Pacific Odyssey - Leg 3

Everyone has just come home from a ´kava´ ceremony ashore.  Apparently the men of the village do this 3 times a week, and we were invited to join them.  The women usually serve the ´kava´ from a wooden bowl, with a ladel, into a half coconut and this gets passed around. This continues till . . . we´re not sure.  Every now and then the men would sing; they had ukuleles, guitars and good-sounding voices. ´Kava´ is made from a root; those I asked said it tastes like ´muddy water,´ ´dishwater,´ and ´ground roots.´  Elske was permitted to serve and they enjoyed her serving.  The night is incredibly beautiful.  A few of us stayed on the ship tonight and it was a gift to be here.  There is no wind and the seas are calm in the lagoon.  The moon is full; there is lots of light shining on the water. There is a very light breeze, the temperature is perfect.  After putting the boys to bed, I took some time to lie on deck and listen to music, as did the others who were here; it is so peaceful. Today we celebrated Arwen´s 14th birthday.  She went ashore with most of the trainees during the day and they walked or hitch-hiked 3 km to a small spring in the next village.  A cargo vessel came in to the harbour today and the islanders were very busy moving their groceries off the ship and to their homes.  The ship brings supplies once a month, so we´re assuming today was a big day.  We were welcomed on the radio by a woman named Sia.  She asked us to stay until October 4 and join in a big feast that happens once a year.  We arrived early this morning and hove to until there was enough light to see by.  Skipper went with Jordan in the zodiac to sound the passage in through the coral before he took the big boat in very carefully.  Tavish was up the mast as look-out, Chris was on the radio calling out depths, and Jordan was in the zodiac pointing out the shallower sections and standing by.  It worked out well and we were able to anchor in the lagoon.  Soon after we entered, we saw a huge, rust bucket of a cargo ship, slightly heeled over, barreling her way, full speed through the passage.  It was quite a contrast to the care and speed with which we approached the island.  Trainees and crew who went ashore enjoyed themselves while those of us who stayed on the boat, also enjoyed the quiet.  We swam off the boat, swung on the outhaul and snorkelled to the reef.  Skipper, Antony, Jacob, and Noah took the zodiac to the reef to look for lobsters.  They anchored and swam about 200 m further out when Skipper looked up and saw a humpback whale about 50ft from them. He moved the younger boys closer to him, gave Antony a ´heads-up´ and then they watched the whale swim by them, about 10ft away, lifting and swinging her pectoral fin towards them.  She had a calf swimming close by her. They were astounded, ecstatic, completely overwhelmed by this amazing mammal, by seeing this huge shadow move so gracefully and so near to them.  We´ve read that there are quite a few whales around the Tongan islands; some were spotted early this morning before the pass.  Simon helped Katie make delicious lasagna for supper; it was wonderful.  After dishes tonight we sang Happy Birthday to Arwen and had cheesecake for her birthday cake.  We got word from Loren today that the past few days of logs have not been making it through.  Skipper has tried to send them all off again, as well as the log for September 16, the Sunday we left Palmerston.  Sam and Gillian wrote that night on their impressions of their stay on the island.  I hope you get a chance to catch up, the last few days have been full.  This is it until tomorrow, good night, Bonice.