On Sunday morning 21 August Larry and Kim (s/v Magenta), Steve (s/v Heat Wave) and ourselves were picked up by our host. When we arrived at his residence we were just in time to see the opening of the underground oven. The oven is about 2x2x2 meters and at the bottom is a layer of hot stones. Breadfruit, yams, sweet potato and green papaya were packed in two layers above the stones. The chicken and beef taro dishes were covered in foil and put on a separate layer on top of the vegetables. The last layer was the fish. The oven was closed with corrugated tin to act as the oven door. Lots of banana and coconut leaves and sand were placed on top of the oven door to insolate the oven. It remained covered for about 3 to 4 hours for the food to be cooked. They had a pig roasted on its own spit. Sometimes the pig would be cooked in the oven as well. The food was delicious and we enjoyed the company of our friends at lunch. We had too much to eat and decided to take a walk back to the anchorage instead of been driven.
On route back we met up with some local children eating mandarins. They took us to this big tree and 2 boys climb literally like monkeys getting us some mandarins. They had fun and I was holding my breath hoping that the boys would not fall out of the tree. We said our good byes and continue our walking back.
We came across a group of men sitting around a table with some guitars and singing at the local fire hall station. They were drinking kava and having a grand old time. They invited us to join them and serving us some kava. The kava is served by a women traditionally. By this time the kava had taken effect on everyone there and everything was in a kind of slow motion pace. I did not like the look or taste of the kava. Looks like watered down brownish milk. Dinis and Larry had a great time joining the drinking and before long they were starting to feel the numbness. Anyway all good things have to come to an end.
We had to get going as we were invited to listen to the choir contest Sunday evening in the local Catholic Church. We got home with just enough time to have a shower and a quick bite before we were meeting other cruisers for the choir contest.
We were all seated in the back of the church as the whole church was filled with the choir contestants. They had 10 groups and the singing was just great. The Tongan people have great voices and it was a pleasure listening to the singing. Everyone was wearing their tradition dress.
What a great day.
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