When it was time to head back to Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga (and the capitol city of Nuku'alofa), I decided to take the 2.5-hr ferry ride rather than the 10-minute plane ride. It's a fraction of the price and a cultural experience in and of itself, which was really fun. People with good memories and a fondness for obscure international news may remember that in 2009, there was a tragic ferry sinking in Tonga that took several hundred lives. The only upside of that sadness is that ferry maintenance/safety came under a lot of scrutiny afterward, and now the ferries are quite safe. So with about a hundred other people. I waited for the 'Onemato to be off-loaded and reloaded and all of us herded aboard....
...and off we went to Tongatapu. It was so much fun to see the Tongans move into that ship as if they were going to be living on it for weeks. They spread out floor mats that they'd brought with them, and blankets (recalling one of my favorite things in Tonga: watching people dressed in faux-leather jackets and other unbelievably warm clothing dramatically wipe the sweat from their faces), and those who didn't just lie down and sack out for the whole ride eventually got out picnics and decks of cards and had a grand old time.
And as the sun sank low, we made it safely back to Nuku'alofa, the capital city of Tonga. I've saved Tongatapu (the island Nuku'alofa is situated on) pics for my last post since I ended up spending time here at the beginning, middle, and end of my trip but don't need separate posts for all. (That middle stint was not planned, but Real Tonga Airlines can cancel my flights anytime they want since they're apparently willing to then put me up in one of the nicest hotels in town--WAY nicer than anything I'd book for myself! Which was especially nice because that was a day/night of extremely heavy rain the likes of which they only see a few times a year, it sounds like. The sound of it on the roof of the hotel was overwhelming! SO much water, for hours and hours!! But I was cozy in my nice--and free!--room.)
This isn't exactly a one HORSE town...but on the other hand, there sure aren't many stoplights, and this is as close to a high-rise or a busy street as you're going to see anywhere in the island nation of Tonga.
The first time I was in town, I stayed at a B-and-B type place owned by the local gentleman on the left in this picture, who is a real character. On the afternoon he was going to show me around town, he ended up having to go to a meeting so roped a Danish expat friend of his (see right) to show me around instead, and afterward the three of us had to-die-for iced coffees and chocolate cake at Escape Cafe.
Among the sights on the Dane's tour of town were the royal palace (which to me looks like something that belongs on Prince Edward Island, no?):
And the royal tombs:
But after my year on ice, I was more taken with the fruit and veg stands all along the main road into town. Mouth-watering, I'm telling you.
A Tongan playpen?
I did get a bit outside of Nuku'alofa to one of the main points of interest on Tongatapu. Along the beautiful cliffs of the southern coast of the island...
...there are these great blowholes giving command performances with each set of waves that comes in.
Tongatapu might not be the most physically beautiful or quiet/relaxing of the Tongan islands, but has great restaurants and nice people and is a great spot for starting to get to know Tongans and their culture.
Finally, some overall, end-of-trip thoughts: When I was planning my trip here and collecting info/opinions from a few friends who have been here, I got really mixed reviews. While a couple really enjoyed it, I also heard feedback that Tongans aren't very friendly and that there's not much going on here. So I arrived with modest expectations and have been WAY pleasantly surprised. My I’ve-only-been-here-10-days-and-have-little-basis-for-offering-an-opinion opinion is: I agree that if you are looking for endless activities and/or luxury, Tonga is not the place for you. And Tongans do not pander and are not solicitous. But in day-to-day interactions, I found them to be profoundly, genuinely friendly. Tongans just are who they are, and I kind of like their "take me as I am" attitude. They don’t seem to be a particularly ambitious lot, either, and as one of my hosts at the beach camp at Uoleva explained to me, most Tongans just want to enjoy life and be with their families and relax. (And in the heat of mid-day in early summer inside the Tropic of Capricorn, what kind of maniac wouldn’t want only to sprawl supine in any shade available for as long as possible?) For a tourist, that means that few people here are going to act in the polished, formulaic way that Westerners expect to be treated in a hospitality situation. And cancellations and delays and complications in a Western-style itinerary are probably going to be more reliable than anything that is supposedly scheduled. (Hence both of the domestic flights I took here being cancelled/altered!) And not many Tongans are seem particularly concerned about a visitor having a delay or not getting to do some activity the visitor wants to do, because Tongans are not concerned with that themselves, and this is Tonga, and their attitude generally seems to be: When in Tonga, do as the Tongans do. And the more I tried to abide that standard, the more I enjoyed myself.
Plus, Tongan culture is very family-centered, and the country has relatively low-crime rates. Like every other non-Western country I've been to, Tongans have that word in their language that technically means "foreigner" but for practical purposes means "whitey" (here, it's palangi) but I never heard it said with resentment or malice. And there was very little sexual or foreigner-related harassment happening. (Though now I'm thinking: maybe I'm just getting old and I'm not very harrassment-worthy anymore; there's a nice benefit to aging!)
I kind of hope that if I ever get to come back here, Tonga hasn't changed too much, as I've really loved it here. Even as I was walking outside to board the plane back to New Zealand and then start heading home to the US for real, the sky at dusk over Tonga seemed to be calling to me, "Come back soon!..."
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