Coral Reefs and Powerful Stories
31 August 2023
Alex
Rover is still anchored off Pangiamotu Island. I arrived Monday a bit
earlier than expected and met up with the rest of the crew. We had lunch
and I got settled in. Everything on the boat has a place and my
belongings got assigned to the top right drawer in the forward most
cabin.This is home for the next couple weeks.
Tuesday, Teddy, Pete and I were assigned the task of provisioning for
the trip.We went into town and gathered up food for the trip, dropped of
some laundry, and did a little souvenir shopping at the market in
town.While we were looking for a rugby jersey for Uncle Eric, we met a
woman from Bangladesh who, with her husband, managed an apparel store in
the market. She was very friendly, and after asking where we were from
expressed her interest in leaving Tonga and moving somewhere else.
As the conversation went on, she opened up more and shared here
experience with the recent volcano eruption.At this point Teddy, Pete,
and myself were quietly listening as she told us that they had been
warned there could be a tsunami Friday but when it didnât come they
assumed it would not.Then, Saturday when they were not expecting it, it
happened.
The woman and her husband have lived in Tonga for the past 7 years.
Their parents and extended family still live in Bangladesh.They have not
seen each other since before Covid. The woman was nearly 9 months
pregnant when the eruption happened, and did not understand enough of
the local language to fully grasp what was going on or what instructions
they were being given.She told us that she thought the world was
ending.They were in their car, her husband driving, and her son who was
in the back seat said to her, âItâs ok mom, we will die as a family.â
She was in the front passenger seat of the car as they drove to higher
ground and called her parents in Bangladesh to say goodbye. She told us
she called to apologize for not being a better daughter.By this point
Teddy, Pete, and I were pretty much speechless. This woman had lived
through an event that she didnât really understand in a country that was
not her home.She was with her son and husband and was pregnant with
their second and to her this was the end of her life.
Fortunately, their family survived the eruption and subsequent
tsunami.They still live in Tonga and hope to someday move to Canada
where their two boys will have a more opportunities. After she finished
her story we thanked her for sharing and told her we would be back once
we finished our shopping.We did return, and Teddy bought a shirt. We
thanked them and went about our day.
Wednesday and Pete and I did some exploring after our chores while Teddy
caught up on some sleep and did some meal prep. The island that we are
anchored off of isnât very big and we decided the most obvious thing to
do was walk around it.We took the dingy out first and did a bit of
snorkeling. Pete saw a six-foot sea snake which was pretty neat and I
found a Tiger Cowrie Conch which was the most beautiful shell I had ever
seen.It would have made an excellent souvenir had it not had an
inhabitant.When we came ashore we began our walk around the island. We
saw lots of broken shells, a few crabs, and a wild pig but the highlight
was the black tip reef shark that we spotted in the shallows while we
were on the beach.It was approximately four feet long. In spite of our
best efforts we couldnât get to him fast enough to see him closer before
he splashed and took off.The other side of the island took the brunt of
the tsunami and there was some pretty bad damage to trees, after making
our way around we came back to Rover in time for dinner. Teddy made
Spanish rice and it was delicious!
Thursday, Teddy went ashore to pick up Benny.This is the last trip to
the main island before we set off.After Pete and I finished our chores
we hopped back in the dingy with our snorkel gear to hopefully find
another reef shark. This proved unsuccessful however the snorkeling was
much better today. We found a nice reef shelf on the other side of the
island with lots of fish and some coral the size a bus. This area was
pretty open and felt like we were swimming in an aquarium. An aquarium
that has colorful fish on one side and behind us very deep very dark
ocean that I assume is full of large sharks that knew exactly where we
were⦠We survived the experience and made our way back to Rover. Benny
and Ted will be joining us later today and tomorrow we set off for
Fiji.Iâm excited to be underway and a tad bit nervous as Iâve been told
âexpect to be sickâ and itâs the best way to slim up âthe hard way.â It
should be an adventure, and definitely âType 2â fun.
Morale remains high!
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