As forecasted, bright sunshine greets us and is promised to last all day without rain.
This is the first full nice day since we got here 2 weeks ago. The plan is to go ashore
tonight and take in the Friday night activities. The kite board girls' competition is here
for an event on Sunday afternoon and many of the girls have arrived in town. Ant has had
the binoculars out. There is the regular Friday sailboat race put on by the Mermaid
Restaurant.
My plan is to first ride my bike south of town to explore the caves and pools at the south
end of the island. Then ride to the north end of the island to a lookout point to get a
picture of Bella Donna, the anchorage and town. The ride south goes quickly covering
familiar ground until the turn off where an unfamiliar road begins. First a paved road
passes through a neighborhood but soon turns to rock and dirt; a sign says caves and pools
are straight ahead. The road veers steeply upwards and becomes rockier. Soon no amount of
reasonable downshifting can make the pedaling easier. I get off my bike and push it as a
burden up the hill. I pass a rural house and a big Tongan man in just a lava lava without
a shirt says hello to me. At the top of the hill is a cemetery with recent looking
burials. A concrete wall is constructed behind a few of the sites each with a large
brightly covered quilt draped over it. This seems to be the Tongan custom.
Just beyond the cemetery a sharp cliff overlooks a gorgeous tidal pool some 100 feet
below. Much to my surprise a sign pointing over the cliff says cave and pools below. A
very poorly defined path zigzags down the cliff. Since I have come this far I negotiate
the first turns down the side of the cliff. I can hear young boys' voices echoing as if
coming from a cave below. I can see where they have discarded some things before
continuing on. To continue you must use foot and hand holds on a vertical section of
hillside. This is where my cave adventure ended. Obviously some local knowledge is
required to safely reach the cave.
Returning to my bicycle I ride through town north towards Mount Talau, a flat toped over
300 foot hill with almost vertical slopes. Again the paved street becomes little more than
a dirt and rock trail. Soon even the bright sun is lost in the jungle canopy. Many tall
palm trees do a good job of hiding the sky; large dense green growth fills in under and
between the palms to a height well above eye level. The heat and humidity are intense; the
insect populations thrive in this place. I forgot my mosquito repellant.
The path is flat now, but because of the heavy rains we have had for days it is very
muddy. I dismount the bike electing to walk on thick green ground cover to buffer my feet
and bike tires from the mud. The vertical slopes of Mount Talau rise just a few yards from
the right side of the trail. Blending well almost reclaimed by the jungle is a sign,
"Mount Talau Park and Nature Walk", just what I was looking for. I chain my bike to a palm
tree and start making my way up a steep trail up the vertical slope with my camera to try
for the perfect shot. All goes well for 5 or 10 minutes; the trail then starts a long
steep muddy climb up to a point I can only imagine. There is a very long skid mark on the
muddy slope where a previous hiker took a slide. The skid tracks disappear into thick
jungle canopy below. The guide book did say beware of the climb after a rain. So I hate to
report failure to accomplish both my adventure goals; there was some satisfaction attached
with the try.
Bed time happened early, 8PM. No energy for the big Friday night in town.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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