Hi, everyone!
It took most of three days and two nights to get from Bora Bora to Tonga! The first morning, there was a very pretty sunrise. Grandma Sue-san told us that red skies in the morning are a sign of bad weather, and she was right! We had rain and strong winds all day and part of the next day! The outside decks of the boat were closed so nobody would blow away and the boat pitched and rolled a little bit. I liked the motion, but it was hard to walk around the corridors and stairs! On the second day, Grandma organized a mascot meet-up. She invited everybody who was travelling with a friend like me to come to the grand staircase, so we could meet each other. Most of my new friends were having adventures with their grandmas, just like me! I’m glad we had something fun to do inside on such a rainy day! The weather got better after our meet-up and the sun came out. Grandpa and I sat out on our cabin balcony and watched the waves and sky.
We had a pretty sunset, and the next morning the sea was calm when the sun came up. Grandma got me up to watch sunrise with her from our balcony. This time, there wasn’t any red in it, and we did have a sunny day!
The nice weather gave me a chance to try a lot of things on MS Marina. First, I sat out with Grandpa again on the balcony. Then Grandma and Grandpa took me up to the aft sports deck. There were a lot of steps to climb, but I made it! Grandma took me for a walk on the fitness path, then I learned how to play croquet. I found a sunny spot in a life ring and Grandpa helped me look over the sports deck railing to see the pool deck below. Then we went to the ship’s library one deck below the sports deck. I found a book to read and then I went back outside to lie in the sun on the pool deck. After all that exploring, I was ready to take a nap!
When we arrived in Nuku’alofa Tonga, it was late afternoon. We were greeted at the pier by local dancers and musicians. And guess what? MS Amsterdam followed us into Tonga! I wonder if we’ll keep seeing that ship at all our ports of call? We had to go up on deck to watch sunset, because the MS Marina moored with our cabin facing away from the sunset.
When we went to bed, it was Friday. The next morning was Sunday, because we crossed the International Date Line just as we were getting to Tonga. There was a little bit of rain, but then Sunday was a sun day. We took a walk in Nuku’alofa, which is the capital of Tonga. There’s a big ship anchor in a park near the main pier, and the Royal Palace is just across a field. A lot of the plants remind me of Hawaii! The islands of Tonga are so old that they are worn almost flat. There aren’t a lot of places to go to be safe if a big wave comes! I saw a hollow tree that still had leaves and a golden chain tree in bloom. In Hawaii, it’s late winter this time of year and the golden chain trees aren’t in bloom yet. In Tonga, it’s summer! There was a crowd of people looking at another tree, and we could see that it was full of bats!
When we got back from our walk, Grandma took some pictures of Grandpa and me standing on our balcony. Can you find us on the ship?
When Grandma and Grandpa go to dinner on board, I stay in our cabin. My crew friend comes to arrange the bed for sleeping and leave little packages of chocolate on the pillows. She helps me think of things to do while I’m waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to come back. One night I put on Grandma’s sunglasses and looked in the mirror. Another night, my crew friend helped me turn on the TV to watch BBC News. When I hid in the bathroom, Grandma had a hard time finding me! Now that we’re in Tonga, I sat near the window so I could watch what was happening on the pier. I even got my own piece of chocolate the night I went to bed early!
Today is Ground Hog Day, so Grandma took me up on the sports deck to look for my shadow. It’s a bright, sunny day, so there was no question about what I was seeing! My new friends Seumas, Leech, Tiny and Mappo joined me, and we could all see our shadows! I went down to the pool deck, and my shadow even followed me there. So are we going to have six more weeks of winter? Grandpa says he doesn’t think my shadow counts, because we’re in the southern hemisphere where it’s summer already. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what happens with the weather! shadow
Love,
Lion-san
It must have been quite an adventure with the rain and high seas. It was nice you made all those friends and then got out into the sunshine. We quessed you would have sunshine after the red sunset. The golden chain tree was pretty but Nancy-san and Moose-san didn’t like the bat. Sad to say the groundhog saw his shadow here because the sun came out for 2 minutes then we got more snow! Do you think you could teach us to play croquet at the next choir party?