Tongan Feast and Things

We have had a few days of good weather, starting on my birthday when we went for a very hot bike ride. Then moved to one of the outer islands of this group, quite difficult to get to as it involved finding the deep channels between very shallow bits of reef, and as the electronic charts are well and truly out of position, they weren't much help. Worth it though, it was a lovely spot with a long beach and exposed rocky area at low tide, and a path through to the ocean side with cliffs and pounding waves. Extracted ourselves yesterday in 30 knot winds - carefully following the GPS track from our inward route.

Now in a much tamer anchorage with lots of other boats, but we came here so that we could go to a Tongan Feast last night. This is a weekly event put on by a Tongan family for tourists, but exactly the same as the feasts put on for any local celebration. It all took place in a simple shelter just behind the beach. There was music provided by a banjo, a couple of guitars, a wooden drum and some good strong singing voices. (helped along by a large bowl of kava drunk from coconut shells) Then a group of local primary school children did some dancing - no hip shaking here, but a lot of hand and arm movement from the girls, and warlike stamping and gesturing from the lads.

The food was delicious. A long table was covered with banana leaves, and we ate food packed in banana leaves, in short lengths of halved bamboo, or coconut shells. So no plates, no utensils, and all local ingredients - fish cooked and raw, clams and other shellfish, chicken, pork, and raw and cooked vegetables. All the cooked dishes were from an 'umu' an underground oven, which cooks slowly and gives a delicious slightly smoky taste to everything. The 'guests' were a mixture of New Zealanders on holiday, a French couple teaching in NZ, and a Dutch, French, and Colombian crew from a yacht. 14 of us in all.

We still haven't seen any whales, so I'm booked to go whale watching next Wed with some friends on other boats - G has seen whales often in S Africa so isn't so interested. No doubt between now and then we'll see them all over the place!