Deep Blue Lodge Nuku'alofa

... as was the live band. The sea was like glass, very flat with hardly a ripple, and the sky and clouds looked beautiful. Hopefully my photos have come out and Dominic will be able to add them to the blog so you can see for yourselves. I hope I'm not boring you all with too much information and please excuse any spelling mistakes etc. as time is money and so I'm not reading the blogs through after typing.

... I feel a bit mean, but the photos I take are worth it. My airport pickup isn't there, so into a taxi I get, to find that of course I have missed the boat to the island I am staying on tonight. It's 3.15, the next isn't til 5. Of course, we don't leave til 5.30, but I meet a Dutch Jewish preacher who gives me a sermon, and a Tongan high school teacher who shares a coconut with me. Soft and sweet, yum. Finally on the boat for a 15 minute journey; I take a ...

... the floor inside.) When we arrived at Eua, we were met by Taki, the owner of the Hideaway. We also met Susan and Bruce, from Australia. Packing all of our stuff on the top of Taki's Isuzu Trooper and some in a nearby truck, we all hopped aboard and headed to his place. The Hideaway is exactly as the name implies. Totally cut off from the outside world. Since there really didn't seem to be any restaurants on the island, they ...

... vihdoin kirjoittamaan paperille raapustamani blogitekstit nettiin, (Yritin sita jo aiemmin paivalla, mutta nettiyhteys katkesi koko saarella puoleksi paivaksi) kaikki digikuvat tuli varmuuskopioitua ja Satu sai hotellissa lahes ilmaiseksi ranskalaisen manikyyrin varpaankynsiin. Nyt siis jannittamaan, paastaanko huomenna Fijille, ja mista syysta meidan keskiviikon haisukellus peruuntuu :) -Tommi

... surffaajasetaa, jotka eivat saiden takia ole monenakaan paivan paasseet surffaamaan. Meita onnisti viimein sukelluksien kanssa. Koska perjantaina oli hyva saa, saimme varattua lauantaille sukellusretken. Ensimmainen kohde oli todella kaunis riutta noin puolentoista tunnin venematkan paassa Nuku'alofan laiturista. Kaksi jalkimmaista tehtiin aivan Nuku'alofan vieressa, isolla hylylla seka sen viereisella riutalla. Jalkimmaisilla sukelluksilla nakyvyys ...

... peanut butter and had a cup of tea out in the conservatory. We had explained to Andrew the night before as best we could, that we would be leaving in the morning. What we hadn't anticipated was that he had asked to stay overnight with Sela and A'tolo, his grandparents, so he would be there in the morning to say goodbye to us. For a two and a half year old he was one smart cookie!! We packed our final belongings and after spending the morning playing with ...

... gepow**t) aus Me**wass** raffini**t**weise Erdgas h**stellen sollte, scheit**te aus noch ungekla**ten Gruenden. * Dem ambitioesen Plan, aus Holland einige Millionen Lit** Giftmuell gegen Bares zu importi**en und auf irgendein** Insel zu v**scharren, wurde **st durch das Plenum all** tongaischen A**zte ein Riegel geschoben, indem selbige drohten, in Corpore das Land zu v**lassen. * Ein drittklassig** am ...

... puolelle tietä ja joutunut tämän hirveän rikoksen vuoksi paikalliseen oikeuteen asti. Siellä oli isä seisonut nolona kaislahame päällä tuomarin edessä ja vastaanottanut huikean 10 dollarin sakon (about 4E) :-) Eli ei kannata rötöstellä täällä! Huomenna olisi vuorossa kirkkoreissu, mutta onneksi vasta myöhäisnäytökseen, eli aamulla lähdetään kello 9.30 liikenteeseen :-)

The first leg of the journey is over. After meeting my cousin at the airport in Los Angeles (he flew in from Montana today), we arrived safely in The Kingdom of Tonga this morning! On our way from the airport into Nuku'alofa we drove by Mala'e Kula (the Royal Tombs) where the Tongan Royal Family has been buried since King Siaosi (George) Tupou I was buried there in 1893. Most recently King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV was ...

... see part of them.Tonga is the only place in the world where you can legally swim with whales.

Final thoughts on Tonga

I absoultley loved Tonga. I loved the remotness of the place, the chilled out side of things, the beatuy of it all and the fact that there was not to many tourists around. All the annoying young travellers head to Fiji which I was sick of so it was so nice to get away from them and to go somewhere more orginal.