On our way to Fafa Island in the slow poke van
We have passed over the International Dateline and gained a day. We finally arrived at the Tonga airport. We are now classified as N.C.'s (New Comers) They opened the airplane and like most of our trips in the past, we walked from the plane on the tarmac directly to the terminal which was outside. As always there was a fairly large amount of people waiting. We got all of our luggage without any problems. Although Dallas will admit he was getting a bit worried because our coolers were the last to be taken off the airplane. We managed to find the resort transport driver and I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get a lei or even a shell necklace like most island resorts have done in the past. Anyway, I'll get over it. Our trip to the dock was a very slow one. Dallas said, Why is it we always manage to get the pokey drivers. He's still on American time. The driver was actually giving us a bit of a tour as he took us to the boat which would bring us to our destination.
The boat was a bit bigger and better than the last boat we took in Fiji. Although I must say, the huge boat that brought us from the main port to the smaller boat in Fiji was beautiful and quite fast. They set our large white coolers on top of the deck and the rest down below where Dallas and Austin sat most of the trip. It, like the drive to the dock was a slow ride.
When we finally arrived we had to transfer to a smaller boat and then brought ashore. As we all moved into this smaller boat with some other people, the boat almost capsized. Figure just like last year, Sharon got in the boat and almost tipped it over. De-ja-vu, Tahiti, Samoa….all the electronic gear sunk in the Pacific Ocean. The boat driver quickly moved to the opposite side to balance the boat. Here we are with a lot of money in electronic toys and we're jumping from this small boat into the water just off the shore.
The island is a very small remote island off of the mainland of Tonga called FaFa. Two German couples manage the island. They work in shifts of three months on, three months off. The couple that was managing while we were visiting had their boat docked in Australia for their return. They would sail the world on their time off.
The falla that we are staying in is immediately off the beach with our own lounge chairs, solar run generating power for the lights (very little) and barely warm water for the shower which is located directly under the stars as well as the toilet. We have mosquito nets around the beds to keep from getting eaten alive and to protect us from falling geckos and their waste and adding a romantic touch. On the beds were nicely folded towels for the shower with fresh flowers and nice cotton terry robes for all of us to wear during our visit. Austin has his own room which he's not too crazy about. I sort of feel the same way. It is just off of the main room and he would probably feel a bit lonely in there because the solar light doesn't give him a whole lot of light. For our first night here we let him sleep with us in our king size bed.
July 19th, 2001
July 21st, 2001 