A Life of Travel: South Pacific adventure - Fiji to Samoa to Tonga...and Vanuatu next!
Derek Baron
December 10, 2024
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It's Tuesday and it's time for a travel newsletter...
update
Hello from the South Pacific!
At this point, I’m just happy to have my stuff back. My luggage was lost for 4 days after I arrived in Tonga last Saturday and after zero help from Fiji Airways, I went back to the Tonga airport today and finally tracked down the luggage. Reunited!
So, I’m feeling whole again. Interestingly, it’s only the second time in 23 years of nonstop travel that I lost my luggage. I certainly feel fortunate about that.
Here we go with some personal updates and news…
🇼🇸 Samoa - After some time in Fiji, we flew to Samoa. This was a very different experience than Fiji as we traded in beautiful beaches for waterfalls, caves, local markets and laid back villages. We also paid a visit to the village of Vailima, where the author Robert Louis Stevenson had settled with his family. His estate is now an excellent museum and you can also take a hike through beautiful mountain forests next to the property.
🇹🇴 Tonga - After Samoa, it was time for the Kingdom of Tonga. With a population of only 100,000 people, Tonga is one of the most relaxed countries I have ever been to. It ranks right up there with my visit to Palau. The capital, Nuku’alofa, is a very small town with one main road, a lot of barbershops, a simple fruit and vegetable market, a path along the waterfront and what seems to be a speed limit of 5 mph (8 kph). The country is a very religious Christian country and on Sundays, everything must shut down for a day of rest. King Tupou VI lives in a nice villa on top of the only hill on the main island of Tongatapu. We hired a driver to take us around the island, which took about 3 hours, including stops at blowholes, a beach, a Mormon church and, well, that was about it. That seems to be the highlights of the main island.
👕 Surviving Without Stuff - Since I do travel nonstop, my suitcase is basically filled with most of the things I own. At first, when my luggage was lost, it was admittedly refreshing to walk out of the Tonga airport with only my small backpack. For 24 hours, it was quite easy to survive with one pair of shorts, one shirt and a toothbrush. By the second day, it was still somewhat easy but not as fun, especially due to the heat and constantly sweating in my one shirt that I needed to be washed all the time. By the third day, I had enough and felt gross. I really wanted my stuff. By the fourth day, I wasn’t going to leave the airport until my luggage was back in my possession. I guess that was a good test. It seems that my days of being a super minimalist backpacker that traveled with only a few things on my back are clearly over.
🏝️ Remote Locations - Spending time on these tiny islands in the South Pacific is, for me, a kind of therapy. I personally love being in such remote locations, surrounded by water and far away from proper towns and cities and the fast pace lifestyle present in so much of the world. I feel the benefits instantly and within a short period of time, the internal calmness takes over. I feel physically healthier, my mind is sharper and activities such as walking along the water, watching sunsets and interacting with such relaxed people is more than sufficient to keep me satisfied.
It reminds me of the the days when I worked on board cruise ships. The more remote the destination - such as when we would frequently visit the extremely remote atoll of Tabuaeran in the island nation of Kiribati - the more peaceful and healthy I felt.🌍️ Something to Ponder - According to a recent study that a friend sent me, having a geographically diverse social network may boost mental health. I’m not sure it takes into account those who travel all the time and don’t really have roots anywhere, but having friends all over the world certainly has its benefits!
📆 Up Next?- After Tonga, it’s off to Vanuatu, followed by a short trip to the Solomon Islands. Then, Christmas and New Years will be spent in an unexpected location (to be announced soon) before heading to Lisbon on January 4th!
To Sua Trench in Samoa
around the globe
🧑🤝🧑 No Crowds?
Afar Magazine published a list of 25 destinations to visit in 2025, claiming that next year will be the year of crowd-free travel. I personally don’t think tourist crowds are going away any time soon, as most travelers continue to flock to the same popular countries. But some of the more obscure destinations on this list might lead you away from some crowds.
🇯🇴 A Discovery Under Petra
A 2000 year old hidden tomb has been discovered underneath the incredible Treasury building located in the ancient site of Petra.
📗 The Story Behind the Michelin Guide
How did a tire company end up as a widely respected rater of restaurants? Well, the story behind the Michelin Guide naturally involves a creative way to get people to buy more tires.
🐅 Tiger Conservation in India
Here’s the incredible story of Daulat Singh Shaktawat, a forest ranger in India’s Ranthambore National Park. He’s dedicated his life to tiger conservation, but ended up being mauled by a tiger (Warning: the story above contains a graphic description of his injuries). He survived the attack and before long, was continuing his remarkable efforts to protect the Bengal tigers and their surrounding ecosystems.
🏙️ City Syndromes
There are 10 cities around the world that are associated with rare psychological disorders. Here’s the list.
🇧🇩 Growing Crops on Sand
In Bangladesh, one organization - Pumpkin Plus - is helping people who have lost their land due to riverbank erosion. They teach them how to grow crops on the sandbars that appear as a result of the erosion.
🥳 Pre-Christian Winter Festivals
These four fascinating festivals in Europe, which still take place today, are all remnants of the region’s pre-Christian past.
🫐 Peruvian Blueberries
Would you believe that a significant percentage of blueberries sold around the world come from the deserts of Peru?
🌋 Mount Yasur, Vanuatu
As I’m headed to Vanuatu in a couple of days, this active volcano that has erupted a few times per hour for the past 800 years is on my list of things to do!
🇧🇼 Wosana Ritual in Botswana
The Wosana ritual, a rainmaking tradition that involves prayers, song and dance, is practiced by the Bakalanga community of Botswana. The ritual has recently been added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Safeguarding.
where in the world?
With the previous photo, nobody guessed the location correctly. One person did guess correctly but admitted he had help from a Google/reverse image search.
The photo is of the village of Voru, located in the Fann Mountains of Tajikistan.
During my visit to Tajikistan a few months ago, this village was a highlight. Located at the end of a bumpy 2 hour journey along a remote dirt road, Voru looks like a community that hasn’t changed much over the centuries. In fact, it’s one of the most ancient villages in the entire country. Its location is stunning and the layers of tightly packed houses rising up the mountain was quite a sight. The people we met here were very hospitable as well, especially the kind local blacksmith who showed us around.
This week’s photo:
It’s time to guess…where was the below photo taken?
If you have a guess (the more specific the better), click reply and let me know. Anyone who guesses correctly will be mentioned in next week's newsletter 😄
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Thank you so much for reading!
Derek
(my middle name is Earl)
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