Friday, September 26, 2008

Snorkeling at Tapana

September 26, 2008--We have now spent 10 days in this one anchorage because the weather has not been cooperative at all. It has been overcast and raining since we arrived on the 19th. The good news is that the scenery is beautiful even if it is overcast and raining.

Since I wrote the last blog, we have basically been aboard the boat reading and taking care of small chores. We did have a treat last Tuesday when we took a taxi back up to Neiafu to watch Monday Night Football at 1:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday. The Chargers played the Jets, but, unfortunately, it was not a very exciting game. Tonga Bob's had a large TV, but the screen was pretty dark (it is an old TV) so we couldn't always see exactly what was happening.

Thursday night we had seven cruisers aboard for drinks and appetizers. David and Linda from sv Toketie, Brian and Cathy from sv Tarin, Ann and Barry from sv Cat's Paw IV, and Ernst from sv Accord all found space in our cockpit. We all laughed that the stern of our boat had sunk a good foot or two with all the weight at the back of the boat. It was a fun evening, and we had a chance to get better acquainted with the couples on Toketie and Tarin.

Yesterday the sun finally came out enough that we decided to go snorkeling. Ann and Barry decided to go along, so we took our dinghies out around the point and headed for a small island with a good-sized reef at it's south end. There were some whitecaps so we had a wet ride out there. Unfortunately the tide was low, so we had to go out past the reef to get into deeper water. That meant that we were on the windward side of the reef so the waves were splashing over us, and we had to keep swimming forward so as not to get pushed onto the reef. We saw a lot of coral, but there were not too many fish. The fish that we did see were beautiful.

We will stay here for one more day so that tonight we can attend a Tongan Feast on the beach.

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