Crossing the Dateline

On Saturday, Jan 26, we docked in Apia, Samoa. It was a rainy cloudy day. We had a tour of the island scheduled and disembarked prepared for a wet trip. We boarded our “bus” which was another of those converted truck beds with wooden seats. The “windows” were plastic sheets that you had to take in or out to open or close the window. It was very hot and humid with the windows closed so we decided we’d rather get wet and we opened our window, much to the dismay of our fellow tour members. Before we left for our tour, we were presented with floral leis which were beautiful but because they’d gotten wet, it was damp and chilly hanging around our necks! Off we went in the pouring rain, first stop the town market. Lots of our fellow tour members preferred to stay in the relative dryness of the bus, but we got out in the rain and sloshed our way to the market. The market was damp and wet inside but at least covered. There were stalls of fruits, vegetables and strange things I couldn’t recognize. There was also loose tobacco for sale and we kept being assured that it was pure????, which made us wonder what they were really selling but we passed on the tobacco anyway. After buying some earrings made from coconut shells we hurried back to the bus. Since it was raining we were driven around but didn’t get out to see government buildings and tombs of past leaders. We were eventually taken to the island home of Robert Louis Stevenson which is now a museum. Stevenson lived on Samoa for 5 years before he died and is buried on the mountain behind his home. Stevenson is highly regarded by the Samoan people. We toured his museum home and the Samoans put on a show of traditional dancing for us. We found the Samoan people to be very friendly and kind and left their island with fond memories and warm feelings even though we were cold and wet for most of the visit.
That night we crossed the International Dateline and lost forever the day, January 27, 2008. For us, after Saturday, it was Monday, Jan. 28!!! Since Monday was a sea day, we had time to get our heads around that concept and accept that Sunday was gone!!
On Tuesday, Jan 29 we arrived in Nuku Alofa, Tonga. This was our last Polynesian island and then it’s off to New Zealand!! Tonga was similar in many ways to Samoa. There were lovely people, souvenir stalls, a local market and not much else. We had a tour of the island. This time we were in a real van but it had been fully depreciated – torn seats, bumps in the floor and graffiti on the interior walls. Our tour guide was a beautiful young woman named Ohpa. She took us to see the cliffs and natural archway at one of the gorgeous beaches. We saw the Samoan blow holes (impressive) and a tree full of bats!! Bats are the only indigenous mammal on the island and they are plentiful and large!! It was pretty eerie to see so many bats just hanging upside down in the trees. (They were noisy too) After a stop to see the Royal Palace of the King of Tonga, it was back to the ship.
Now we are on day 2 of 2 sea days before Auckland, New Zealand. The weather has gotten a little cooler and the seas are rough but we’re seasoned sailors and are doing fine. We can’t believe we’ve been on this ship for almost a month! The time seems to be flying by.