day 29 – nuku alofa, tonga

wild pig by tongan roadside

had a great day today in tonga… i was here in 2009 and went to the big market there, so today i wanted to do something else. i was going to go out with a couple gals, loretta, who is a piano bar regular (the one who has invited me to her dining room table a few times and is in my writing group), and pat, our writing group leader. we met up in the lido for coffee, and it was then that loretta realized she already had a tour booked, and because we had skipped feb 2, she had thought it was the next day, so we said farewell to loretta… pat and i looked over the map to see what was of interest to us and made our way past the free shuttle to the market over to the stand where the cabbies waited… they all offer tours, and we were trying to get a decent fare… pat wasn’t feeling more than 20 bucks, and they were asking 80. she opted for the free shuttle to the market so i bid farewell to pat, and found myself rolling solo…

i showed one cabbie my crew card and said i was not a well-heeled tourist, but a crew member on a break and that i didn’t need a whole island tour, i just wanted to go to see one cool thing, like maybe the ocean blowholes on the coast. she said 2 hours approximately, 30 bucks, and i said ok! her name was ella, and we took off with the windows down (tongan air conditioning) and the radio up. we drove through the town and saw the tombs of the kings and queens and made our way out to the country; i saw the farms where they grow yams and taro and bananas… they do not have modern farming equipment here and still work the land by hand and hard labor… and it’s hot out! saw a few wild pigs, one with a bunch of little piglets crossing the road before i could get my camera ready (made me think of gimli!), but I got one good snap of a big fellow off to one side! we went to the coast where the blowholes were, and the tide wasn’t way in, so they weren’t huge, but impressive nonetheless! there were a couple of tables there with souvenirs set up by locals (got something for mom!)… she drove me to a place where the giant bats, or flying foxes as they call them, literally hang out during the day… they are apparently a sacred critter here, though it is rumored that some people eat them anyway… she pointed out her house as we drove by, a tiny little box on some rough land… for work, she drives cab and her husband is a plumber. she said her 12 year old son hopes to be a doctor someday.

blowholes on coast - tide not so high... still cool

ella, my cabbie - they drive on the other side here...

painted tapa cloth in the market

on our way back, i told ella she could drop me at the market, then i could do a walkaround there and catch the shuttle back to the ship. i saw the handicrafts i had remembered from before, the painted tapa cloth, the wood carvings, the fruit and vegetable stands, the weird beverages sold in used soda and juice bottles… i had neglected to bring my melodica because when i went out, i had not intended to hit the market, but there were the musicians… damn! i keep saying i’ll never forget to take it and then i do… must make note to self and staple it to my forehead… was dubious about the meat and eggs they were selling not being refrigerated, and it made me nervous to try to lunch there, so i had late lunch back on the ship.

had a delightful dinner at the pinnacle with judy and the o’brians, our gracious hosts, and it was very entertaining… they know judy because they are regulars of hers in various new york venues… nice folks and it was fun to hear some good stories from everyone of their various travels and music and so nice to meet folks with a sense of humor and very down-to-earth and friendly in spite of being pretty well-to-do and worldly… i had the lobster…

tonight’s theme was called “let’s be frank” and was a collection of sinatra favorites… had a good crowd and my late nighters (statler and waldorf and the gal behind me at the bar and another couple) were present since we have a couple of sea days before we hit new zealand… ciao for now! -df