Monday, 28 July (in USA) Tuesday, 29 July (in TONGA) Internet at Tongan Beach Resort is not wireless, and was down last night. I am emailing from a web café in Neiafu. So no pictures for a while. I have had two days great diving - and the Tongan Beach Resort reminds me of Coco View - but upscale! We did two reef dives yesterday and today it was just me on the boat with the shop owner (the divers from the other day were whale watching). We did Benny's Bounty (a reef) and Sea Fans, with some caverns (one had a half dozen white-tipped reef sharks inside). I told Karen, the shop owner, that I was flexible and really wanted to swim with the whales - so I didn't have to do seven straight days of diving - that I would be here at least until the 9th. She said if whale watching was good today that maybe tomorrow we would do that. I also told her I was up for a night dive if someone else wanted to go, but not to arrange it just for me. I took the diveboat into town and will get a cab back to Tongan Beach Resort.
Tuesday, 29 July (in USA) Wednesday, 30 July (in TONGA) Power was out at Tongan Beach Resort from 7-11 p.m. last night. I am using TB's internet . . . a very slooooooooooooow connection. Great diving, awe-inspiring caverns, chimneys & SHARKS. Also lots of "Nemo" fish of all shapes & sizes . . . . New kind of Clam & a Pipefish for my spotting book. More tomorrow from town . . . hopefully a faster connecton.
King George Tupou V of Tonga (centre) wearing 500-year-old 'aofivalas (royal waist mats) during the taumafa kava ritual in the sacred gathering area of Nuku'alofa on Wednesday, July 30. Tonga's king was officially anointed in a traditional ceremony here Wednesday in which his subjects presented dozens of pigs and hundreds of baskets of food in tribute.
[For those who might be interested in the Tonga King's Coronation, a news article is available HERE. The "official" coronation took place on Wednesday; the "western" coronation will take place on Friday. Thanks to PAM SIMPSON for this link.]

CONTINUE SWIMMING WITH THE WHALES
IN PULE'ANGA 'O TONGA WITH NEAL HERE