apexxxxxx

SUNDAY, THE APEX, PART I

So today marks the middle point of my trip, and my plans have drastically changed back, because Joe is an idiot. I planned to go to Ha'api (keep changing the spelling because I can't quite remember the actual) tomorrow but in the middle of the day I realized that I am not flying out of here on Friday, I am flying on Thursday. As many of you know, I am one to get planes mixed up from time to time, but if I actually did mess up this one it would be an extremely expensive venture to get back to the US. I was planning on going to Ha'api tomorrow and stay until Wednesday, but that made me a little concerned about the window for mistakes, AND after that Lyndsey told me that about 20% of the time, the plane flights just get canceled, and there isn't another flight for two days. I feel safer about staying here and just visiting the Tonga'tapu island group, especially since so much has been happening. The one thing that disappoints me about not going to Ha'api is that the flight actually goes to the farther group, Va'ahu, then flies down to Ha'api. So I would have been able to see all the islands. Va'ahu has mountains and such and is where the "rich tourists go yachting." And Ha'api has two active volcano islands. Oh well.

So I am now at the only cafe that is open on Sunday. It will actually close down in half an hour, and I don't know if I can connect my computer to the lines here or not. So I will write what I can and will try to send it today, but if not tomorrow. It is a little weird to end up at these cafes at the end of each day, because they are tourist bastions, so it feels like I leave Tonga for a little to write and send these emails. The food, service style and prices are more Western than Tongan.

I tried to sleep in a little this morning since yesterday's 7am to 7pm fishing trip was a bit of a windbreaker. But I was a little nervous not having arranged things with Lyndsey. So I called her around 9, and low and behold, I woke her up. So we arranged to meet at 1:30, and since I was up I thought I might be productive, so I gathered my clothes to try to scrub them in the shower. As I went though, Sila, the guest house owner, suggested I wait until tomorrow, a friend of hers comes by and does it. I said great, and later remembered that on Sunday you are not supposed to do anything, not even laundry. So instead, I decided to go around and see the town, bringing along the vid cam. I thought to try some pan shots from the bike, driving down the various streets. Did a test on a back road: looked bad because it was so bumpy. Then I went driving around and heard some wonderful singing from the Churches. Made some sound recordings as I could, close as possible without being obnoxious. The rest of the town was deserted. Nothing open, except a cafe (here) that opened for 2 hrs starting at noon (then later for dinner).

well it is getting too late and I haven't even got to the beach yet so I can tell this is going to have to be a two-part message. I will keep going as long as l can...

I rode around and found the rich people's part. Some of the houses are completely painted white- the tin roof, the walls, the window sills, the steps. They look like ghost houses. Maybe it is a sign of prestige, because to keep the house looking that good white they must have to paint it every year. There is a church every few blocks, some of them massive, so throughout the town you hear various songs being sung. Everyone is in their Sunday best. I thought of going to the main church and filming everyone coming out at the end, but what would I do with that footage? Around noon I came to the cafe, had some coffee and eggs, then headed back home. The bicycling was extremely laborious because of the wind and my state of exhaustion. OK I think I have to end it there because they are closing soon. In the next note I will tell you about the sea turtle, my brush with death and dinner at Davida's.

Cheers,

Joe