Tongan Take-aways : Mark and Alissa’s Island Adventure

March 3, 2013

The Vava’u group (minus Abby and Ryan who got sick) went to visit Mark and Alissa out on their island this past weekend! It was rad, their village is awesome and outer island life is even more chill than outer village life (who knew that life could get even more chill?). Walking around the small village with no roads and soft grass, tress (of all different types not just Palm tress) in the distance, it felt like walking around the Shire in Lord of the Rings. We had great meals where we fashioned a bbq out of an old peace of tin and some cinder blocks and bbqed burgers and hot dogs. Us guys went to drink kava after dinner, I was being my normal obnoxious self at kava so they gave me the big shell as a joke, I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t handle it so I slung it back like a champ, but I was so full from dinner I immediately felt like I was going to puke. I waited a minute, got up as if I just had to pee and walked behind the church to get rid of the recent intake (a nice way of saying i blew chunks). We stayed for a while after and none were the wiser.

The next day we went snorkeling off this amazing unpopulated island and went to this underwater cave. Mariner’s Cave is reached by swimming through an opening below the water. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done but it was awesome! That night we got back and their village put on a show for us with dances (traditional Tongan War dances and Tou'olungas) and music.

The day we left I got a super bad stomachache/ headache and couldn’t eat at the mini feast one of their village members invited us all to. My sickness only got worse until it reached its most unbearable during the hour plus boat ride back to the main island. We made it back and I am feeling much better now, it’s just lucky that it didn’t strike me earlier in the weekend!