It’s been a “wildlife” kind of week here in Tonga. And not always the good kind.
Let’s get the icky stuff out of the way first. I was attacked. By a pack of wild dogs. It wasn’t pretty.
Tonga has a lot of dogs. As in, LOTS of dogs. And they aren’t necessarily pets. They are wild dogs that roam around. And cause problems. Kim and I went for a walk the week before last and there had been a report of someone getting bitten, so Kim was nervous. I, on the other hand, thought it was overblown. Or that the person was stupid. Or something. Anyway, we didn’t encounter any problems. I felt vindicated. I was right. Kim was wrong. That happens so infrequently that I took note. (Pride goeth…). Anyway, this week, I went for a run one morning. It was still dark. There I am, going along, minding my own business, when these four dogs start barking at me. In my experience, if you ignore dogs, they eventually go away. My experience is limited, evidently. Because they didn’t go away. They chased me, barking, right on my heels. Now, because I was running, it should not be assumed that I am fast. I was NOT outrunning a pack of wild dogs. Next thing I know, one of them bit my leg and brought me down. It was not fun. I started yelling and swearing at them. Happily, as I found out later, that was the right thing to do. Because the dogs ran off. Also happily, the wounds weren’t too serious. I kept running. Kim says I’m stubborn. I call it perseverance. I mean, a little blood running down my leg-it’s not the end of the world. While running, I thought about rabies. What’s the incubation period? Do they have vaccine on the island? Am I going to be a werewolf? But all ended happily. I cleaned the wounds, took a couple days of antibiotics for safety and seem to be healing well. In addition, Tonga is rabies-free! And, last night was a full moon, which I weathered without any increased body hair.
The other wildlife encounters were of a positive note. I did my first wreck dive. I dove on the Clan McWilliam, a 423 foot steamship that sank in 1927. It was amazing! I’m a sucker for shipwrecks. I love them, so this was a treat. The wreck is in great condition and hosts a lot of sea life. I got to see corals, nudibranchs, pufferfish, sea turtle, and jellyfish. It was a great experience-makes me glad I got SCUBA-certified. Was it 3 hours after the dog attack? Yes. Yes it was.

And then there was the highlight: whales.
Tonga is a calving site for a large pod of humpback whales. They journey here from Antactica to give birth to their young. And this is the time of year when they cluster around Vava’u. We went out on a whale watching/swimming trip and saw a lot of whales-from a distance. They decided to be shy on the day of our trip. We could see tails and fins and blowholes from a distance, but nothing close. Kim and I had about given up when we found a juvenile in the water nearby! It was super exciting. I mean, I thought it was cool, but Kim just about lost her s**t. When the guide said we could get in the water, over the side she went. I’ve never seen her move so fast-the boat was still moving but she didn’t care. She jumped in. Had a shark been trailing the boat earlier in the day? Yes. Did she care? No. And it was amazing. The whale swam right past us and then sounded deep, to where we could just barely see it. It hung out there for about 10 minutes and then surfaced again right next to us. It was an incredible experience! Was it the day after the dog attack? Yes. Yes it was.

So, it was quite a wildlife week. One we will remember for a very long time!
As you read this, we are on our way to Fiji. It should be a four day passage. Upon arrival, we should be getting our forestay replaced-if you remember last week’s post, it is failing. We’re hoping it gets us to Fiji. Losing the mast would make for a very bad day. We have a line rigged as an emergency forestay if needed and we have grinder with a cutting wheel handy. Why you ask? Because if we lose the mast, we’ll need to cut the remaining shrouds away to jettison the mast so we don’t sink. What? Me worry? Nah. I mean, we got a dolphin escort out of Tonga, so I figure they’re looking out for us!