Location: Neifau, Vava'u, Tonga
Today was what we like to call BA Day. We arrived in Tonga late last night. Our first stop for the week was a town called Neifau, on the island chain of Vavau, pronounced (Va-va-ooh). We had just gotten done with a 6-day sailing passage from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It wasn’t easy for everybody, but every single one of us definitely got the hang of it, more so than during the first passage. Even though most people like to kick back and relax after a hard week’s work and travel, we all put on our big-boy pants and got to cleaning the place we love to call home, our beloved Argo. All day was dedicated to cleaning every visible corner, and even the not-so-visible ones. We started by flaking and covering the sails in our previous watch groups, and then we all split up and got down to business. People were down in the Laz (the sweatiest and soggiest part of the ship), scooping out dirty bilge water.
In contrast, others were busy sweeping, decking, scrubbing, rubbing, polishing, washing, tossing, sorting, everything you could possibly imagine. All the while, we all did this very clothed (even the girls). Tonga, and especially Vavau, is a rather conservative place. I was literally sweating in my sweatpants. Regardless, I think we all felt so accomplished and refreshed at the end of the day while we sat down for dinner as all the stainless shined bright with the last rays of the setting sun.