A Sunday Morning in Nuku' Alofa, Tonga

Most Polynesians are Christian, and they generally are of the Protestant variety.  In Tonga there are "Sunday Laws" (similar to our past "Blue Laws" in SC), and it is illegal to do any business in the kingdom.  Sunday is a day for church and relaxation.  I visited several of those churches today, and the singing was beautiful.  The people were so friendly, and the kids really liked having their pictures taken in their Sunday clothing.

The Royal Palace is used only for ceremonial purposes by the King of Tonga and the government.

I reviewed the evacuation map, and everything in pink would be underwater in a tsunami ... there's very few places to escape to in such an event.  

The mom of these kids had them pose for me.  The little boy has a Spiderman book bag, too.

These boys were climbing the church wall to show off for the two cruise ships in town this morning.

Churches came in a variety of styles.

There's no business on a Sunday.  These guys are heading to church.

Here's another church that I visited.

Here's the interior of the church. 

Our dock was built and paid for by the Chinese.  They're expanding their influence in this area of the world.

Well, I've walked a total of 9 miles today (5 on the ship and 4 around town), and it's only noon.  Time for a shower!

Nuku' Alofa, Tonga

The ship made its way safely into the port in Tonga's capital city.  Here are a few of my shots from last night's (Saturday evening) arrival.

Hoisting the various flags as the ship moves into the port of Nuku' Alofa, Tonga.

Our schedule was slightly off as we had to wait for another ship to exit the port.

We were greeted by a full band and natives who shared with us a couple of dances. 

I lost my prime spot to watch when my camera battery died.  I returned to get a view from above.  Note the clarity of the water and the old dock that has been replaced.

Where is the ms Amsterdam?

Crossing the International Date Line

Well, clocks went forward 23 hours last night.  The skies this morning (a Saturday!) are clear and the sea is calm.

Next stop Tonga (slated to arrive at 7 PM this evening) for our two night stay.

Another "first" for me ... I've skipped a Friday!

Calm seas and beautiful skies prevailed as I walked my five miles this morning.

The only motion in the ocean seems to be caused by our ship's engines this morning.

I know folks were sad to miss two ports of call, but I'm glad we bypassed the tropical storm.

My clock moves forward 23 hours tonight…

I have been keeping up with the official time at various ports of call with the help of our ship’s captain (his daily announcements),  the handy daily program guide, and my iPad (the World Clock App allows six clocks running simultaneously). 

The captain informed the guests on the ship of a +23 hour time change tonight during his lunchtime announcement.  I sat down and programmed our next ports of call into my iPad, and I captured the screen as a photo to share on the blog.  We’re crossing the International Dateline at 11 PM tonight.

I’ve been running behind everyone back in South Carolina by 5 hours, and that will change tonight.  I’ll actually go to sleep on Thursday and wake up on Saturday morning.  There will be no January 30 for those on the ms Amsterdam.

If you cross the date line moving west, you add a day.  Note the variation in date between Seneca and Nuku'alofa (Tonga) when I captured this shot after lunch today (January 29).

Great things to do on a sea day: Tour the Kitchen

I took a tour of the kitchen today, and I took lots of video.  Here are a few of my snapshots from this impressive department on the ms Amsterdam.

Shrimp cocktail anyone?

You eat with your eyes, too.

Exiting the galley from one of the specialty restaurants.

Did you know that the guests/crew consume the following in each week:

• Meat = 8500 lbs.
• Poultry = 3814 lbs.
• Fish/Seafood = 4500 lbs.
• Fresh Vegetables = 12,500 lbs
• Eggs = 18,040
• Wines/Champagnes = 2300 bottles
• Individual Sugar Packs = 20,000

The Executive Chef and Dinning Room Manager greet those taking the galley tour.

A slight change in itinerary...

You can follow the progress of the ship by using this link:  http://www.thecruisevillage.com/live-cruise-ship-tracker.phtml

Here's the revised itinerary:

Change in MS Amsterdam itinerary today…

The captain tried this morning, but we couldn’t get a calm enough location to tender for the visit to the Cook Islands.  He let us know the ship would need to head west without planned excursions, but safety is the most important thing for his consideration.

As I write this entry, we’ve been notified that we’ll also have to miss our next port of call:  Alofie, Niue.  Because of a tropical storm we’re navigating straight to Tonga.  By doing so, we will completely miss the tropical storm (hey, no repeat of the Gilligan's Island story).  The captain said we will spend an extra day in Tonga because we’ll arrive earlier than expected.

I plan on getting a haircut with scalp and a foot massage with my extra time today.  That’s a good way for me to turn lemons into lemonade.

The dock for our planned tender.

Stronger winds and seas prevented our going ashore to Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

The ship will also miss its next port of call to avoid a tropical storm in the area.  Next stop will be Tonga.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Next Stop: Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Next stops:  Rarotonga, Cook Islands (Jan. 28); Alofi, Niue (January 30); Crossing International Dateline (January 31),  Nuku Alofa, Tonga (Feb. 2); Auckland, New Zealand (Feb. 5 & 6)

Bora Bora is certainly not a boring place to visit!

It’s truly beautiful, and the variation of blue colors of the water in the lagoon is remarkable.  The ship arrived early this morning, and it was a little overcast as the ship made its way through the small opening in the lagoon that encircles the island.  However, it soon cleared up as the tenders were prepared.

Bora Bora was a naval for the United States during World War II for the South Pacific.  It never saw any action, but bunkers still exist as well as improvements that were made in the harbor.

Our group learned about the making of pareos and observed the tupa crabs.  The most famous landmark, of course, is Central Mount Otemana Rock.  We also made our way to the famous resorts of the rich and famous are found.  A final stop at Bloody Mary’s Restaurant was made, and its easy to see why the don’t have to worry about spilled drinks.

It was overcast when the ship arrived in Bora Bora this morning.

The guide shared with us how the pareo is made.

The people are friendly, and it seems they are always singing for visitors.

The guide told us about the many variations of blue in the lagoon of Bora Bora.  The water was crystal clear.

The remnants of the extinct volcano two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, are famous landmarks in Bora Bora.

This is the local, open-air padded seat chariot we had for the tour.

You don't have to worry about spills at Bloody Mary's Restaurant.

A look at our ship as it is anchored in the lagoon.

There's only a narrow break in the reef for ships to navigate into the lagoon.

Bora Bora is a beautiful island in French Polynesia.