Day of Rest

According to Tongan law, Sunday is a mandatory day of rest. No boating. No whales. No leaving Mounu Island.  Though we were allowed a sleep in, I woke up at 6:30 and had a sunrise walk with Otto all around the island.

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we all had a quiet morning of reading, writing, and photos. I spent 3 hours sitting on the deck and finally writing my journals from Uganda in June – all to the sound of waves crashing against the beach.

Afternoon Snorkel

After lunch, Laura, Eck and I snorkeled all the way around the perimeter of the island. Parts of the water were very cold – Tony would later tell us that he can’t remember a day where the water of the island was this cold.  But we saw some fun little things: a sea cucumber “heat run”. Lots of fish. Laura found a little eel, which I promptly scared away trying to photo it with my wide-angle lens.

 

 

 

Water shortage: Mounu Island (and Tonga as a whole) is experiencing a draught and fresh water is at critical levels.  So we’re especially focused on water conservation and take “cabin showers” rather than full showers.  We still drink all we need to, but it’s a healthy activity to be forced to think of what we take for granted on a regular basis.

 

 

Gary’s Storytime: This evening’s story was all about Ginger’s first day of school and pancakes.