Last Monday we had a town day, catching up on emails, laundry, stocking up on fresh fruit and veges, making bread and getting the dive cylinders refilled. Then we set off to explore some of the outer islands - we had very light winds and calm conditions which is the only time it is possible to venture to some of these exposed islands and reefs. We managed a dive on the outer reef north of Faioa Island, nice dive but the current was very strong. A large Turkeyfish was lurking in the rocks. We cut the dive short because we were getting exhausted trying to swim against the current. Then we went for an easy dive at "Little Knob" which is a coral mound about 10m deep, surrounded by deep water of over 80m. Beautiful coral structures, some very delicate. A very large Spotted Eagleray was quite close to us before he swam away. Magnificent creature! A couple of hours south of the main island is the tiny island of Maninita. Surrounded by reefs which are not shown on the chart, this was a tricky area to navigate through, with many spots getting suddenly shallow! We finally found a spot to anchor and enjoyed this dive amongst coral ferns, sea fans, coral bushes and branches. We were thrilled to see a Clown Triggerfish, so colourful with orange and white and black spots. He did look like he was wearing a clown suit. Next stop was a snorkel south of Euakafa Island called "Blue Coral" because here you see an amazing array of bright blue, green blue, pale blue and brilliant purple coral along with the pink and green and grey structures. Beautiful. With no wind all day, the water was like glass. So pretty! One night we went to a traditional Tongan feast at Hinakauea Beach. Great group of boaties at the feast, loads of food, plus singing and traditional Tongan dancing. The performers looked like they were really enjoying themselves - good fun! On Saturday we went to Vaka'eitu Island. Only one family lives here. We met David and Hika on the beach - a very friendly Tongan couple. They have eleven children. Four go to primary school on the next island and three stay in Neiafu to attend High School, only coming home at the end of the school year. A very different way of life. We snorkeled the Coral Gardens - it was hard work getting over the reef to the outside across the pounding waves, but it was very pretty and much easier on the way back in! Also snorkeled the reef by Langito'o Island which was just as pretty. We have now identified 178 different kinds of fish in Tonga. Every time we get in the water we see some new variety. Incredible. Later we visited Matamaka village on the island of Nuapapu. Tidy village with grass pathways. Transport is by walking or by horse, there are no cars here. Horses are used to get the sacks of yams from the plantation to the wharf (then the harvest travels to the Neiafu market by boat). On Sunday we attended church in the village, only 20 adults and 16 children. It was impossible to tell who the kids b elonged to as they all floated from adult to adult during the service. Although the group was small the singing was incredibly loud! As we were leaving we were invited to attend a service from a neighbouring church. We joined in and afterwards were treated to a huge feast. Pigs on a spit, fish, octupus, taro, fruit, cakes, tapioca deserts and much more food then we could imagine. It had all been prepared by the local families and was piled up three or four dishes high on the tables. Later we snorkeled into Swallows Cave, a split in the cliff face opens up inside to a large limestone "cathedral". Quite stunning. Snorkeling beside Kapa Island was fantastic. Dramatic drop off with a rock wall plunging down to 50m. Excellent visibility and plenty of fish on the ledges. And that is how another week flew by!