We arrived to Neiafu, the main town in Tonga on the morning of Saturday, July 23rd, having lost a day in crossing the International Date Line. We had been looking forward to the Friday night festivities we had heard so much about, but we were a day late! The Tongan government workers had begun a strike on Friday and, hence, nobody was allowed to check in until further notice. Therefore, we picked up a mooring and went ashore, along the way being approached by locals selling flags, necklaces, feasts, etc, which we would find was very common throughout the Tongan islands.

Our biggest treat came when we realized that the exchange rate was 2:1 (Tongan to US). So as we sat eating what we expected to be a $60 lunch, we were pleasantly surprised to find it was only $15. How wonderful to be out of French Polynesia! We discovered a wonderful farmer's market and a bakery with fresh bread on a back. There were some great restaurants, mostly owned and patronized by ex-pats and Aussies/Kiwis. We particularly enjoyed The Mermaid, where we even met a family from my very small home town of Villa Park.

We had a wonderful experience at the First Wesleyan Church on Sunday morning. The singing was beautiful, and although we could not understand the language, the service was also very nice. After we got back to the boat, we were hit by the low we had been expecting, so we spent the next 36 hours on the boat, praying that the mooring would hold.

After the storm was over, as well as the strike, we were able to check in. Our experience was not the best??"at one point we had three officials on board drinking our beer and asking for movies, etc. After about three very long hours of paperwork and bureaucracy, we were free to go.