World Cruise--Samoa And Tonga

Five days at sea. It would have been six but we lost February 13 to the International Date Line. Gone forever. Several hours later we would cross the Equator. We were in that little niche where the date line makes a zig zag and the equator is right near it.

Unfortunately there wasn’t much celebrating for me in the Equator crossing. I’m blaming the venison I had for dinner. I’ve never had venison before and decided to try it. I thought it tasted good but I was up all night. Let’s just say I won’t have venison again—at least not for a very long time. I thought I was doing well but the morning of our arrival in Samoa, I woke knowing I was not going to be able to go on our excursion. I was really disappointed but Bob, undaunted, promised to take pictures for me. I thanked him, sent him off and crawled back into bed.

When I surfaced again, I went out on our balcony. It was a pretty hot and humid day so I didn’t linger. There was really no reason to as we were docked at a container port and had no view of anything but shipping containers. I thought perhaps there would be a better view on the other side of the ship so I ventured out with my camera.

There was a little better view but not much. I could see a really pretty church and I took a picture from the ship, walked a little until the promenade deck was blocked because they were using the tenders. I suspect it was for security as they had hung the large banner warning other vessels to keep their distance. I was getting too warm and wondered how Bob was doing. Thankfully I saw him pack two water bottles. I only hoped he remembered to drink them.

When Bob returned, he gave me a full report of his adventure. The small bus had been air conditioned so it wasn’t too bad. They stopped at a few government buildings for pictures and then went on to the Robert Louis Stevenson home. He was a bit disappointed he said. While the restored house is original, nothing else in it was. It was all period furniture that may have looked like his. Or not.

Robert Louis Stevenson home

The real gem for Bob was the church I had seen from the ship. The inside was every bit as beautiful as the outside with wonderful stained glass windows and a lovely wooden paneled ceiling. I would have loved to see it. It was within walking distance but the sun had grown hotter and I didn’t think I could make it.

We said goodbye to Samoa and had another day at sea before arriving at Tonga, our next port of call. In all my research, I couldn’t get a good read on what Tonga would be like. Let’s just say that no one would have been able to describe the beauty and joy of the island.

My first look out the window made my heart swell with pleasure. We were docked at a pier with a long walkway, beautifully bordered by grass, that ended in a pretty building that looked like a welcome center. Below me, but hidden from my view because of the lifeboats, I could hear the Polynesian music. Different than in Hawaii and with a few yelps here and there, almost like a polka party.

I was feeling good and excited for our excursion to begin mid-morning. We received our stickers for our bus assignment and when called, filed out to the buses that were parked in a lot halfway to the big building at the end of the walkway. By the time we entered our bus, it was nearly full and the only choices left were seats in the back or on the wheel wells. Obviously there was not going to be A/C but the windows were open and there was a deliciously cool breeze blowing in.

Our tour guide, Morris, was a hoot. He looked like a college student but was all decked out in proper Tongan fare, a black skirt with a lacey kind of overlay and a black suit jacket. Later he had some sort of head piece made from coconut threads perhaps since they said they used every part of the coconut for all sorts of things like belts and items of clothing.

Our first stop took us round the block and just opposite the ship to the Royal Palace. We were cautioned not to stick our hands through the fencing to take a picture as it was considered very disrespectful. The better picture was actually taken from the ship.

There is a king and queen of Tonga and a royal family. We didn’t get much of the commentary from our guide as he was up front with no microphone and we were in back with the wind whipping in the window making it even noisier. So I can’t tell you much about the royal family as I don’t have enough internet time to research that. (Bob and I have to share our internet time and it gets a little difficult. We can only use one device at a time.)

Five minutes for pictures, which always turns into ten to fifteen by the time you unload and load 47 people, and we were on our way to the Royal Tomb. It was being renovated and there was a large barrier surrounding it so there wasn’t much to see for now.

On to Captain James Cook’s landing spot. Cook, who did a lot of exploring in the South Pacific including Australia and New Zealand, actually visited Tonga three times. He dubbed it the “friendly islands” as he saw a group of people welcoming him and with no animosity or threat. 

The sight at this spot marked where he came ashore on his third and longest visit. There used to be a large banyan tree where it is said he rested often. It since has been destroyed, probably by a cyclone, but a shoot from the tree has been preserved and is being nurtured to replace the large one.

Back on the bus, we were on our way to our major activity of this excursion, the beach and a cave.