secret cove

The last real blog post I had here were with the last pictures I took with my underwater camera. The salt water ruined the camera and I was sad for a whole month. Note to everyone- if you have an underwater camera and you use it in the ocean- SOAK it in clean water RIGHT AWAY.

I would like to say none of these images have altered (except the last one, black and white).

water holes

This beach is a "palangi beach" (Palangi basically means white/foreigner). At a Palangi Beach you can wear bikinis. All the other beaches, best stick to covering up. How do you know if a beach is a palangi beach?  resorts. and resort means tourist spot.

last successful picture with the camera.

 see Piko (dog)- Tonga's cleanest dog. flea free and actually loved.

It was very entertaining listening to Hannah and Andrew talk about their beloved dog in a country where dogs were eaten. Now, dogs are not a delicacy  Far from it. Only the poorest of the poor eat dogs here. and dogs are everywhere. They're not friendly and more often than not, dogs are treated like scum. So I found this whole deal ironic. I totally understood their approach as Westerners "Man's Best Friend". Plus they really did love this lil munchkin. Who doesnt?

How Piko got named- full name - Faka Pikopiko - translation- "lazy"

They shortened it to Piko

funny thing- piko by itself means "crooked"

Elizabeth- black sunglasses

Hannah- Red Sunglasses

The red skim board I always lugged to the beach but never used because most of the beaches were scattered with shells and rocks- aka- cant skim on it. <-- rant. 

in the water looking at the Cove

so adorable. cant handle it. 

two of my favourite people in the world

Two of my favourite ladies in the world. I want to be like them when I grow up. Hoping to be just as cool. 

Married to the greatest guys. 

ps. VERY Preggo Elizabeth

pps. waterholes in the background

Andrew brings Piko in for a swim

the cave

one of my favourite pictures.ever. 

Hannah exudes the Tongan lifestyle- "being present"

 I was anticipating this outing all week. We were going on a Sunday and I wasnt sure if my aunt wouldve approved. (Sunday= church= NOTHING ELSE. All the stores are closed. Everyone stays at home. Welcome to Tonga.) This was one of the few moments my "American selfish rebellious side" took over and decided "I'm going no matter what...but I hope it's cool" . We were going to go Pangimotu, a small little island, about 10 min on a boat ride.Then it was too windy. Then we couldnt get a car. boo. So we took an adventure to the "Secret Cove". It's actually not a huge secret. This cove use to be a hideout and only a few foreigners knew about it. Now there's a resort and everything. Mom told me this was the beach our family  always visited. I dont remember it looking like this. I also remember a lot more sand. We have a gazillion pictures taken here and nothing looks like this.

 Anyways, the drive there was an adventure in itself. Five people crammed in a car with mats and food and all beach necessities.beautiful sunny day, a little wind every now and then to offer some relief but mostly humid and hot. in other words, perfect beach day. The car is driving along the "smooth" road (as smooth as Tongan roads will ever get) and then BAM. Dirt road. POT HOLES GALORE. Ir was a bumpy ride. Perfect for a Jeep. Perfect for dirt biking. Terrible for a station wagon. We laughed and talked the whole way there. In America, we would be complaining about the pot holes. In Tonga, pot holes are the least of our worries. I remember trying to fit in. Trying to get a long with these peeps. They were so cool and if I could be a fraction of who they were, my life would be complete. so here I am with my American humour, American jokes, super cool American chick, and I dont think they really understood anything that left my mouth. I could be exaggerating but my sarcasm was not received the way I had intended. They didnt quite get it. which is totally alright. but I LOVED their sense of humour. Elizabeth is such a jokester. Hannah always had something deep to offer. and Andrew was having a good time.

The crew - Elizabeth, Andrew, Hannah, Me, and some Australian dude who was very kind, super nice, awesome accent, and beautiful hair. Im sorry I dont remember your name. We barely talked. He was a rugby coach. so that was cool. I'm 18 hanging out adults in their late 20s. just a typical day in my Tongan adventure. and loving every moment of it.

I remember being very frustrated that day. Mostly because I had wanted to go to Pangimotu so badly. While everyone was taking pictures or swimming, I decided to sit alone and tried to get over this frustration. THAT'S WHEN IT HIT ME. Nothing. NOTHING. Nothing is ever going to go to plan. ever. no matter how well I plan it. (This may be different for your whole life. If everything always run according to your plan, good for you. We should swap notes.) I reviewed my past year. I laughed. God was doing it again. Listening to my plans, nodding His head with a "Yes, that's some good thinking, time and energy you've put into this plan. But Mine's better so we're going with that. SMACK." That is literally my life. no exaggeration. and I.LOVE.IT. The God of the Universe cares about insignificant me and has a ridiculous, awesome plan for my life. always better and more fun than anything I could dream up (and if you know me, I've got some pretty ridiculous ideas) It was a great moment when I realized this. I shed a few tears. Five were angry tears. The rest were happy tears.

I smiled and looked out at the landscape all around me. Not only was I on a tiny island in the middle of Pacific Ocean, I was on one of the most beautiful, magnificent beaches Tonga has to offer. Not many people get to enjoy this. I observed the crew. Four amazing men and women who were totally cool with wana-be-cool me tagging along. "WOA. I'm blessed."