Malo E Lelei! Hello from the Kingdom of Tonga! We are in the city of Nuku’Alofa on the island of Tongatapu, in the Kingdom of Tonga for two days and one night.
We had time for a nice visit with two cruise critic friends on the Lido deck over breakfast. We then made our way down the gangway to the pier and were pleased to find visitor information handing out maps of the island and of a walking tour in the city. We decided on a path to explore, knowing we wanted to return to the pier for the presentation between government representatives and the Captain of the Zuiderdam at 10:30 am.
J had investigated and learned the Prime Minister was sitting in Parliament this morning and if he wasn’t able to break away - a Minister would be sent on his behalf. We positioned ourselves in front of a little tent that had some officials gathered, and a sound system. A prayer was said by an Anglican minister at the beginning of the event. The Captain came off the ship and stood removed from the tent closer to the ship on the pier. This is where the exchange of gifts took place - not directly in front of us under the little tent! I guess the Prime Minister couldn’t break away as it was the Minister of Tourism who presented Captain Frank van der Hoeven with a plaque from the country of Tonga welcoming the Zuiderdam on its inaugural visit to Tonga. The Captain presented the Minister of Tourism with what appeared to be a Delft Pottery plate from Holland. I tried to get pictures of the exchange but there was a crowd of people encircled all around them!
J and I then left and carried on with our walking tour. We went past the Royal Palace (Red Roof, White building, fence all around). We came across a church with the most glorious voices wafting out to the street. We walked closer, listened from outside, heard applause, then inquired and learned it was a a women’s program - so I would have been allowed in, but J was not! We thanked them, gave a donation and left.
Minister of Tourism in profile and the Captain centred.
J carried on exploring on the path laid out on the map provided and I chose to return to the ship. I stopped at a few shops and supported the local Tongans! And I really did want to support this local economy. I had reached out to a charter company several weeks ago inquiring about a snorkel excursion and this is the reply I received: “Unfortunately everyone in our company had to leave Tonga to seek work outside the country post Covid/Earthquake/Tsunami since there haven’t been any tourists for close to three years. I hope you enjoy your time in the Kingdom.” The tsunami/earthwake they are referring to happened in January of 2022. While Canadians may have lost their jobs during COVID, they did not have to leave the country to find work. These people have suffered profoundly and I know the return of cruise ships in port will make a positive difference to their economy.
The remains of the pier torn up from the tsunami in January 2022.
I stopped at the Visitor Information booth on the pier and talked to Anna and Alice asking about taking a taxi to a beach as a single female. They advised against that so I returned to the ship for the afternoon - where J caught up with me! We ate lunch by the back Lido pool.
I spent the afternoon trying to pay for an excursion scheduled in Rarotonga in 4 days time and logging in and out of bank accounts. The duo authorization is proving to be a challenge as I cannot receive those authentication alerts on my phone while in airplane mode! So I bit the bullet and pulled it off airplane mode and promptly got a text from my cell phone carrier, advising me that I would be charged $15 for the day's roaming fee. One of things I was trying to pay was all these extra charges appearing on my phone bill!!
I called my Mom and my sister right before supper and had a quick visit, then headed off to the dining room. After dinner, the Tongans put on a fire dance display on the pier. The wind had to have made it challenging (it certainly made me cold!) but we were entertained none the less!
Fire Dance performance.
We have a tour from the pier at 9 am tomorrow so I must get organized for that! Stay safe everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment