We sailed on from Mariner's Cave to anchor inside of Vakaeitu Island, to explore the area and snorkel Coral Gardens, one of the most beautiful reefs in Tonga. We, along with the crew of Vivo, and Kiapa were treated to a traditional Tongan beach barbecue by a delightful local couple. We brought the side dishes, and they brought a freshly killed piglet, which we all helped them roast over an open fire. They were incredibly efficient with it, similar to the way we clean and cook fish. They singed it on the fire and used a knife to scrape the hair off the skin, cleaned it and washed it in the sea, then pushed a spit in end to end and we all took turns turning it over the open fire. It only took about 90minutes to cook this way, bathing it in coconut water from time to time. It was deemed done when it turned freely on the spit so you couldn't rotate it anymore. We carved it and ate it, it was the most moist and best tasting pork we've had. The local couple had 6 of their children with them on the beach, they played guitar and sang native songs to us, which were religious in nature (Mormon) but in Tongan. Lorenzo and Mike played some western guitar songs for them as well. We gave them a soccer ball, and pipe cleaners with beads, with which they made jewelery and hair ties. It was a great exchange of culture and the kind of experience we go cruising for. In the morning Russ and Lionel fixed the outboard motor on their boat for them, and Vivo gave them fishing gear and duffel bags, which were very much appreciated. The next day, we waited until high tide, and snorkeled over the Coral Gardens nearby. It was the largest reef of hard coral we've seen, vibrant with rich colors and small colorful reef fish. You have to be a bit careful to snorkel over the dead side of the reef through breaking waves at high tide, but the outside of the reef is spectacular and well worth the effort. We lingered for about an hour enjoying the experience, then quickly surfed back across the reef before the tide went down. The area has a 1.3M tide, so it is easy to do if you keep an eye on your watch! What an incredible memory, and David and Tika will definitely be on our list when we sail again!