October
28
In
Neiafu, Vava’u, Tonga we took a bus to
a
nearby beach where we had a
demonstration
of the men cooking Sunday
dinner.
They
had prepared three fires, one to show
how
the fire was prepared, one with hot
stones
where food was added, covered in
bleaves
and rocks to hold them down and
covered
in dirt. The third fire had finished
cooking
and they removed dirt and leaves
to
show finished meal.
We
then had demonstrations of tapa cloth
making
and mat weaving.
We
also saw a kava ceremony and dancing.
We
had quite an adventure getting back to
the
ship. Apparently the tide had gone out
because
the water line was very low and it
was
about a three foot step from pier to
tender.
Everyone had to sit down on the pier
to
get in. It was difficult for everyone but
really
difficult for those with mobility issues
and
people with bad knees.
Later:
Not
unexpectedly, we were late getting everyone
on
board today. We learned from other
passengers
that they changed the dock
location
but it was a long difficult walk
and
we had to share with other boats.
The
waiting line was very long. The captain
said
the tender kept getting lower and the
