The Kingdom of Tongatapu

1/30/2022

There really aren’t all that many places that are kingdoms anymore… so this was cool!

The locals were so kind. After a tsunami, volcanic eruption, and Covid they were hungry for tourists and welcomed us with open arms!

Luckily we got off the ship early. Because, man, by midday it was unbearably hot. Which was funny to me because the same day my mom sent a picture of the temperature gauge back home reading -15 Fahrenheit…

We spent the day doing a walking tour that ended up being less than $20, allowed us to see the town safely, and learn a lot from our guides. During this walking tour we saw the royal palace, royal tombs, of course lots of churches.

Something extra that this tour offered was a walk to a woman’s local business. Which was actually at her home. We got to see her and her family in the process of nut cracking. They use the nut to make essential oils, which we were able to sample.

We had one guide Simata, and one guide in training- who is part of the school of tourism- Sam.Simata was very friendly, outgoing and knowledgeable on the abundance of questions being thrown at her. She was exactly what you’d hope for in a guide!

Sam was quieter, but also very knowledgeable. I got the vibe that he preferred speaking to individuals rather than the whole group. He told shauna and I about Kava and how it’s name came to be…

The first king reigned from 1797 to 1893… he was going to visit a couple, and traditionally you prepare a meal for the king. However, they didn’t have any food, so when hearing the king was coming they sacrificed their only child- Kava- to feed the king. When the king got word of this, he insisted nonsense on eating the girl, so instead they held a funeral for her. Legend has it that the mound where her body lie eventually turned into a tree.. and when mice would go to this tree and nibble at the bark. The mice would become “dopey” as Sam worded it. This plant come to find much later was Kava. Shauna and I bought some Kava tea which we will be trying soon. It’s meant to help relieve anxiety and stress.

After that we had two recovery sea days before getting to New Zealand… which will be in a different blog. But, these sea days… I love them lemme tell ya. So relaxing, get to wake up whenever we want, do whatever we want, no obligation, but still plenty to keep us busy and plenty of fun to be had… I can get used to cruise life.

Cheers,

Tay