Just a quick blog to fill everyone in, because it seems like things have moved quickly since arriving in Neiafu last Thurday.

The town itself is cute with lots of little restaurants, coffeehouses and boutiques however; most are closed because of the off season, which is fine by me. There are enough places open hosting different activities to keep us occupied and a nice mix of cruisers but not so many that we feel overwhelmed. Plus I like having the time to chat with the people that live here, which during their busy season they all assure me is not always possible.. Most of the businesses here are run by expats, which brings a nice mix into the town.
The Vavau group of Tonga is known for whale watching. The humpback whales come here from Antarctica to mate and calve between July and November. I don't know the specifics yet but when I do will write about it. It is also a big dive destination and one of the five best cruising grounds in the world. There are 150 islands all within anywhere from a fifteen minute sail to a few hours. People have been raving to us about the other islands within the group but thus far we have stayed tied to a mooring in town arranging sail repairs and looking into schools. I use to word town loosely, it is a small town not in any way big enough to pollute the water which is beautiful, clean and refreshing.

This brings me to the exciting news. Ben started school today! (see photos) He is now a student at the Tongan Side School which is the private English speaking school. School started on Monday and his first day was today Wednesday. He has to wear a uniform of gray shorts, shirt (which a woman here makes), brown belt and brown sandals. The Tongan school teaches from the New Zealand curriculum so he is in Level 3. The school, from what I have heard is quite strict. The students MUST mind the teacher or there are real consequences. Also the students work keeping the school clean (cleaning bathrooms, picking up garbage outside, helping plant and maintain the gardens). School starts at 8:20 ends at 3:20. Students must pack a lunch and there is NO junk food allowed (juice is considered junk food). Children are only allowed to drink water; anything the teacher thinks is junk food will be confiscated. Today's lunch was a pb&j, banana and apple.
The school is private but I think the prices are very reasonable there was a twenty dollar enrollment fee ($13.00US) and tuition is $79.00paanga per year but that is about $40.00US. So for a year is costs $75.00 US for the year with books included This is quite a bit for the local Tongan though as they make only 2.50 pa'anga an hour.
His teachers name is Miss Tonga, easy enough to remember, thankfully. In Tonga teachers are revered and their standing in society is similar to that of the priest. It is not viewed that the teacher works for you or answers to the parent. Essentially, you work on their schedule and suck up to them as much as possible. Fine by me. After homeschooling I even more admiration and respect for teachers. I think it should be mandatory for all parents to homeschool their kids for at least three weeks. I guarantee teachers would get a 1,000% raise and more time off. Hands down one of the hardest jobs. Anyway, I am digressing.

Ben is beyond excited. He told me last night that he probably won't want me to walk him everyday because he will want to go with his friends. He was so brave this morning with all the kids circling around him staring at him. He stuck close to me and Sam as well. They have become so close it breaks my heart. Anyway, I am so proud of Ben and the little man that he is becoming. I am just brimming with pride for the way the boys handle themselves.

We are very much enjoying Tonga thus far and it seems I may have found the community I have been craving. I don't now how long we will be here but I think most likely for the duration of hurricane season so a few months.Sam starts at the little Kindergarten next week which is just down the road from Ben. Funny, I have never been without my children before. Sam is also excited. Anyway, I have to run at will write again once I get a full report from Ben.

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WooHoo!!! We crossed the International Dateline, which, for me, brings home how far we have come (or gone).


We finally left American Samoa. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. However, the trip once again was not as we had expected. O kept telling me he was worried that we wouldn't have any wind and would 'languish 'out there. I just wanted calm seas, wind and to get the hell out of dodge. I had a hard time believing it would be calm wind and seas considering it had been blowing 20 plus kts in the harbor for three days prior to our departure.
After the initial deep breath that we had finally left, we were assaulted. As I had suspected, it was not nice out there. We were supposed to have 4-6 ft seas on the aft quarter and we had ten ft beam sea with a 23-28 kt head wind. The Pacific is NEVER as predicted. However, we fell off a bit making it a beam reach and we hauled. Indy FULLY LOADED. water, fuel, even extra in the jerry cans, was running along with a reef n both sails at eleven knots.
The problem was that the wind kept creeping more westerly so we kept falling off. Presenting a tricky situation because if the wind did not die we would be forced eventually to beat back. The wind speed and direction contradicted all of the weather reports we had received. And then the squalls started. We had a choice, continue the course throughout the night and HOPE the wind dies and we make tracks in the right direction OR fall off for Naitpatutoto.

The winds were intensifying and it was looking ugly. So, we fell off and put the ten ft seas behind us. Granted it was still not calm because we were getting hammered by squalls. At one point O called me up on deck because we were squashed between two squalls. The second squall which we were in the thick of was showing 43 kts. I ran up, grabbed the wheel from O to bring her into the wind so O could run up on deck to reef her down. However, in the flurry we did not bring in the head sail so O was up there while the Genny was whipping around. This is so dangerous and a stupid, stupid oversight. It was raining so hard I could not see anything except hear the sails flapping it was hard holding her into the wind due to the squall which was funneling in different directions. O was screaming to sheet in the boom of the main, which I was trying to do while holding her into the wind. It was crazy. I read somewhere that in order to effectively sail the Pacific you need to have your boat reefed at night to fifty kts if it takes more than three minutes to reef. I thought this was tongue and cheek but I now know it is not. While we can reef Indy quickly, mentally it takes a while. I have learned a great deal sailing out here mostly that things happen fast and it is NOT uncommon to see 40-50kt squalls. Ah, the joys of traveling in hurricane season!!

The good news is we fell off to a place we had wanted to visit but were going to miss because we thought it was too late in cyclone season to be sitting out there unprotected. But, never say never!! We are in Niuatoputapu aka New Potatoes. Fortunately we have been getting weather regularly all looks good so far. (Keep fingers crossed).

We have been here over two weeks. We all love it here. Indy is THE ONLY boat here which we love. We thrive in places without other cruising boats, just Indy and the local people. Yes, it is nice to meet other cruisers but that is not why we wanted to do this trip.

We are back into a routine. Ben is on his school schedule (second grade!!). While Ben is in school, Sam has been playing in the kayaks that are tied off behind the boat. Most days are spent kayaking around the reef, exploring the island, meeting people, doing boat projects or just chilling out on the boat or beach. The kids have been swimming up storm. They forgot how much they missed it, I think. We have been having a lot of fun with the new kayaks.
My faith in cruising and our adventure have been renewed. O and I keep looking at each other and saying "Oh yeah, THIS is why we are out here!" During the day, I have been chilling out reading on the aft deck, while the ids swim. A few times I have walked the two miles in the baking sun to the school where, when the generator is running they have internet. There is also a fantastic beach for shelling on the windward side BUT there is little shade plus it is about a mile walk each way so we have only been there three times. Whenever I bring up going the kids always tell me they want to stay onboard, so I stay as well. IT can be a brutally hot walk.

Last weekend we traded a bottle of Panamanian rum for a small pig and hosted a pig roast for about twenty people. It was so much fun and reminded me, again, of why we are out here. We originally offered to pay cash for the pig but since the tsunami in Sept. they have not had a supply ship (it sank before the tsunami), so the shelves in the one store are empty, therefore cash is pretty much useless. They suggested the rum trade. One cool thing about no supplies is we don't spend any money either!
Anyway, I remembered I had a Piñata in the forepeak that I had bought in Panama which was still in great shape so we filled it with candy and brought it to the pig roast. We had our host family gather up all the little kids from the village, there were about 30 or so, and (in Tongan) she explained that the Piñata was full of candy and they were to take turns beating it with a sick until the candy fell out! You should have seen the looks on their faces when they got a turn to swing madly at this silly thing that promised to shower them with lollies! It was great to be the source of all those smiles. Some little girls came over wearing their Sunday finest, pink flowing princess dresses with sparkles. The girls were so shy but proud. It broke my heart.

Afterward we sat around having a few beers (which we supplied because the island has no more beer), meeting the neighbors and telling stories while taking turns turning the pig on the spit until it was feast time. Our hosts served taro, plantain and breadfruit which had been cooked in coconut milk with the pig. In typical American fashion, I brought potato salad.

The boys made tons of new friends. The day after the pig roast, the boys were swarmed when they went ashore. Ben told me he was famous, and I quote "Mom, it's not easy being famous; you never get a moment to yourself!" It's great.

This place was decimated by the tsunami. All the villages are built at around 15 feet above sea level and the waves of the tsunami peaked at 27 -30 feet here. 2 of the 3 villages were completely wiped out, fortunately only 9 people perished, but that number is still significant when you figure the entire population is less than 600. They still have no electricity and most people lost their entire house and all their belongings into the sea. Most people are living in tents and cooking over open fires. They have nothing. I feel ostentatious with Indy, I have to admit. The amazing thing is that the people are still quick to smile and offer us what little they may have to share. We have been helping out where and when we can. Providing fuel, clothes, old toys, food, toiletries etc. I know it does not even begin to scratch the surface but we were not prepared for this. Frustrating how little they have and zero aid when money is flying around Samoa. The frustrating thing for these people is that the King donated $50,000 to the Samoan relief effort. That money ALONE would go a long way in helping these people.

The King of Tonga also wants the people to move 5k into the bush but the people do not want to move, I do not blame them. There is no breeze back there and the mosquitoes are INTENSE. However, the King is saying that if they do not move then he will not supply electricity or aid. I think the King should come and live 5k back in the bush!! I think after one night he may be singing a different tune. When I walk the path to the beach during the day I am swarmed by mosquitoes. I hope the people can work something out with the government and rebuild where they are.

We were invited to attend the Sunday morning Catholic Mass by one of the families. It was a pretty service and although it was all in Tongan, except when the priest welcomed us, I was glad we went. All the men and women were wearing their taovalas which are woven mats they wrap around their waist, worn over sarongs, and tie with a black cord. This mats are woven out of the leaves of the Banda tree (I think it is Banda). Anyway, the women's are adorned with shells and feathers. The men's usually have different woven designs. They are quite beautiful. Our host Sia gave me hers as a thank you for all we have done for them. I was very reluctant to take it but she insisted.
The Tongans celebrate through music so the service was full of soothing heartfelt hymns. Listening to the music made me feel grateful that I was there and able to witness their celebration, not sure the kids were as impressed but I loved it.

I couldn't help but wonder how the priest explains to the villagers the Tsunami. We had been told that some of the older villagers thought it was the wrath of God because he was angry with them. However, their faith appears to remain strong regardless.

Sadly, we will be leaving today. It is time for us to get to a more protected anchorage. We have been lucky with the weather thus far and do not want to push it. Our next stop will be Neifu, which is a great deal more protected.

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We would like to wish our family and friends a happy healthy and prosperous New Year! "May the best of last year be the worst of this year"..........I heard this toast in the lobby of Sadie Thompson's Inn. Sadie was a famous "escort girl" in the 40s-50s. Apparently she was run out of Hawaii and showed up here in the late 30s. She rented a room at the local "flop house" (the building which now has her name) which was occupied by mostly missionaries, and started plying her trade. Thanks to the war and Sadies appetite for business, she soon bought the entire building, booted the holy rollers and set up her "house of ill repute". It was a favorite watering hole for the sailors to unwind and relax.

I just wanted to let everyone know we are OK and STILL HERE in what Otis has nicknamed "American Shit Hole-ah". We actually had a decent Christmas. Santa was able to find us again and actually had the luxury of entering Indy through the main salon doors this year, as Sam was adamant that Santa was too fat to make it down the hatches! After we did the usual morning stocking stuffers and gift opening celebration, we headed to the beach at Tisa's Barefoot Beach Hotel. Ben & Sam really enjoy the beach there and Otis and I like Tisa the owner and her son Jason. They held a pot luck with open grille, which suited us fine given the heat, it was perfect to hang out on the beach, snack on cold salads and not have to cook.

We have cleared out and are scheduled to leave here tomorrow morning for Neiafu Tonga. Our original plan was to stop for a few days t Niuatopatapu "New Potoatoes" but we have since found out the island was devastated by the Tsunami, 2 of the three villages were wiped out. Since we have seen enough of the devastation here we felt we should just push on. Have no idea what Neiafu is like but Otis assures me it is "relatively safe" during cyclone season. So that is our plan for now, I will write more once we have something different to report other than here.

Otis spent New Years Eve giving the blog a "facelift", he downloaded and organized a bunch of new photos and labeled a few. He has assured me he will be taking the photos more seriously going forward. Not too bad Otis, considering it has only taken 2.5 years and 10,000 miles! Unfortunately we discovered we are missing most of the Caribbean photos from Bahamas to Venezuela due to a crashed hard drive we still have to send away to get the info recovered. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

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