Don't call it a comeback! In her hungover state, Abby left the computer on for about 8 hours in its vegetative state. On the eighth hour, to our surprise, the computer started rebooting. It was nothing short of a miracle! The bad news is that it has died several times since then and when it is working the noises it makes are akin to a super-powered, badly damaged lawnmower. However, we are able to use it for the time being and that has been nothing short of miraculous. So here is the promised blog...enjoy!
This week (September 23-27) is school break down here in Vava'u so Abby and I decided to join Mark & Alissa and our other fellow PCVs in knocking out our Vava'u bucket list in terms of adventures, tourist ventures and general palangi activities here in the Kingdom.
The weekend started off with a visit to our buddy Jeff, a PCV who lives in Ofu. Ofu is a small island village off the coast of Vava'u mainland. In a word, it is gorgeous. The village is the most well thought out, organized and clean place we have found in the entire Kingdom. The houses are lined along the ocean, the beach sands are perfect and they have even built a walkway along the beach. LIke Mark & Alissa's island, it is all powered by solar power donated from the Japanese. We were all struck by the island's beauty and cleanliness and a smidgen jealous that a PCV gets to live and work here.
Our weekend in Ofu featured sea kayaking and snorkeling. The fly in the ointment was that there weren't any two seater kayaks, so Abby and I had to share a one-seater. In the steady calm of the beach, we found our balance and congratulated each other on our teamwork and lack of bickering. This was short lived, as an errant high five was the catalyst for our first flip and with that the floodgates opened. We just couldn't stay up on the damn thing in ocean open water. Nevermind the wind making the day wholly inappropriate for sea kayaking, it was a mess. The good news is we had another activity planned.
Just across the way from Ofu is the tiny, and I mean tiny island of Fetoko. Fetoko is owned by an American couple named Ben & Lisa who have lived in Vava'u for over a decade. After opening a series of successful businesses, they found the island and constructed a resort which is still in progress. The island and the resort are breathtaking. Ben is so talented with woodworking and has built a treehouse as one of the guest rooms. The whole place is so impressive and will be incredible when its all said and done. The rest of the day was spent snorkeling a reef, sea kayaking (toko taha--one person only) and drinking cold beers/playing drinking games with the group. My highlights included finding Mark & Alissa's missing snorkel gear (from their own two person kayak disaster) in a random reef while snorkeling and hitting a buzzer beater in an ancient viking game we played with Ben & Lisa. Abby's would probably be her mastery of the kayak and beating me in a race. The whole day was one of the highlights of our time in Vava'u and we hope to spend a little bit more time in Fetoko throughout our service when we need a break.
Ofu, in all its beauty:
Fetoko:
After returning to the main island, it was time for the main event. In terms of tourism on the island (Vava'u gets about 5,000 tourists a year-mostly Aussies and Kiwis) there is only one game in town. Along with the Dominican Republic, Vava'u is the only place in the world where you can swim in the wild with humpback whales. The whales come here every June-November with their babies to enjoy the warmer water. If you've ever seen Animal Planet/Discovery Channel documentaries on humpbacks, they were invariably filmed here as legions of camera crews are here every year.
Swimming with the whales was simply the most intense, incredible experience with nature any of us could ever imagine. The day started off loading up on the Australian's boat with our Tongan crew. We were with another group of 4 Aussies who was super grumpy, so our affability + ability to communicate in Tongan endeared the crew to us immediately. This paid off dividends later. The morning was partly cloudy and calm, which we thought was perfect. On our way we boated next to a school of dolphins which was unreal as they leaped out of the water alongside our boat. However, once we passed the main island we realized that the winds were coming to a peak on this day and the ocean was wild. The biggest swells any of us have ever boated in. The crazy part was that we actually spotted a mom (cow), her baby (calf) and an escort (a male-known as a 'singer'). So even though our boat driver Sione was on the radio advising other boats not to come out to this area because it was 'hako auptio' (much too wavy/windy to boat in) we were off in hot pursuit. The experience was unreal. We thought we were going into a calm whale-watching trip, instead we became cast members of Deadliest Catch.
The boat was going crazy, rocking off of swells. Sione, was on top of the boat, driving with his feet so he could see out the top (we learned later this was his preferred method of driving) and the rest of us were glued to the sides trying to keep our eyes glued to the family. The cool part of the waves being so crazy was that the bottom of the swell revealed much more of the whales then we would ordinarily see. Finally, when the boat team got into place, we got to go in. Again, we thought this would be a relaxed thing but it was more akin to Seal Team 6 getting in the water than tourists. After the first group of grumps got in and didn't get to see anything, Henry, our other guide, kicked them out of the water and shouted at us to dive. Appropriately, in these intense conditions, it was my wife's second time using a mask and snorkel in the ocean. The first being Mariner's Cave which, with whale swimming, are about the two most intense snorkel experiences even veteran divers could embark on, well played Abbers. When we got in, the ocean was wild. But right under us were the cow and calf, just chilling in the water below us. Their size, their presence and their beauty were just unreal. WIth one flick of their tail they were then gone. 100 meters with just one flick. Unreal.
We followed the family for another half hour until we reached unsafe waters. Here we had to kill the engine and bid adieu to the whale family. Unfortunately we were stuck in this water and spent the next hour sea sicker than any of us had ever been as our little boat waited to get to the cove. In true Alexe Froment Mericle style, I leaned over to Coop at one point and said: "yep, I'm going to puke" to which he laughed, to which I puked. Abby managed to keep it all together while being dreadfully sick, but I sure felt better! We finally made it out of the water, all of us miserably sea sick. Fortunately the cove we found was calm and beautiful. After an amazing snorkel in gorgeous water and a fantastic lunch, we were back playing the waiting game. The boats here work together and triangulate the whales so everyone gets a chance. Tongan law only allows for 4 people + a guide to be in with them at a time which makes for an amazing experience. In other places in the world there can be dozens of people all crowing around a whale or a dolphin for a peek, but here it feels like such a singular experience.
After waiting and snorkeling all afternoon (including at the island where they filmed the original Treasure Island) we were back in the game. This time the waters were much calmer. The frustrating thing was out of two boats, the 4 of us were going to be the fourth group to go, which means our patience was tested to its limit. When Henry finally got us in, he whispered to us to stay together and he guaranteed success. He was especially determined after the other group had ignored his requests in the water and he kicked them out early. When we got in, we were again right on top of a cow and her calf in much more clear water. Then, as we were swimming and watching, the cow decided to breach. Watching her swim completely vertical to the surface, 10 ft. from her with our snorkel masks on was maybe the most awe-inspiring experience of our lives. To see a mammal, the size of 3 school buses, gracefully and powerfully swim to the surface in perfect full view was unreal. I can safely say that all 5 of us in the water were screaming at the sight of it.
With one more go, our guide Henry waited for the exact right moment to bring us back in the water. When we got in, we literally plopped 15 feet over the cow, which was incredible. But this was nothing compared to the action that was happening 8ft. in front of our faces. The calf (still the size of a bus) was at the surface doing flips and being incredibly playful. We sat there for ten minutes and watched the calf do flips, show us her fin and wiggle around. It was unreal. Henry was interacting with it and when he would do a turn the calf would also do a turn to mimic Henry. This is common when calves get really friendly. Whale watching is a cool activity, but it seems so incredibly paltry to what is happening under the water. The views were breathtaking. It honestly felt like your heart was going to jump out of your chest it was so beautiful and I'm sure our screams of delight under the water could be heard miles below. There really aren't words to properly describe it. All in all, it was one of the most exhilarating adventures Abby and I have ever experienced. An incredible day.
Sighting the whale:
We wait impatiently for the signal to dive:
We swim towards the whale. Look closely to see how close we get! You can see the whale's hump poking out of the water. Nothing compared to the sheer mass below the water.
We are right on top of the whale watching the most amazing show in the world underwater. If you look close, you can see the top dorsal fin of the whale poking out of the water next to us.
Total exhilaration afterwards:
Our little mini-trip concluded Thursday night with the rest of our Peace Corps group. We went to a Tapas restaurant called La Paella which is on a private island owned by two sweet, old Spanish expats. To get there you have to drive out to the furthest tip of Vava'u Lahi (the main island) and wait for two mini boats to come pick you up. After the twenty minute trip over the ocean, you arrive at the place where old Spain meets the South Pacific. Eating at La Paella is only by reservation for groups of 8 or more and its easy to see why. But the journey is worth it. Sitting down for a family style meal, featuring 10 different types of tapas, a massive plate of paella and dessert served to you as fast as you can drink your wine, while the old Spanish couple plays 'la bamba' style music is a trip worth experiencing. The food is the best we have tasted in 13 months and the night was nearly perfect. After a while we successfully cajoled Coop to get up to the stage to perform some of his favorites: '5 Years Time', 'Wagon Wheel' and 'Stand by Me'. After we were stuffed to the brim, drunk off wine and had relived the whales as many times as possible, we took another boat ride under the stars to finish off the evening. All in all it was another fantastic experience.
In case you were wondering what we did with our down time between these activities, lets just say before the week began our buddy Coop did NOT have dreads, but thanks to an expert in town, Coop's wife Alissa and some extremely amateur help from the Klobs, after the week Coop DID have dreads...sorta:
It is very weird (and even more expensive) feeling like a tourist here in Vava'u. It makes the experience more full, but also motivates us to ensure the kids in our village are getting some of the amazing opportunities available to them here on the island. That said, it was very nice to have a break from village life and definitely a week worthy of our poetic memory.
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