from the car park. In between the sermons the congregation sing, to say it’s quite beautiful is an understatement. It really is rousing stuff and the choirs can be heard all over Vava’u.

 

We went on a snorkel trip with an expat from Canada, seeing the caves that can only be entered by swimming down two metres, then along ten, coming up into a sealed cave that when the swell comes in the pressure increases inside. This does two things; firstly it makes your ears pop and secondly it turns the cave misty until the next swell changes the pressure again. It’s a very strange phenomenon.

 

The islands around Vava’u are numerous and on one we were approached by a family who wanted to raise money for the school. They proposed doing a pig roast for us. It took no persuasion and the next day I went ashore to help with the pig. Having lured the pig close enough, a rather casual shot with a rifle did the necessary. It was then up to the kids to get the hair off. They very quickly built a fire, tossed the pig into it, rubbed it with coconut husks and then came the fun bit! The guts were taken out and the liver etc was put on a stick and roasted for anyone who was seriously hungry. They then backed the pig up onto a pole and the spit roast began. Two hours later it was ready and delicious. Pietro and I did all the cooking and managed to manoeuvre a good part of the crackling onto our plates. We invited all the boats in the bay and managed to raise over £500 for the school. Not a bad days work. After the roast the family sang traditional Tongan songs for us which was delightful.