Truth be told, this delay waiting for a weather window turned out to be a blessing. We were able to relax and have a little fun, and with several kid boats in the anchorage and lots of play space around Big Mama’s, the boys were loving it. The kid boats in the anchorage were Fluenta (our friends from Mexico) and Breeze (met briefly in Papeete), and three new ones: Lumbaz, Nautilus, and Nirvana, and we would go on to have lots of fun with them in Minerva Reef, New Zealand, and even Fiji. Some of the favorite activities of the kids were swinging on the rope swing into the water and playing lots of volleyball and dodgeball. And there was enough space at Big Mama’s for them to run around and play all sorts of games like hide and seek and capture the flag. There weren’t any boys the same age as Alex and Brenden, but there were several just a bit younger. And there were girls their age, which at this point might have been even better for them.
One night we had a big pig roast at Big Mama’s. One of the other cruisers organized it, and we all paid in advance for the pigs, and while Alex and Brenden and I were on shore doing school yesterday a boat pulled up and we could hear the squealing of the three little pigs. The guys promptly took them out back and slaughtered them, put them on spits, and put them over the fire for slow roasting. We didn’t watch the slaughtering, although if the boys had shown any interest I might have let them, they are old enough after all. The party started at 6 and went at least until midnight, which is when Alex got home, and he said some of the kids were still there even that late. They were all having such a good time. Big Mama even got up and danced to Abba.
So, why were we doing school on shore the day the pigs got slaughtered? It’s because Tim took Exodus and 4 other guys on a field trip to a small island called Tau about 12 miles away to do some spear fishing. They came back with about 5 fish, but unfortunately no tuna. More importantly they had a great time, and they even made it back to get served one of the pig heads, which apparently, according to the Tongans, is the best part.
Gresham Family Exodus 