Coming to Vava’u was like coming home. When we pulled into Port Maurelle, our common staging anchorage for arriving or departing the main town of Neiafu, we had six previous anchor waypoints to choose from on the chart plotter. As often as we find ourselves in new places, there’s still something somewhat comforting to be somewhere familiar.
Exodus looks good back in Port Maurelle
After two lazy days anchored at Port Maurelle, we motor-sailed down to the main town of Neiafu, picked up a mooring, and knew exactly what to do. Since we had already cleared in, we didn’t have to go tie up to the precarious customs dock, which was a relief.
After 2 years, very little had changed in Neiafu. It was all the same cast of characters on the daily VHF radio net with their passive aggressive exchanges and their super long commercials for their local businesses. It was the beginning of the cruising season, so it wasn’t nearly as crowded as when we were there before, and you could tell there was fierce competition for the attention of the cruisers and their money. We already knew which restaurants we liked and where to buy Marlin rum at 25 Pa’anga per bottle (about $12US). Best value rum in the world, I’m pretty sure, and made in Tonga. When we were in New Zealand, I went to a liquor store once and asked if they had Tongan rum, and they guy’s response was, “Oh, God no!”
We had so many good memories of this place, like Johnny getting slapped by a whale, rum and whiskey tasting competitions, cart safaris with Nana and Papa, and bar hopping with Lady Carolina. We had dinner at The Rooster Bar, and I knew to avoid the spicy chicken burger, and we spent the late afternoons sipping Vonu beer at the Mango Bar. The Aquarium Cafe had changed owners, and since we didn’t really like it before and had only patronized it because the previous owner Mike was so helpful, we skipped it entirely this time.
I went running and my legs rebelled against something called hills, which they hadn’t experienced in some time. Just like last time, the dogs were a bit aggressive, but we knew how to deal with them now by shouting them down and showing them who the real alpha dog is.
One thing that was different this time was that they had rolled out 3G internet, so we no longer have to sit in a restaurant suffering painfully slow wifi. Instead, I stood in a painfully long line to buy a Digicel hotspot that we could use with all of our devices. The speed wasn’t as good as Fiji or Samoa, but it was huge improvement since the last time we were there.
The familiar channel on the way into Neiafu
Gresham Family Exodus 