Daily Archive

Theme Song for the Day:

Iko Iko – The Dixie Cups

Where was I? right….

Tonga was a fantastic way to start my next adventure abroad.  With the beauty of the natural surroundings and the incredibly friendly people, I couldn’t help but believe I had landed in paradise.  I was so very comfortable and in jaw-dropping awe, at times (although I tried to keep my mouth closed, as I already stood out a bit), as I explored just a portion of this tiny oasis.

My comfort and feeling of belonging were a big deal.  As confident as I am in knowing that ‘travel” is the right thing for me right now, I still face times of doubt (don’t we all?).  There are times when thoughts swirl through my mind… what the hell am I doing? WHERE am I going – the middle of nowhere? Oh, right…! Who am I going to meet… anyone? Will I be exhausted…bored…or worse: indifferent? Should I be settling down? Am I too old for this? Too young? Too too too?..

[*note: these bigger thoughts are intermittently intertwined with thoughts of a slightly lighter inclination…: will there be coffee?…should I bring powdered milk?  Should I have brought another pair of socks? How many times can I get away with wearing this shirt before I start turning away potential friends? Is it too early for a beer?]

Uh, yes, I digress. Anyway…I had explored most of the main island of Tonga: Tongatapu.  I decided to make my way, via ferry, to the small island of Eua.  The ferry ride was uneventful which was perfect.  Actually, we did spot some humpback whales in the strait between the two islands.  Hundreds of these beautiful whales come to breed each year and it’s easy to spend hours watching them play from the shore (which I was sure to do).

Eau is renowned for its hiking and caving and I was excited to be somewhere new.  Not only was I staying in a beautiful little fale, a self-contained sleeping hut, just minutes from the ocean…but I was sharing my accommodation with two great girls that I had befriended days earlier in Nuku álofa.  Gabi from Slovakia, and Heather from California; ski instructors who follow the winter season around the globe.  They take short breaks in warmer climates between seasons.  Tonga was one of these ‘breaks’.  Tough life eh?

Our first day out we also met up with a fellow from Vancouver and we all spent an entire day in the national park on the Eastern side of the island.  The views are breathtaking and although a lot of the trails are overgrown, it was easy to make our way through the undergrowth of the ancient forest (with the help of a hand-drawn map, from one of the locals) and we spent a bit of time in a cave on a cliff.

That evening we met up with some women from the small village nearby and they taught us the basics of weaving baskets from coconut leaves.  This is very practical in Tonga, as these baskets are used in lieu of shopping bags.  It’s an interesting skill to have for someone from a northern temperate climate…I’m not sure how the city of Victoria would appreciate me scaling the few palm trees we actually maintain (painstakingly taken care of as they have such a tough time in winter) in order to rip down fronds.  …mmhh…my plans was to make Christmas presents for people with my new-found skills, but I may need to re-think this.

This is when things went a bit funny.  I went online (the islands are amazingly well-connected to the internet although the roads are not paved, hot-water is an absolute luxury, and I couldn’t find cheese to save my life) and was surprised to see there was a huge earthquake south of Samoa (7.9 on the Richter scale).  This means it was between Samoa and Tonga – north of the island I was on.  A tsunami warning soon followed.   Now it’s common sense to stay away from the water and find higher ground in these instances – we had enough time to prepare …we weren’t worried about being swept up in the wave.  What was more worrying is that the infrastructure of the small communities can’t necessarily handle events like this.

Everything closed – all the kids were sent home from school – boats were moored.  People shut their doors and spent the day with their loved ones.  Although there is no official warning system in Tonga – everyone knew within the hour and we were soon wandering a ghost island.  Needless to say, the tsunami didn’t make it as far south as us.  There were some fatalities in both Samoa and very far north Tonga.  This little paradise has been through the ringer of late.  Tongans are a resilient people who continue to smile through even the toughest time.  My kind of people.

My flight to Australia left from the big island the next day.  I spent the night wondering if the ferry would leave in the morning.  It did (and it only backed into the dock once…everyone was silent). I made it to Oz as planned.  I wouldn’t have minded being “trapped” in Tonga for another week though.  I could have worked through it.

That evening, before I flew out, my new friends and I were invited by Julie and Aki (locals that showed me around in my first couple of days in Tonga) and their family, to have a Tongan feast.  This was a perfect way to end my adventure.  We got to spend time with a beautiful family in beautiful surroundings.  The food was amazing, the dancing was graceful.  New friends and new experiences…I felt that I had everything I needed….there was even coffee.