Still in Tonga

Yesterday, we went out in search of the Japanese Gardens snorkeling site. We heard we were anchored close to it but had a little trouble finding it. The night before, we had dinner at the resort on Mala Island. It’s called Hard Rock Island and is currently “owned” by David Parrish, self professed former member of the band The Cure. David told us where to go and finally we found it. The waves were a little rough and the current a little strong, but the snorkeling was excellent. Well worth the effort. After we got back to the boat we let go of the mooring ball and motored to anchorage #7. It’s just around the corner and took less than 30 minutes. It’s a deep bay with a dozen boats anchored in it. It took us three tries to get anchored in a spot we liked and felt comfortably far away from neighbors. Of course, what we call deck jackals were watching and shouting out advice.

We jumped in the water to check out the snorkeling here. It’s pretty cool, but not as clear as it was at Japanese Gardens. There’s a very large coral head right at the cliff shoreline near the boat that has a little of everything. I saw this rose like thing that swayed in the current. I couldn’t imagine what it was. My description to Susan made her think it was the eggs of a Spanish Dancer. A very cool marine animal. Look them up. We found it in the book and Susan was exactly right. Many times over the last few days I was sad that my underwater camera is dead. I can’t find even a disposable one here.

After our long snorkel around the bay we came back to the boat for a rest. One of our neighbors came over and introduced himself inviting us to a bonfire on the beach later. We went in just about dark and several boats of people had come in for the party. They were cooking over the open fire and having a good time. As the newcomers we were quizzed about where we’re from, where we’re going and all the details of the boat. These cruisers get stuck on talking about boats and I steered them away from the subject a few times, which was nice. The group was mostly Kiwis and a couple of Aussies, who have quite a rivalry going. The evening came to an end when sprinkles started. It never materialized into much of a rain.

2020 Update: I was being kind. We were bored to death hearing about where the cheapest of everything was. The cheapest grocery store, the cheapest laundry, etc. That and their boats were all they could talk about. I did steer the conversation to other things and it was nice to have some conversation, but Susan and I agreed if invited again we’d make excuses.