Hmm, on reflection, Tony's guesthouse is a bit rank. We get up at 8 and hear that Tony himself is taking someone into town. We jump at the chance to escape. As we're dropped off, Tony is asking us if there's anything wrong. We say we're off to sort out our diving and don't say that he's an apalling host: last night his sole words to us as a group were come and have some Kava if you want some.
Kava is a local [Polynesian?] drug [normally taken as a drink]. No tea/coffee, drinks or anything and we were left to have Tonga explained by the concierge woman. Today he's more worried about dropping us off with our bags because he'll be seen to have done a bad job. Well, you have, mate. All these places have got on the tourist bandwagon and doubled their prices,
he says. "Yes, and they're now decent" [should have been the reply].
We had a nice breakfast and following a few "just down the road"s ended up at the Deep Blue Diving company's guest house and signed up for tomorrow's two day trip to 'Eua to see the newly discovered caves.
We get a lift back into town and met a couple of the other guests at Tony's. They said they'd had a little of everything last night but the worst was the giant cockroach (points at finger [for size]) in the mouth of a spider. How big was that [spider]? Amazingly, they're staying another couple of nights. Lunch was at Akiko's, handily placed beneath the local Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua....
We buy some provisions at the supermarket which has a limited choice of foods (no surprise) but you can buy everything for the blackboard: chalk, dusters, giant wooden protractors... In that sense, and the visuals of Tonga remind me of Africa. "Personal driving styles" is how Herbert, the dive instructor, described things.
We waste the rest of the day back at the guest house fiddling with electronics, sleeping, eating (well, [at least] Helen did some useful stuff) and drinking T$ 1.95 (about T$ 2 to US$ 1) cans of Ready to Drink Royal London Dry Gin with Tonic. Pretty foul, it must be said.
Slightly out of character for a warm, palm-treed island, the sound of Christmas Carols echoes across the night.
Divers' Lodge, Tuka'alofu S21.14321
W175.19405 Elev. 49m! Over halfway round the world! 
Copyright 2002 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.