We were very lucky to arrive here the day prior to the King of Tonga arrival. The entire population was busy preparing the Island to receive him. They made arches along the 3 km of the narrow road that connect the 3 villages and decorated the arches with palm leaves, the finest laulaha mats (pandanus) and leis made out coconut fibers, shells, leaves. And many signs welcoming the King. This Island is known for the mats woven out of pandanus. They are the finest I have seen. I found interesting that they don't make hats nor baskets. The king arrived by ship and his own band came also. Many of the villagers were waiting and we the cruisers were invited to the celebrations. Everybody was dressed in their best adorned with their traditional woven skirt over their clothing. The women all wear long skirts, even in their everyday life. In the village of Hihifa there was an agricultural and craft show where the farmers brought their harvest of many types of taro, yams, sweet potatoes, papayas, and bananas. These were of many varieties, mostly I never seen before. The craftsmen brought their crafts to display only. They didn''t want to sell anything. There was music and dance and the best farmers, students, craftsmen were awarded a certificate by his Majesty. It was truly an experience of a lifetime for us. Yesterday I went to mass in one of the Catholic churches. There are quite a few churches here, 7 different religions. The competition for the souls here is high. The choir was superb. These people can sing like pros. After mass we had lunch with Sia, Niko and their 3 kids in their one room house. They cook in the umu like in Samoa. We ate taro, yam, manioc, taro leaves in coconut milk, fish in coconut milk and papaya. I baked a cake and cruisers from other boats brought other deserts. These are very appreciated as they can't bake. We will be here until we get a weather window to go to Vava'u, the group of islands south of here. We have no internet connection here and I hope I get a signal in the SSB to sen this. Aloha to all.