We traded a sea full of poisonous snakes that can't bite for a sea full of jelly fish that can sting. It's stunning to see how many there are here in the bay, especially at night. Coming back from dinner the other night in the dinghy, we noticed thousands of them, swarms, schools, herds of jellyfish. Once back on our boat, we spent over an hour with a strong flashlight, mesmerized as they swam slowly by -- or squished, or whatever it is they do -- their beautiful white tentacles flowing around them as they moved along, sometimes turning upside down and revealing their see-through insides to our camera. No jumping in the water here, especially at night. Hopefully they will abate in the coming weeks, or not be as thick in other anchorages.

Our first 3 nights here have been so calm, we feel like the boat is in dry dock. Rock solid, except when a dinghy goes by and leaves mild waves in it's wake, gently splashing the hull. We all realized we haven't had a calm, quiet night since Bora Bora over a month ago. The main topic of conversation amongst our friends is how quiet it is, and how well we're sleeping.

I had a great birthday thanks to Allan and the good friends we've made along the way -- Michael and Gloria from Paikea Mist, Gordon and Sherry from Serenity, and Steve and Trish from Curious. Steve and Trish hosted a cocktail hour on their beautiful Oyster 57, followed by a delicious dinner prepared by Swiss chef Gunther at the Dancing Rooster, and topped off with a chocolate cake Gloria baked earlier in the day. I do feel overwhelmingly blessed.

Yesterday Allan and I joined Gordon and Sherry from Serenity for church, a delightful display of sights and sounds. The Tongans take church, singing, and church attire very seriously. The men and boys all had large, thick woven mats wrapped around their waists, bound in place with thick cords, or wide black belts. Some of the women also sported the heavy mats that spanned from above the waist to mid-thigh, worn over fancy long dresses. These are the kind of mats you could walk on, or sleep on, or sleep under. Others had modified versions that looked much easier to wear: intricate woven belts with long fringe, almost like a hula skirt, and some actually had woven grass skirts over their dresses. Not one woman had her hair down; all had long black pony tails or large buns held in place with dressy pins and clips. And not one shoulder was in evidence, making me feel terribly exposed. We also noted that men and women did not sit together. The children were at the front, or with their mothers, who sat on the right side of the church; the teens were all in uniform on the left side of the church, and the men sat in the middle behind the women and children. It made for an interesting sound when they sang, the men in their deep, strong voices and the women and teens harmonizing like a professional choir. It was gorgeous. We didn't understand a word of it, or of the sermon, until the pastor spelled the "H" word very slowly for the children, who burst into laughter.

And today we explored Tonga beneath the sea, and I must say it's a huge relief to see live coral again. I think I'd gotten used to seeing colorful fish against a dead gray background of dead coral, mostly due to cyclone damage, but sad nonetheless. Here, many of the reefs are protected from storm damage, and the colors are as varied as I've ever seen. Rich, red anemone, orange, lime green, yellow, pink and purple coral, huge green fan corals that looked like tropical ferns, and lots of sea life. The highlight was when we stopped breathing and hung in silence, listening to a distant humpback whale. We're hoping to hear a lot more of that in the next month.

Tomorrow we plan to stock up at the markets and head out to one of the many beautiful anchorages within a few hours' sail, to explore and soak up some quiet.