Cruising Vava'u

We left this morning for our new lovely anchorage off of Nuapapu rather early so that we could explore and snorkel. We are now located off of a special reef called the Coral Garden, where we will snorkel tomorrow: S 18 43.403', W 174 06.039'  After late afternoon coffee and fruit with the European kids on Maui, and a great potluck on Whirlwind this evening with several friends we have met along the way, including A Cappella, it is now late again, but I will send tonight so you will at least know that I am thinking about you. First I will send what I wrote last night and then I will add a bit of today's incredible adventure.

Sunday, October 9

This morning as we slid across the glassy bay, the deep blue sky and bright sunshine brought forth vibrant hues of hillside greens and water blues, everything so clear after the huge thunder/lightning rainstorm last night. Tuke picked us up in his van and we were off to one of seven churches in the small village on Pangaimotu, stopping by his home at the top of the hill to pick up the rest of the family. The music was the best ever; all of the men in the pew behind us had incredible voices and they sang praises to the Lord with soulful commitment. Both David and I immediately felt the spiritual essence of the island and we knew how very fortunate we were to be touched by all. 


After the service, we drove back to the house Tuke built from scratch after the last hurricane in 2003 destroyed all they had, and this ongoing project of his, with much more to do, made David realize how much he could do for the people of Tonga, if he ever wanted to stay long enough to really be of help. They need so much, and, even though they work very hard everyday, money comes very slowly and everything is expensive. Collette and Tuke's number one priority is education for the kids and they work nonstop to make sure that happens. We ate on the floor of their two story block house with a wonderful view of the ocean beyond, and the food was delicious: lamb, corned beef, and fish sauted in coconut milk and wrapped in taro leaves, raw Mahi in coconut milk, lime, tomato and onions, baked breadfruit, and water melon. Their generosity and graciousness made us feel wonderfully special; they are so poor yet gave us so much. We left them a few gifts, along with a secret envelope with some money but it was apparant that they certainly just wanted to share their family and culture with us with no expectations from us. Once again, our journey is so much about the people we meet, much more than the place; of course, this island hopping is way cool as well, especially when the sun does shine.

Monday

It was a beautiful sunny day with huge white puffy clouds moving cross the blue sky as we motor-sailed to our next destination off of a reef named the Coral Garden next to a beautiful white, sandy beach, with palm trees gently blowing in the breeze on the island of Nuapapu. Since the Coral Garden can best be reached at high tide by way of dinghy and it was too late to go today, so we took Worm around a motu close by with a different reef and found the most incredible coral garden we have ever seen. What an amazing display of color, shapes, and sizes! It is so impossible to properly describe the experience of floating freely along a wall of such vibrant live plants; it is as if I were flying through hilly fields of flowers everywhere, each one different in so many ways. WOW !!!!!! And this is not the real Coral Gardens! Tomorrow (today for you) we will snorkel the actual Coral Garden Reef and take pictures, hopefully sharing the essence much more than my limited words can describe when we find the internet again. We are so so lucky.