Mark and I walked to see the boatyard on the other side of Neiafu Harbor. The boat yard opened last year, and is the only place in Tonga where boats can be lifted out of the water for storage or boat work. Previously, boaters needed to sail to Fiji or New Zealand for this service.

Along the way we saw kids walking home from school. Each school is represented with a different color uniform, e.g., blue, green, orange, burgundy and yellow. Boys wear long sarong-like skirts, tupenus, with woven mats wrapped around the waist, ta'ovalas, and girls wear jumpers and white collared shirts. In the Tongan villages, women are expected to wear clothing covering their shoulders to below the knees.

In addition to local children, we saw numerous pigs wandering the streets, with only a few in fenced areas. Typically, in the islands we see roosters, chickens and non-spaded dogs roaming the streets.

Ovalau Island is one of our favorite locations in Vava'u. It's not uncommon to see whales in the distance. The reefs close to the island attract many colorful fish and we haven't seen any sharks or poisonous snakes here.

In less than an hour, I circumnavigated the island, rowing our dinghy. It gives you an idea of the size of some of these islands, and what an excellent rower I am:) The picture was taken by Mark, as I completed the circumnavigation.

Every 7-10 days we sail back to Neiafu Harbor. Neiafu is the only place in Vava'u where you can provision (buy food), drop off garbage, obtain fuel, buy access to the Internet and eat at a restaurant. The open market, not grocery stores, sell fruit and vegetables. It is not uncommon to run out of staple items like eggs, garlic, flour and sugar. Only one of the four ships that carry food to Tonga is currently operational. The true crisis came when Tonga ran out of ice cream. Ice cream is very popular here. A common way to eat ice cream, in Tonga, is to tear a loaf of bread (not sliced) in half, rip out some of the bread and load it with ice cream.

Although we had waypoints to get to Kenutu Island, it was still a nail biter, winding our way through various reefs. I stood on the bow looking for reefs (color changes in the water) and gave Eileen directions as she steered the boat.

Why it was worth it. Four words, Tribal Global Beach Party. Kick-ass sound system, powered by portable generator, on a deserted-island beach. Conversations with local Tongans, backpackers, boaters and Peace Corp workers. People from France, New Zealand, Australia, England, Italy, Sweden and Canada. A raging bonfire that lit up the scene.

The anchorage, on the leeward side of the island, is protected, whereas the cliffs on the other side of the island are pounded by the ocean. We took this picture from the eastern (windward) shore.

Tonga's coral and volcanic islands in Vava'u (30+ islands) are not mountainous. One of the higher elevations in Vava’u, 300 feet, is on Euakafa Island. We summited the peak with seven other boaters, led by one of the four expats living on the island. After our grueling 40 minute hike (haha:), Brett, the expat from Australia, treated us to fresh coconut water, carving a hole in each of the coconuts with his machete. Picture taken from the lookout at the peak.

The Euafaka anchorage is a popular area with whales. At night we could hear whales singing through the hull of our boat.

We snorkeled at Swallows Cave a "must see." Thousands of swiftlets live in the cave, originally thought to be sparrows.