On Monday everybody else began to move on. Dave and Ruth struck out at lunchtime to cross the causeway to Lifuka during lowtide. It was hot. I was sitting reading under the shade of the fale when they came over to say goodbye. We would be taking the same ferry back to Tongatapu so we arranged to meet up on the ferry in Pangai. Tahani, Dave and Christine would have to fly back to the main island as the ferry would be too late to meet their flight back to Auckland. They still had to sort out a ticket for the flight from Lifuka. However the lads didn't want to travel back to Lifuka with Jim the boatman. They hadn't been impressed with his sense of self-importance and his bragging when we travelled with him earlier. The lads preferred to take their chances with passing traffic and hail the first boat they saw heading for Lifuka. Kelafi had already contacted Jim but was forced to phone him back hastily to cancel. This suited me. I was happy to hang around with the lads. I had got on well with them since we'd met and I was sorry to see them leaving. It was, however a very quiet day on the water. Bty 4pm no boat had been seen travelling either north or south. Eventually the lads had to swallow their pride and ask Kelafi if he would phone Jim. It didn't take Jim long to come around. The lads packe their gear on board, waved farewell and then waited for 10mins as Jim struggled to get the engine started. Eventually he gunned it into life and the lads made for Pangai, leaving a trail of white water in their wake.
I actually began to feel a bit lonely. It was just myself, Kelafi and his son-in-law who was here to help him build a new fale. Daiana had gone to Lifuka for supplies so the place felt quite empty. I made my own dinner that evening. Rice, beans and corned beef, almost embarassing after all the fine food Daiana had served up. Afterwards I listened to Kelafi for a few hours as he told stories of his time as middleweight champion of Tonga. By 9.30-10pm I was back in my own Fale for the night. Time, on Uoleva, takes on a different meaning to home. By 10pm at night it feels as though it were 1-2am. As soon as darkness falls, around 7.30pm, the day is over and everything winds down. Generally we gathered with our oil lamps in the kitchen and chatted, played card games or listened to Kelafi. By 10pm everybody was ready for sleep.
I always slept with the door of the hut open to let in whatever breeze there was. Outside the night sky was generally free of clouds and with a full moon rising during these nights it was surprisingly bright. If you had to get up to go to the toilet there was no need for a torch. Everything was bathed in a silvery light. The moon loomed larg over Uoleva on these nights, so picturesque as it sank towards the horizon, leaving a long silvery reflection over the sea glinting and sparkling in the dark waters.
Dawn, around 6am was always beautiful and cool. The best time, for me, to go for a swim as the heat wasn't stifling and I felt I was less likely to burn at this hour. I awoke on Tuesday morning and accustomed myself to a more solitary time at Daiana's. I had originally planned to go down to Uiha for a couple of days but my feet were still swollen and sore from the sunburn. Havin walked for hours on Sunday going to mass over on Lifuka I had made the feet worse. As a result I decided to stay put until my feet healed. I was happy to stay here until we met the ferry on Thursday. I spent the mornig readin. The previous evening Kelafi had applied a poultice of Chilli leaves to the feet which I kept covered. This morning, before starting work on the new fale, he squeeezed some more juice onto the feet. I covered the feet and prepared for a quiet day doing nothing.
Around lunchtime Jim arrived and dropped off a couple from Prague. They had flown down from the northern group of islands, the Vavau. In the afternoon I lay down and as I dozed a couple from Scandinavia arrived, having walked over from Lifuka. Karri and Kathryn had met Dave and Ruth the previous night who told them about Daiana's. The place was filling up again. Later Daiana arrived back from her shopping trip and was surprised to see she had a full house to cater for. This evening the full moon brought high tides. The incoming surf rode higher and higher up the beach until one wave crashed in through the kitchen and out the oter side, depositing a load of sand on the kitchen floor, completely covering it. Smaller waves seeped in through the sides of the kitchen but, luckily, nothing like the big one.
The next couple of days continued in the now established pattern. Kelafi had been told that the ferry would be coming into Lifuka on Friday afternoon or evening. So we had an extra day at Daiana's. I was unable to much swimming, no snorkelling and very little activity as I waited on the swelling to recede. But it was still enjoyable. It was so relaxing. Daiana continued to apply Tongan medicine twice a day. Sunsets had become a big part of the evening. As soon as dinner was finished we would go outside and sit on the beach to watch the sun go down. Hoping for some spectacular colours as it dipped below the horizon. On Thursday evening we lit a bonfire on the beach with Kelafi's son-in-law and gathered around it to see a pink moon rise into the sky. As it rose its colour changed to orange and then the familiar silver as it climbed higher. This night Kleafi went out to the reef with his harpoon so we were anticipating a good breakfast the next morning. This was to be the last night on Uoleva. I would be sorry to leave. We would have a few days on Tongatapu before the flight to Auckland but it wouldn't be the same as here.
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