Woven belted mats, ta’ovala
worn over black missionary garb
maze of lifted islands pushed up by the Tongan trench
friendly islands, plotting Cook’s demise
faint volcano in the distance, a perfect cone
further south, the world’s newest island
space alien squid hovering by the swim step
weekly troughs of rain and wind and gray
hard scrabble bottoms for the anchor
numbers for the anchorages keep sailors from learning the hard to pronounce names
everything at the Neiafu market is four dollars
fish and chips on a floating barge
God is Alive bar, blasting music across the still water
Ag festival for the King
Ag festival finery
dead zebra sharks on display,
a temporary binge in the off limits fishing zones
people go crazy to show what they have
soft coral, rocks and canyons, nudibranchs and filefish
lobster, lobster, grab one if you dare
outer islands, Ha’apai, people live simple lives
weaving, fishing, making babies
it’s a long boat ride to the nearest grocery store
power from a solar project paid for by Japan
kids play on the beach
leap from the trees into the sand
make toys of VHS tapes, decorating wood fences with shiny ribbon
sailing the flat water behind the lagoon
hove-to for humpbacks
whales sing as we dive
high pitched songs, deep rumble in your chest
rolly anchorages, whale nursery anchorages, long beach anchorages
Kelefesia as seen from Wyatt’s drone view = as sublime from the air as it was to be there!
coconut heart pancakes!
Older, sprouting coconuts produce this rich flavored ‘heart.’ Not easy to extricate, but we make the most yummy pancakes using them!
Sleeping mom’s providing whale-sized nourishment using her Antarctic reserves
tail slapping to keep junior in line
rambunctious males, out for a good time
call mmmhhh mmwwwhmmm whummmmmmh
Cetacean society,
any whale who’s any whale is here
Tonga’s the place to be, leviathan
Well, Hello!
no predators, warm water, but no food either
what if humans vacationed the way humpbacks do
on a diet
no Piña coladas, might just put cruise ships out of business
think of the savings in fuel!
~MS
Nature’s bit of lovely!
Astrophotography with an anchored (moving) Allora is a wee bit tricky – nice work, Haley!
We had all 3 kids (and Liam, too) visit over the course of our 3 months cruising around Tonga, so you’ll see some family faces among the locals:
