Greetings from Tonga

Sunday, February 1, 2015

We arrived at this Polynesian kingdom last evening. This is the only island in the area that has never been colonized – a 1000-year old monarchy. We can see the royal residence from our ship. Today is Sunday, and in Tonga it is forbidden to do business on a Sunday. So everything – and I mean everything – is closed. We will be here through tomorrow afternoon, when everything will be open.

Of interest is the dock where our ship is moored. It was built in 2011, opened in 2012, and funded by the People’s Republic of China.

Unlike the French Polynesian islands, Tonga is not a volcano, but rather a reef. So it is flat and surrounded by lots of reefs. In addition to a monarch, it has a standing army and fresh ground water, although the guide book recommends boiling water before consumption.

We are in Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga and located on Tongatapu – the largest island in the archipelago’s 176 islands. 

Sailing, sailing

January 29, 2015

We are still at sea, heading toward Tonga. We had to skip Rarotonga due to unsafe tender conditions. Then we had to skip Alofi due to a cyclone that is scheduled to hit tomorrow morning – just as we were scheduled to arrive. So we are sailing around the storm – it’s sunny and 79 degrees – and will arrive at Nuku Alofa, Tonga, tomorrow evening.

Speaking of tomorrow evening, we will cross the International Date Line tonight at 11:00 p.m. (4:00 a.m. Eastern time), and reset our clocks ahead 23 hours – Friday, January 30, will not exist for us. When we go to bed tonight it will be Thursday, January 29, 2015, but when we wake up tomorrow morning it will be Saturday, January 31. As a result, we will see the Super Bowl on Monday, February 2, instead of Sunday.   

We have met some interesting people – a couple from Sarasota who live on a boat and travel in the winter when all the snowbirds are there, a couple from Australia who retired in their 50s and are traveling the world, and a 35-year-old single woman who is doing the entire 114 days alone. There is also a 22-year-old on her second world cruise who is traveling with her grandmother. Takes all kinds.

Now it’s time to see the sunset. Aloha. 

And the adventure continues
January 21, 2015
Yesterday we left for Papeete, Tahiti for a few days of recuperation before meeting our ship on Saturday. However, our final leg from LAX to Tahiti was delayed due to a cyclone in the south Pacific. So we spent the night in a local hotel, courtesy of Air France, and are now waiting to board the rescheduled flight this afternoon. Cross your fingers.

On the positive side, if we hadn't missed the beginning of the cruise, we might have been caught in that storm at sea. Can't wait to hear what the Pacific crossing was like from our fellow cruisers when we finally board.

Best laid plans
Well instead of sailing off on this grand adventure, we are still in Florida recuperating from an 8-day hospital stay(four in critical care), for me and a 5-day stay for John. Pneumonia. Although not the adventure we had planned, it was an adventure as I had never been hospitalized before. Great hospital, Memorial Regional in Hollywood.

But we are on the mend and plan to meet the ship next week in Tahiti.