Rain

When it rains it can really come down. The island is saturated pretty quickly and the water pools in the lower areas. The island is virtually flat, so the water has no place to go. Some pools of water last for several days.

The house on the left has no door, just the beads. Many houses have thin fabric curtains in the doorway; they leave the door open most of the time. Most of the windows have louvers so the air can pass through easily. The small house is where the missionaries live, it is located on church property - usually by the basketball/volleyball court behind the building.

The pigs and chickens don't seem to be bothered by the rain. This is an original Tongan style home. The roof has such an interesting shape.

We saw dozens of people showering in rain water coming off the roof and down the rain gutter. Men, women and children were all taking advantage of the wonderful warm rain. You can see a young woman washing her hair.

The children really seemed to enjoy the rain. We stopped and watched them play, they were having such fun.

The rain water collects really fast and forms lakes everywhere. It's always an adventure driving in the rain because the standing water hides the potholes in the road.

The last picture is of a cemetery. There are cemeteries all over the island. It seems like every village has at least one.

(P.S.   I'm so sorry about the layout, I'm still learning how to work this blog )