Tonga part 1

So, for one it is not very hot, and for two, compared to Asia, this place is quiet and uninhabited... which it is.

And here I am at MAriner's Cafe with Gen and her four friends, Kevin, Megan and of course Joleen (sorry if i misspell that Jo Jo). They are drinking beers, I get some lunch and begin to unwind and relax. Besides how cool it is (the Antarticans all think that it is hot -- side note, Gen and her friends have just finished a stint at McMurdo doing various things, I can say no more and have already broken a trust just by saying that they are from Antartica. )

Anywho the first thing to strike me is how expensive things are, bottled water for US$3? burger and fries for $7 - 9?! (remember we were living on what $10 for two days in Indo, living fairly well too). Anyway, it is time to find the accomodation for the night and the first accomodation is very nice (even if it is NZ$65 per room per night -- about $40 US.) And wasnt it ooh so nice to sleep in a nice comfortable western bed in a quiet western hotel (Aukland) and upscale carribeamn style bungalow (Tonga' 1st resort). Fresh (from rain water), "real" (not low flow) showers; free water to drink (again rain water), a delightfull cafe right on the ocean with a delightful view and lovely breeze, and on a nice swimming beach too.

In fact all of Tonga is a nice swimming beach -- low coral islands with huge protected lagoons. No current, not much of a surf (off the barrier reef) and unlike Gili Meno where the reef was close to the island and then it fell off precipitously into the deep blue deep with a VERY strong current ("dont go too far off the island or you will be swept into the Indian Ocean," i was warned by Bar on Gili Meno). Here I could swim VERY far out and still see the sandy bottom in about 20 or 30 feet of water. Awesome swimming! So while they chilled at the cafe waiting for the owner to check us in, I grab my mask and snorkel and head out to the beach for some floating/swimming -- my back was being rather persistent by now after the long travel from Indo.

I swam out, thinking I will eventually find a coral head and i did, but it was fairly small and not as nice as the huge amount of sea life I saw at Gili meno, but i saw a few rays, and another one of these bright blue starfish that i had also seen at Meno, So i was content to swim for about an hour or so in the lovely Tongan green waters.

But the other really shocking thing to me was getting off of "asian mode" and onto "american mode." Gen and her friends seemed very "american" to me after laid back Asia. They were concerned about lodging. They had schedules, they had agendas, they were obsessed with finances, they had secrets, they had patterns of behavior i just wasn't used to. I was used to, "hey it will work itself out" (which it always seemed to do), chill out and relax -- which was also a Tongan trait, but minus the hecticness of a million people surrounding you basically all the time -- does any of that make sense? Its like Eastern and Western cultures are both screwed up in the same ways but differently. After all in the west 4 PM means 4 PM. In the East 4 PM might mean 6 PM or 8 PM, what Rick, Blake and Annete call "asian time". As i have told these guys too many times (i am sure i am annoying them with the "in Asia it would be like this" and "you guys are so very American").

But what is shocking is how emotional i get at the smallest little things .. the transition from the west to the east seems easy to me, but the transition from the east back to the west seems much harder to deal with ... on an emotional level ... if this makes any sense at all.

The next day, we were off to a dive shop. Megan and Kevin were divers and me and Joleen wanted to snorkel. So despite my gulping at what seemed to be an extreme cost, we had a grand time snorkeling and diving. We went out on a catamaran sail boat (unfortunately under power as the wind was too light), and we did some truly delightful snorkeling. The locations were more geared to the divers.

Among the other guests was an Englishman named Andrew (who also was staying at the nice bungalow resort). and an American couple who was living Angie's dream -- retired and going around the world by boat -- a 43 foot cat they bought new for about $120K 13 years ago (today's model about $200K), put in a charter co in the BVI for five years, then sold the house to pay the balloon and off they went.

They spent the first three years doing the Carribean, northern South America, then thru the canal, then the west coast of South America for a while, before making the Pacisic crossings: first to Easter Island, then Pitcairn, and then French Polynesia, and on to New Zealand... The longest passage was 23 days, usually it is 11 or 13 days. They are taking their time doing a circumnavigation of the Pacific so will eventually hit Japan, Alaska, the pacific NW of Canada and US, moving down the US and Mexican coasts, central america, south america, and then crossing back to NZ and then moving on to Asia and the Indian ocean. "After all we are here (in the pacific), so might as well do it right as we go." Seven years total so far.

They were a wealth of info about the cruising life. Gail and Dave from minnesota, tho they claim residency in Houston -- no income tax. . Cant really be done below $20K/year including living expenses and the maintenance... plus occasionall exceptional items -- $40K for new motors every 10, 15 years. $7 - 10K for sails every 10 or so, depedning how much you sail vs. motor. Plus they added lots of solar, etc. They are doing it the way i would want to do it. Mostly sailing, taking my time, living the dream!!! OOh angie you would be jealous!!! And boy did it make me want to do it too!!

Anyway, it was fun swiming in the current over the sea mount of the second dive in a decent current -- as close as i have gotten to my infinity pool! And there was a huge school of fish at the leading edge of the seamount to swim into and be surrounded by these glimmering blue and silver fish -- dont know what kind they were. Anyway, a truly delighful day.

Until next time, Newo -out!!