The Vava’u Island has a rustic but beautiful town, with friendly people. It’s the second largest town with just under 4,000 people. The Islands are an unspoiled tropical paradise and largely unpopulated. Clear water with abundant sea life surrounds these islands. White sandy beaches and seabirds are plentiful. Most inhabitants live off the land here, consuming fruits, vegetables, and fish from the surrounding oceans.
On the way to Tonga I sailed over the Tongan Trench. It is the second deepest trench on Earth. The depth is more than 35,000 feet, or 7 miles. The submarines on board could barely explore these depths as they are limited to only 1.400 feet. Would hate to press that limit and implode, much like the ill-fated Titan submersible did in June of 2023.A welcome dance performed by the locals. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. The locals learn their native language (Tongan) and then English as their second language. Communication was both easy and interesting.Typical dwellings on the islands. No heat necessary, but air-conditioning would be nice. Forget about that, only fans are sporadically available. What electricity is available is created by generators. The bright side of this situation is that overhead power lines are virtually non-existent.Nearby farm being cultivated. I asked whether a tractor or manual plows were used to prepare the soil and was relieved to hear it was the former. Another homestead with adjacent farm. The people grow their own food crops on the land where they live. Notice the water collection system on the right which catches all the roof’s runoff. During the months long dry season this reservoir is heavily relied upon.Another performance for the visitors. The little kid on the end of course stole the show. The head Mama. The more colorful the garb, the higher one’s status within the community. She also led the kava ritual. Kava is a drink which produces differing levels of relaxation, depending upon how much is consumed.Pictured here is a visitor getting involved in the dancing fun. This enthusiastic tourist in the dance bears a striking resemblance to my housekeeper from my trip to Sicily in 2013. It is odd how I encounter other people who closely resemble her during my various travels. Everyone seems happy, and these tourists especially so. And why not, they have been enjoying the benefits of the kava drink for over an hour.This guy is a friendly local vendor who is very proud of his wares. It is written all over his warm, yet very confident face.Today’s snorkel/kayak landing sight. Unfortunately the skies were completely overcast. Consequently, the snorkeling wasn’t great.As mentioned before, since the skies were cloudy, the colors were not nearly as pronounced as several days ago.The very rare and elusive blue starfish. Not many of these are known to exist. I was fortunate to be able to capture this image.Some of the many nearby uninhabited islands are seen as I sail away from Tonga that evening..Almost sunset.
So that’s it from Tonga. I have a few sea days before I see land again. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on the planet. It covers just about as many square miles (64 million) of earth’s surface as all the other oceans combined. No wonder it takes days to get to these islands. The next stops are in Fiji. I hope you see me there.
