We arrived in Nuku’Alofa, the main town on the island of Tonga June 9th, 2009, after  24 hours of transit including a stop over in Fiji.  For the next four days, we toured around the non-touristy island and enjoyed the Tongan lifestyle of native dances, castaway beaches, giant men in grass skirts, and exotic foods.  We also snuck in some preparation time on the ship getting lab equipment ready for the research cruise.