Bayram Cigerli Blog

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The Fight to Survive

The Fight to Survive
Justinian's restoration of the imperial order in the West was short-lived. Indeed, under his successor, his nephew Justin II (565-578), the Empire came under strong pressure. In Italy the Lombards began in 568 the invasion of the northern part of the peninsula and soon a great part of the country came under their control. However, large and strategically located areas in the northern and in the southern regions of the Italian peninsula continued being under Byzantine control. In Spain the Visigoths began their counter-offensive. They took Cordova in 584 and forty years later they succeeded in expelling the imperial administration from Spain. The Empire still held on to its positions in North Africa. These were to stay under imperial administration until the arrival of the Arabs.


In the East, the Persian state continued being the most serious peoccupation of successive Byzantine administrations. In order to counter the Persian threat Justin II's successors, Tiberius-Constantine (578-582) and Maurice (582-602), had to use all the military and diplomatic resources of the Empire. Under Maurice's able administration the state took its first steps which were to lead it into the high middle ages and its most glorious period. Indeed, Maurice's successful attempts to reinforce the remaining western holdings of the Empire constitute the beginning of the complete administrative and military reforms which were to provide the Byzantine state with renewed strength. He created the Exarchates of Ravenna and of Carthage in which the civilian administration and the military command were unified and placed under the authority of a high imperial official, the Exarch.


The creation of the new unified military and administrative units was eventually to become the foundation upon which later Emperors built the military power of the medieval Greek state of the high middle ages. It was during the last years of the 6th century that the Slavs began slowly penetrating south-eastern Europe. Coming possibly from the regions around the Dnieper, following the course of the rivers toward the Black Sea and moving south-west they eventually reached the regions north of the river Danube. Despite repeated attempts by the imperial army to keep the migrant Slavic tribes north of the Danube, by the end of the century it was becoming more difficult to check their advance through the porous and long northern frontier. Finally, the incompetent rule of Phocas (602-610) and the continuous fighting against the Persian armies along the eastern frontier left the northern frontier almost undefended. While, as a result of the Persian advance, the imperial administration was collapsing in the Asiatic provinces, the regions south of the Danube were being occupied by the Slavs and by their powerful, but far less numerous, allies, the Turkic tribe of the Avars. Under tremendous external pressure and in the hands of an incompetent imperial administration the Empire was going through critical moments. Reaction was inevitable and it occurred in October 610. The arrival at Constantinople of the fleet and of the army of the Exarchate of Carthage under the command of Heraclius, son of the Exarch, put and end to Phocas's reign. A new era was beginning.


When Heraclius (610-641) sat on the throne of the Roman Emperors the Empire was facing a deep crisis. His dynamism and persistence during most of his reign, but also the will of the ruling classes and of the people to fight in order to get through the critical moments, contributed to the renaissance of the state. His reign is marked by a profound change in the character of the Roman Empire, as the state was known. The dominant Greek element, which had always been present and formed the cultural and demographic foundation of the state, eventually took over completely and over the years transformed the Roman Empire into a Greek Medieval Empire, which was Roman essentially only by name. Fighting for its survival the Empire ruled by Heraclius had to draw strength from its own resources, human, cultural, ideological and material.


Early in the century and during the early years of the new Emperor's rule the arrival of the Slavic tribes achieved tremendous proportions eventually inundating the northern part of south-eastern Europe and threatening the Greek speaking areas in the south. While the Avars, after pillaging and destroying the areas south of the Danube, even threatening Constantinople, finally moved north of the Danube, the Slavs came to stay. In fact, it appears that the old Romano-Illyrian regions, in the center of the south-eastern European peninsula and in Dalmatia, the north-west of the peninsula and the northern regions of Thrace, in modern Bulgaria, were easily occupied by the newcomers. In those areas, being far more numerous, they absorbed in time the local population. Thus, Salona, the center of the Byzantine administration in Dalmatia, was destroyed around 614, other Dalmatian cities followed soon. Singidunum (Belgrade), Nassus (Nish) and Sardica (Sofia) fell next. However, while the newcomers were able to occupy with relative ease the sparsely populated and mostly romanized areas in the north and in the center of the peninsula, the situation changed when successive waves of migrants reached the densely populated Greek south of the south-European peninsula. There the contact was violent from the beginning. Indeed, the arrival of the Slavic tribes in the Greek lands was followed by violent clashes and heavy fighting.


In many areas the countryside was laid waste, in some regions the invaders were beaten back, while in others, mostly in central Macedonia and in the valley of the river Strymon, they settled down, eventually recognized the imperial authority, adopted Christianity and were in time absorbed by the Greek population. The absence of the bulk of the Byzantine army in the East and the continuous preoccupation of the imperial administration with the effort to stem the Persian onslaught in Eastern Asia Minor, during the 7th century, acted initially in favor of the invaders. In fact Slavic tribal groups penetrated deep, like arrows, into the Greek peninsula. Fighting their way they even reached the Peloponese where they caused widespread destruction and the collapse of authority in the countryside. However, even before the launching of any imperial counter-measures, their successes were checked, from the earliest stages of the invasion, by the presence of the vast network of Greek urban centers, among which Thessaloniki was the most important. Indeed, all Greek cities, both in Macedonia and as far south as the Peloponese, acted as a succession of powerful dams upon which the invasion fell and eventually failed.


Greek peasants, fleeing the dangerous countryside, sought refuge and protection behind the powerful fortifications of the Greek medieval cities, especially in the more exposed Macedonian regions. Behind their strong walls counter-attacks were planned and when eventually the Byzantine state turned its attention to the hard hit areas of the Greek peninsula ideas and projects were laid down on how to bring under control the new-comers, on how to spread Christianity among them, on how to have them recognize imperial authority, on how to assimilate them, on how to transform them from a force of blind destruction to one of participation and of contribution to the medieval civilization of Christian south-eastern Europe and in extension to the civilization of all Europe. In other words on how to introduce them to the medieval Constantinopolitan Roman Christian Oecumene. It was to be a long and stormy process, with crises but also wealthy rewards, which, in the end, with the christianization of Russia gave the full measure of the contribution of medieval Hellenism to the creation of the civilization of Europe.


While the European south-east was being invaded by the Slavs the eastern provinces and their great cities were under tremendous pressure as one after another were being captured by the victorious Persian army. Inevitably, facing the loss of the vital eastern provinces, south-eastern Europe was abandoned to the advancing Slavic tide. Heraclius didn't stay long in Constantinople. Blessed by the Patriarch and reinforced by the prayers of his Christian subjects, he crossed the Bosphorus and marched east, through Asia Minor, leading all the armed forces that the Empire could master at that critical moment in its history. A real crusade was beginning. It was a difficult struggle for the Empire.


The initial counter-offensive failed to stop the Persian advance. In 613 the imperial army suffered a serious setback at Antioch, Damascus fell and was soon followed by the capture of Tarsus by the victorious Persians. In the northern front the Byzantine troops had to evacuate Armenia and then, in 614, Jerusalem fell. When news of the Holy city's loss, of the looting which followed, of the destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulcher and of the carrying away by the Persian troops of the Holy Cross reached Constantinople the psychological effects upon the population and upon the spiritual and civilian rulers of the Empire were shattering. Yet, it was not to be the end of the hardships. Asia Minor was invaded in 615 and the Persian troops reached the shores of the Bosphorus. At the same time Thrace was ravaged by the Slavs and the Avars who soon appeared in front of the imperial capital. Then in 619 the Persian armies began the conquest of Egypt, thus putting an end to the regular shipments of grain (a vestige of the old Roman annona) which was transported to Constantinople for centuries and was used to feed the population of the imperial capital. The end of the supply of Egyptian grain, combined with the anarchy in the European provinces caused by the Slavic invasion, the Avar raids in Thrace and the collapse of imperial authority in vast areas of Asia Minor could eventually bring the Empire to its knees. About that time (624) the Visigoths expelled the Empire from Spain. Only the Balearic islands were still held. The Empire was holding itself together by a thread. Something had to be done soon.


The emperor rejected the thought to abandon Constantinople. Instead, he chose to stay and fight. To help him raise an army the Church gave him its treasures. Heraclius could now (619) afford to pay the Khagan of the Avars large sums of money, sent him distinguished hostages and, at least, buy peace from that quarter. In the meantime the imperial government embarked upon a series of profound administrative and military reforms. Under the circumstances the development of the military branch of the state authority was inevitable. In view of the mutilation of the Empire during the times of Heraclius and the struggle for survival, the military authorities in the areas still held by the imperial armies were invested with full powers which soon overwhelmed the power held by the local civilian administrators. The first steps leading to the complete militarization of the Empire were taken during the critical years of the Persian and Slavic invasions. Consequently, the regions of Asia Minor still under imperial control were divided up by the government into military districts. While the new divisions, resembling the existing Exarchates in Africa and in Italy, were seen as administrative units their character was military and were run by the local army commander, a General (Strategos), whose authority carried from the beginning more weight than the local civilian administrators.


The old provinces were eventually absorbed by the new military districts, which became known as Themes, from the Greek word Qevma meaning the military corps stationed in each one of the new districts. The big units were reinforced by the enlistment of more men and, following the old system of the limitanei, soldiers serving in them were given land, with rights of inheritance, as long as themselves and their descendants served in the army of the Theme. The combination of land acquisition and of military service attracted many settlers in the new districts. There is no doubt also that the newly arrived property owning peasant-soldiers (called stratiotes) reinforced the class of small rural property holders who already lived in the new districts. The presence of a large class of free armed peasants, owners of their lands, and of course fighting to defend them from the enemy became soon the backbone of the defense of the Empire. In the critical centuries that followed the new national army fought valiantly. Enrolled in the armies of the Themes the peasant-soldiers defended their lands, repulsed the enemies and beat back the invaders in Asia Minor and in south-eastern Europe. The thoughtless undermining and the destruction of the system by the short-sighted and selfish policies of the high nobility, during the 11th century, as well as the replacement of the national army by an army of foreign mercenaries, would later precipitated the downfall of the Eastern Roman Empire.


The first Themes were organized in the free areas of Asia Minor. They were the large Themes of the Armeniakoi, in north-eastern Asia Minor, of the Anatolikoi, in central Asia Minor, the Opsikion (from the Latin obsequium), near the Sea of Marmora, and along the coast of southern Asia Minor the maritime Theme of the Caravisianoi. For now the situation in south-eastern Europe was out of control and the only area over which the government was soon able to establish its authority was the one near the capital which became the Theme of Thrace.

Leaving Constantinople in the hands of Patriarch Sergius and his able minister the patrician Bonus, Heraclius left the imperial capital on April 5, Easter Monday, 622. He crossed into Asia Minor where he was met by the newly founded army of the Themes. Summer was spent in training and organizing the new cavalry regiments. In the Autumn the imperial troops moved into Armenia first forcing the Persians to withdraw and then defeating them. When in the Spring of 623 operations resumed the Emperor moved again into Armenia. Fighting was tough and prolonged. A decisive victory was still distant. As a matter of fact Costantinople was seriously threatened during the Summer of 626 by the Avars, who broke their peace with the Emperor, and a Slavic host. At the same time the Persian army, under the command of Schahrbarz, crossed unhindered Asia Minor, captured Chalcedon and camped= on the eastern shore of the Bosphorus, facing Constantinople. Led by the Patriarch, and with religious fervor, the defenders repulsed all attacks and early in August 626, they won a great victory when the great final assault of the enemy failed. The defenders were in no doubt that the God protected capital of the Christian Roman Empire owed its deliverance, from the forces of the heathen enemy, to the Virgin's intervention. This belief and the emotion and exaltation of the defenders are expressed in the words and in the music of one of the most beautiful Hymns of the Greek Church, the Acathistos. Following their defeat the Avars withdrew to the north and from that moment they disappear from the Byzantine annals.


In the Fall of 627 began the Byzantine counter-offensive. In December of the same year the Persian army was defeated near Nineveh and the Byzantine troops advanced into Persia. In the Spring of 628 the Persian king Chosroes was overthrown and his son Kawad Sheroe signed immediately a peace treaty with the Emperor. According to the treaty the Persians returned to the Empire all the Roman provinces which they had occupied during the long war. Thus Armenia, Syria, Roman Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt became Roman again. In the Spring of 630 Heraclius visited Jerusalem where to the delight of the Christian population he returned to the Holy city the recovered Holy Cross. It was a fitting end to a holy war. The long war had exhausted the two states. Undoubtedly defeated Persia was in a much worse shape but the Roman state had also suffered important human and material losses. Furthermore the conquest of the old eastern provinces had not solved the acute religious problems between the center of the Empire and the monophysitic eastern populations. The easiness with which the Persian armies had occupied these areas was seen by the central government as a bad omen. The progressive hellenization of the Empire was upset by the ideological split between the Hellenic regions of the Empire, the Greek peninsula and Asia Minor, and the monophysitic east.


Given the above it was necessary for the government, in order to avert a new crisis, to win over the monophysitic populations of the east. The best way to achieve the goal was to reach a compromise between the Chalcedonian official dogma and the eastern heretics. The imperial government and the Emperor, himself, were assisted in their efforts by the energetic participation of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Indeed, based on another eastern doctrine Sergius proposed a solution. Accordingly, the two equal natures of Jesus shared between themselves one activity (ejnevrgeia). The notion of the single activity shared by Jesus's two natures, known as monenergism was pursued energetical by Heraclius and Sergius. While Sergius initiated contacts with eastern clerics, Heraclius, who was still in the east, held talks with local prelates. It appeared that this time the compromise could work. It seems that the Emperor adopted the new doctrine, an event which was favorably greeted in the east where indications point to an agreement for Church union in Armenia, Syria and Egypt. In 631 Cyrus of Phasis, who had close contacts with Sergius, was named Patriarch of Alexandria. He immediately published a pact of union which contained nine chapters on the natures of Jesus and the single activity. It was hoped that the document would be accepted by both Chalcedonians and monophysites. To make the positions contained in the document even stronger, those who rejected it were threatened with excommunication. Emperor Heraclius's, Sergius's and Cyrus's fight to achieve the union was also joined by Pope Honorius, who gave his reserved blessing to the new doctrine, agreeing instead to a single will (qevlhsi") in Jesus.


It was not an easy task. In fact it failed miserably. Resistance from the monophysitic clergy, combined with ferocious reaction to the new heresy by the Chalcedonian prelates, especially from Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, caused the collapse of the final attempt to unite east and west. Finally, the Arab conquests and the spread of Islam put an end to the whole issue. However, while the Arab armies were advancing and capturing the eastern provinces and the local Christian populations began converting to Islam, Constantinople continued its efforts to solve the religious problem. Still pursuing the long sought union Sergius abandoned the issue of single activity and turned to the one of single will. The new doctrine of monotheletism became public in late 638, following Sergius's death, in an Ecthesis or exposition of faith which was given the power of imperial edict. The Ecthesis restated the Chalcedonian dogma of the Trinity and of the Incarnation, it abolished the notion of the two activities of the Saviour, and introduced the one of a single will, not to be confused with His two natures. In the vain hope of saving the east, Sergius's successor Pyrrhus, promoted monothelitism. It was attacked from all sides. In Rome Honorius's successors denounced it, the Chalcedonians saw it for what it was, a new heresy, and the monophysites, under the Arabs since 638, rejected it outrightly.


In his old age Heraclius witnessed the collapse of his efforts to restore Roman power in the east. Contrary to Justinian I who died before witnessing the failure of his expensive attempts to rebuild the Roman oecumene, Heraclius's last years were lived in deep depression caused by the total loss of the east to the Arabs, by the inability to control the Slavic crisis in the European provinces, by the unwanted and badly managed religious upheaval and by a simmering dynastic crisis.


The religious and political unification of the Arab world by the Prophet also meant the beginning of the end of the thousand-year old Greek presence in the east. It began with Alexander's conquests in the 4th century B.C., went through the Hellenistic centuries, the Roman presence and its Byzantine extension into the Christian centuries and collapsed militarily on August 20, 636, in the battle of Yarmuk. In that battle the weary Byzantine army was crushed by Caliph Omar's Arab soldiers. As a result of the defeat Byzantine Syria came under Arab administration. Led by Patriarch Sophronius Jerusalem's garrison fought until 638 when it finally surrendered the Holy city to its new master's. Byzantine Mesopotamia fell in 639-640. By then Persia, defeated by Heraclius a short while ago, was conquered by the Arabs.


Assaulted by an unforeseen and cruel destiny the old Emperor passed away in February 641. The Byzantine state's new eastern opponent was the carrier of a new, world conquering, religious ideology, Islam, which was going to challenge and eventually destroy in the 15th century, under its Ottoman version, the medieval Greek state.


Dionysios Hatzopoulos
Professor of Classical and Byzantine Studies, and Chairman of Hellenic Studies Center at Dawson College, Montreal, and Lecturer at the Department of History at Universite de Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Sharing your Digi photos

Sharing what you have snapped is so much easier thanks to digi cams.. :-)



I have some photos

http://www.photoforums.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3210&password=&sort=1&cat=513&page=4



Main site

http://photoforums.com



Just found out abt this, Club Snap forums (also has lots of reviews on which shop is good for photo development)



Interesting spikey caterpillar

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=106032



Main site



http://forums.clubsnap.org/

Auto-complete technology

Yahoo auto completes email addys, now Google does it for search terms. (with no. of hits too)

http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en





Btw, more news aggregators to try out here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_aggregator

GO KAYAK ~~ GO BLOG

Just surfing online when I encountered some interesting BLOGS..



Wondering how Christmas looks like in Richmond, USA?

GO KAYAK ~~ GO BLOG



See a new oil painting a day, since 3 Dec 04

An oil painting a day



And in case you wonder how I found these, I was looking for a news aggregator for blogs, RSS (so I can keep up with posts from you guys.. haha)

Try out Bloglines which can be accessed online and also has a "notifier" program to prompt when new posts arrives.

Passage Tonga to New Zealand

Tonga to New Zealand Passage
10/31/04 - 11/08/04




Just to give you the basics, we made it to NZ safe and sound, landing in Opua on Nov 8th.  It was a windy, bumpy passage, but no major storms to fret over.  We did have 40 knots most of the trip, and Chris spent most of the time in the cockpit, while KT stayed below and laid down in the center of the boat to decrease the effects of the motion. The boat would rock one way, and take water over that side and then roll the other way with either a big splash or water flooding the decks. We were VERY happy to have the hard dodger.


New Zealand (Arrival and First month)
11/8/04 - 12/10/04


We LOVE NZ and we LOVE traveling on land for a bit.  We purchased a van which Chris then did some handy work on so that we can sleep/camp in it.  The van of course has a name ... Billavan!  We have moved Billabong to Whangarei where she will remain for the season while we explore the North and South Island on Billavan.

Passage, Arrival, and into the Holiday Season

End of reservist

Life is good when one can finish 2 weeks of reservist (which is stay out)



And get to have a nice time of rest! :-)

IPPT result

Yeah.. Cleared it with SILVER last Tues! :-)



2.4Km timing is 11:06 mins.

SBJ = 243 cm

Situp = 39

Chin up = 10

Shuttle run= 9.8 s



Swimming & going for course

Life is good when one can still swim 60 laps without substantial rest. It was a nice warm afternoon for a good swim and I was pleasantly surprised to be able to do 60 after a long break.. :-)



To carry on my blog' s original intentions, going for course is another cause to rejoice that Life is Good! A nice break from routine work and a chance to pick up new skills.. A project' s success - on time delivery and on budget is most dependent on quality of project manager, amount of buy-in of senior management. (as polled from 365 leading CIOs in big fortune 500 companies)



I'm enjoying my course currently at NUS' s ISS which is a moderm institute with nice environment and good facilities for conducting IT courses..









November busy, busy

Quite rush this Nov, after the Deepavali holiday then Hari Raya Puasa, then 16-19th on course..



It' ll be quite an interesting course which hopefully gives good insight into Project Management.



Course detail (CITREP-endorsed)

http://www.iss.nus.edu.sg/iss/course_detail.jsp?artid=18&cd=S-PMIS



Then it' s 2 weeks of ICT! Will try to clear IPPT with SILVER.



Then it' s Youth Camp 6-10 Dec 2004.

http://www.geocities.com/bfc_swat/bfc_webbie.html





Vava’u Group –Tonga

9/20/04 – 10/31/04
By KT

Week 1 (9/20 – 9/26)
Neiafu (main town)

After our unexpected “rough” passage, it was more than a relief to hook onto a mooring ball.  I was definitely ready to get off the boat.  But first, we needed a quick nap for revival purposes … after that it was off to a “reunion party”.   Everybody was here; all rejoined after taking our separate routes through the Cook Islands.  We all met up at the Mermaid for dinner and drinks (and more drinks).  It was never our intention to get so rowdy (‘er drunk), but I suppose between the passage we’d just finished and being back with everyone, things just took on their own pace.  It was quite the night with music, dancing, lots & lots of laughing, and story telling as we all caught up.  All was going along smoothly until I performed a Humpty Dumpty over a rock wall.  It all happened quite fast, one minute I was talking to Michael (de la Mer) & Doug (Solstice), the next minute I was somersaulting headfirst backwards over a knee level wall (which I had somehow backed into, and in my unsteady state was not able to keep my balance), into the rocks & water below.  Mary (de la Mer), came jumping over the wall into the water after me … apparently she thought the water was deep and was worried I would drown.  We both stood there in waist-level water looking at each other.  The men promptly pulled us back up the wall, where I apologized profusely both for my act of stupidity and for destroying Chris’s good camera (which was in my backpack when I toppled over and now full of sea water).



The next morning I awoke to see what Chris lovingly termed “Neanderthal woman” in the mirror.  I guess the rocks and my face didn’t get along.  I had quite a few scrapes on my cheekbone and eyebrow, but it was the swelling that caused the majority of distortion.  Later (in town) I would discover that I was now famous … everyone had heard about my graceful back-flip.  I (along with everyone) realize that I was quite lucky nothing more serious happened, but, post-event, knowing I came out okay, everyone (including myself) had a good laugh, and I was (actually still am) the subject of quite a few jokes.

We spent the next few days exploring and enjoying a real town; electricity, Internet, markets, fresh veggies, laundry service (my favorite) and restaurants (my second favorite).  We met “Pete the Meat”, who sold a huge variety of frozen-fresh (if that’s not a contradiction) meats.  We went to the outdoor market, where we excitedly purchased funky looking carrots, the world’s tiniest bell peppers, & tasty cucumbers.  We ate out almost every night, eating twice at The Dancing Rooster where we feasted on fresh lobster dishes (including lobster ravioli & red curry lobster).  We finished the week with card-day, playing with de la Mer & Island Sonata at the Mermaid.

Week 2 (9/27 –10/3)

After a week of splurging, exploring, relaxing, & eating (Chris later came up with the term, Tonga-10 for all the weight we gained), we decided we were ready to explore some of the other anchorages.  On Tuesday we moved to Nuapapu South (off of Vaka’eitu Island).  We had thought we would be “getting away” from everyone, but as it turns out Emerald, de la Mer, Island Sonata & Gumbo Ya Ya (just to name a few) were all in this anchorage as well.  In an attempt at some seclusion, we first tried to anchor around the bend from all the other boats.  This was also our first introduction to anchoring in Tonga, which we later confirmed sucks!  After about five tries, where the hook wasn’t even close to setting, we moved around to the main anchorage.  It took us two attempts to get the anchor to set, however when Billabong came to a rest we felt we were too close to Emerald.  After a few minutes we finally decided we would indeed have to move.  Who knows how many more attempts we spent trying to get the anchor to set … enough that Island Sonata came over to make fun of us asking, “Is this the first time you’ve anchored this boat?”.  We finally gave up and moved (again) to where we hoped would be better holding.  Two more attempts later we FINALLY hooked on!  We figured we spent at least 2 hours anchoring!  On the bright side, we now had lots and lots of hot water (since we had run the engine for so long).

The next day we went ashore with de la Mer to do a bit of exploring.  We checked out a resort on Vaka’eitu (which we learned only cost $200/year to lease the land!).  The resort looked cute, and the idea romantic, but after look inside one of the lodges, I was very happy to be here on Billabong.  The following morning Whisper arrived, just in time to join us on Billabong for hot Banana bread.  Afterwards we hooked up with de la Mer for some snorkeling.  We tried a number of different spots, but all we really found was a lot of dead coral, and some interesting sea urchins.  We tried again the next day, and were rewarded with some terrific snorkeling on the outside of the reef … great coral and lots of “Nemos” (our name for any sea anemone fish).  Afterwards we lifted anchor and headed back to Neifu.

Saturday was the “Kiwi Kickoff Party” (a cruiser party to celebrate everyone’s successful arrival to Tonga).  The party organizers also put together a number of “awards” recognizing those less-than-ideal moments of cruising.  We were the proud winners of three such awards:  “The prodigal dinghy of shame award” (for ‘the runaway dinghy that never returned’, also acknowledging the knot [that doesn’t work] now named after Chris – Billa-bowline);  “The Soused Swan Award” (for ‘the most spectacular unsynchronized acrobatic diving exhibition’, aka KT’s humpty-dumpty act);  and “The Papa Passed a Kidney Stone Award”.

We finished off the weekend with Canasta at the Mermaid with Island Sonata & Waking Dream  (who had just arrived in Neiafu Saturday).

Week 3 (10/4 – 10/10)

Monday was another “hang around” day, where we ran some errands around town (internet, market, etc) and did a bit around the boat (miscellaneous projects & cleaning).  Tuesday we moved over to Tapana / Afo Island.  After three frustrating tries at getting our hook to set we moved over to a mooring ball owned by the Ark Gallery (a little house-like art gallery that floats in the middle of the anchorage).  Donna threw an all girls party aboard Ocean Girl (her husband Ralph was back in Canada), while Bob from Stardust hosted the boys.  Neither party got too rowdy … the girls did a lot of eating and chatting while the boys ate spaghetti and played cards & liars dice.

The following morning we said goodbye to Emerald as they headed to the Ha’apai Group.  We headed over to La Paella (little Spanish restaurant across the bay), where Maajhi-Re, Gumbo Ya Ya, Ascension, and the local owner were having a jam session.  We are still amazed at the musical talent that exists.  We are even more amazed that Kurt manages to fit an entire drum set aboard Gumbo Ya Ya!  Afterwards we had de la Mer over for cheese fondue (which didn’t turn out so good, but we ate it anyway).

Thursday we moved over to Port Maurelle, where our anchor set FIRST try (we were ecstatic).  After a quick dip in the anchorage to see the local Nemo fish, we caught a ride in Whisper’s dinghy (Shout) and headed over to Swallow’s cave for sunset drinks.  It felt like a Disneyland ride as we entered the cave … unfortunately the graffiti dampened the Disney atmosphere.

The following afternoon, we enjoyed some terrific snorkeling just outside Swallow’s cave.  There were a variety of coral colors, tons of Nemos (which I could watch and play with for hours), and even a big ‘ol lobster.  Later that evening we ventured over to a beach party / bon fire … more excellent food, great company, and just plain good times!

We enjoyed the snorkeling so much that we went back on Saturday with Whisper & Island Sonata.  Later that evening we all hooked up aboard Whisper and feasted on pizza, chocolate soufflés, and wine.  And interesting combination, but it was all fabulous (and Chris was thrilled to here me say the soufflés were not that hard to make)!

I had signed up for Scuba diving lessons, so on Sunday we headed back to town (Neiafu).  Following our Sunday tradition, we played Canasta at the Mermaid with Bobulona & Waking Dream.  We then enjoyed another terrific lobster meal at The Dancing Rooster.

Week 4 (10/11 – 10/17)

By this time we had more-or-less decided that we would depart to New Zealand from the Vava’u Group.  We had initially thought we would head to the Ha’apai Group, followed by checking out Nuku’alofa before heading to New Zealand.  But after all the moving about over the last few months we were both enjoying the protected anchorages of Vava’u and had no huge desire to move on!  In addition, our friends from the states who were going to fly in to Nuku’alofa and crew with us down to NZ were unable to make it so we no longer had to be in Nuku’alofa.  This decision really allowed us to relax and take our time in both explorations as well as boat preparations.

I enjoyed my scuba lessons over the next three days.  Meanwhile Chris completed various projects aboard Billabong in preparation for our NZ passage.  I’ll admit, he got the short end of the stick on that one! He was a great sport about it though!  Diving was great fun.  The instructor was terrific, and the class included people I already knew.  On our graduation day we went on three open water dives.  It included a lot of firsts for me, including a Lion fish, color changing coral, and a sea anemone that closed up into this bulb-like thing!

Thursday I caught up on my chores (internet, bakery, market, etc) while Chris wrapped up his boat projects.  Friday I treated Chris to a dive outing (the Whisper’s came along too).  There were lots of chutes & tunnels in our first dive, but the second dive won all our votes with the wide variety of fish and live coral (and Chris got to see the cool color changing coral).  On the dives with us was a group from California who were chartering a catamaran.  They were another reminder to us of how lucky we are to be able to be living this life instead of just visiting it.  Vacations are great, and definitely needed, but man is it wonderful to be able to experience these things for longer than two weeks at a time!  We are continuously thankful!!!

We ended the day with drinks & dinner at the Mermaid in celebration of Ralph’s (Ocean Girl) return.  The next two days were quite mellow with card playing (including Chris becoming addicted to the computer card game, Spider), web updates, and reading.

Week 5 (10/18 –10/24)

Monday was another chore day in preparation for another week out-and-about among the anchorages of Vava’u.  We also had a marvelous dinner aboard Ocean Girl (she served an awesome red curry chicken dish, which I now make regularly!).

Tuesday we attempted to move to Mafana Island.  It was a beautiful day with excellent sailing conditions.  We were having a great time, until the critical decision-making point.  At our current speed we would arrive Mafana just as the sun was setting.  IF we couldn’t get the anchor to set we would be in a hard spot because coming back through the channel (through a reef) in low light could be hazardous.  We decided to go for it anyway.  It was a terrific spot, and no one was around.  BUT, of course our anchor wouldn’t set.  It wouldn’t even grab a bite at all (no matter how slow I backed down).  After half a dozen tries we aborted and headed back.  The lighting sucked, but luckily we also had our GPS track from our way in.  We made it safely and headed to Tapana / Afo Island.  This time we didn’t even bother trying to anchor, we headed straight for a mooring ball.

We lazily lounged around the following day, enjoy the much missed sunshine.  Whisper also arrived, and we rowed over with them to scope out the Ark Gallery (we hadn’t actually visited it on our first stay in this anchorage).  She hand paints a variety of landscapes, portraits, and boat scenes.  They are all really well done, but quite pricey.  We enjoyed talking to the owner and her husband – both cruisers who arrived in Tonga ten years ago.

Thursday we found some good snorkeling at the island across the way from the anchorage.  At least it was all good until I got a jelly fish sting across my mouth & cheek!  OUCH!!! For dinner we joined Whisper on an outing to La Paella.  We brought along two bottles of California wine, which we all drooled over (Whisper couldn't believe that we still had CA wine, and that we were willing to SHARE it!!!).  Dinner was great, and the music was lively (the owners put on a show).  We all got to join in as Percussion-type instruments (shakers, bongos, etc) were passed around.  Those who know me will be happy to learn that tone-def, beat-deprived me did not partake in the music-making festivities!!!

History was made on Friday, when Chris discovered FOUR gray/white hairs … on MY head!  I was convinced he was lying, but sure enough, he plucked them, and they were really white, not just sun bleached!!!  I was most surprised to find I wasn’t at all upset, actually just entertained!

Island Sonata showed up and we got together for some more Canasta playing.

Saturday we taxied into Nieafu to use the internet and buy a few fresh veggies at the market.  We spent the rest of the day reading, followed by a quite dinner & movie.

Sunday we hopped aboard Island Sonata, with Whisper, for a pancake breakfast.  Island Sonata then took us all over (via their boat) to Mariner’s Cave.  Along the way we picked up Waking Dream and Freebird.  It was a fun sail on the catamaran.  The girls enjoyed sitting up front on the trampoline (until we all got drenched).  Entering Mariner's Cave required a short under water dive, where you popped up inside a very dark cave.  The underwater portion was short, but it’s an interesting mind game convincing yourself that you’ll be able to surface sometime soon!

Week 6 (10/25 – 10/31)

We were now giving serious thought to when we should actually leave for New Zealand.  We started watching the weather more closely, and wrapping up all our preparation projects.  Before moving back to Neiafu we had Waking Dream, de La Mer, and Ocean Girl over for a “good-bye” dinner.  de la Mer would be leaving their boat in Tonga under the supervision of the Ark Gallery owners, who would then deliver their boat back to Southern California next season. They plan to first visit Fiji & New Zealand (via air), so we hope to catch up with them before they return to the states.  Waking Dream decided to stay in Tonga for the hurricane season.  They both had a number of potential business ideas.  Hopefully we’ll catch up with them next season.

We moved back to Neiafu on Thursday.  Thursday and Friday were spent with last minute details, including checking out, provisioning, passage meal cooking, and weather watching.  We managed to fit in a bit of fun, enjoying huge burgers at Bounty Burger, and celebrating Halloween at Anna’s Café.

After one last visit to the internet, we moved to Port Maurelle.  We were ready to go … or at least we hoped so.  This is the one passage that everyone talks about and stresses over.  Supposedly everyone gets their ass whooped on this one.  We figured it would take us 10 days if things went well, and up to 15 if things went bad.  Personally, I was tired of watching the weather and trying to pick the perfect window (good thing Chris has more patience then me).  I was tired of worrying, tired of preparing, and ready to just BE THERE!  I was very, very excited that we were about to be in New Zealand.  We were about to finish up our first year of cruising.  What had once seemed so far away, both in miles and time was now just days away!

According to the weather gurus, Sunday the weather window would be closing … it was go now or stay for another two weeks.  With Whisper in front of us, and Ocean Girl behind us we left Tonga behind.  New Zealand, here we come!

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