Last of the South Pacific

NOTE: I thought I posted this a while ago but due to our very S-L-O-W internet on the ship, I guess it didn’t load.  So, a little late but here it is.

Seriously, what can I say about all these places. Pure paradise. Everyone is so friendly and it is one postcard picture after another of scenery. My iPhone pictures don’t do it justice so imagine my pictures x 1000.

First stop, American Samoa. We took a trip to a village and they showed us how they cooked and even got to taste the food. In Samoan culture, the men do the cooking. OK, next life I’m marrying a Samoan! Justin told me that American Samoa is the military’s largest recruiting ground.

That evening, we had our last performance for our Hawaiian dancing group. They were awesome. We also had a performance from the Samoan crew members. Some of them were leaving our ship the next day when we get to Samoa as they have been on ship for 11 months!! They were hilarious and quite good.

 

Next, we are in Western Samoa, or just Samoa. I guess they changed their name and American Samoa was not happy.

Here we visited an art institute and saw some amazing art by the students. They were all for sale, of course. I would have bought something if I were going home right away.

Then, a few hours of rest and relaxation at the Sheraton with a buffet and performance. Sometimes a relaxing day is in order.

Next up, Tonga!! Again, extremely friendly people who will go out of their way to help you. We visited a local market on our own, then off to the tour where we drove by the Royal Palace. No one lives there anymore but they still use it for ceremonial purposes. Then the royal burying grounds where 4 of the last 5 Kings are buried along with the mother of the current king. The blow holes were amazing!!! And, it’s all up and down the coast. I read that we were going to a flying fox colony and I was very excited. I though we would see foxes jumping from bush to bush. Well, no, flying foxes are actually fruit bats. Below are pictures/videos. They are really big but I was disappointed that they weren’t really foxes. 😜

We are off to two stops in Fiji. The first port was Suva, the largest city in Fiji. Justin and I both noticed that there was a lot of signs in Chinese. And, the 2nd most spoken language is Fijian Hindi. WHAT!!!????

The Chinese population in Fiji is small but their relationship with China goes back to the 17th century. Sea cucumbers were exported to China and was one of the main exports. Indians were brought as indentured servants for the sugar cane plantations. Many of the crew from Mauritius even commented that they were mistaken for locals. Their appearances are definitely different from those in Samoa or even French Polynesia. The second most prominent religion is Hinduism. There are 333 islands that make up Fiji with about 110 that are inhabited. We took a rafting tour down the Nauva River. It was so lush and beautiful. Anaconda 2 was filmed here and we passed one of the waterfalls featured in the film. Our guide was the descendent of the first white man to come on this land. He was left behind by his crew because they had some sort of a conflict. He was accepted into the village and even married one of the chief’s daughters.

Taro – a staple of Fijian diet

Our second day in Fiji was one of relaxation. Well, at least for me. I’ve had an ear infection for about a week now. I’ve been on antibiotics and it doesn’t seem to be helping very quickly. The ship’s doctor said I need to be on them for at least 11-12 days.

Justin, Justyne, and Jevyn went scuba diving. They saw a lot of very cool fish, and even touched a jellyfish.

That was our time in the South Pacific. Next up New Zealand and Australia !!