The day I arrived I asked myself if all the effort I put forth to get to Tokelau was worth it. After the 48-hour journey to get here and four days of being here, now I feel the effort was absolutely, resoundingly worth it! Ross and Katie have been gracious hosts. Last night Bill and his new wife visited and we had a fabulous dinner of fish, rice, and lamb with homemade pumpkin loaf for dessert. It’s a real novelty to bake my creations in Tokelau. Yesterday I had the chance to go out across the lagoon with a local named Tiu.
Away from the village, Atafu is even more beautiful. The lagoon is aquamarine and the sunset is breathtaking.
This morning I woke up to a magical sunrise.
One of my best photo collections is that of global sunsets and sunrises, and Tokelau sure is an exotic one. I had to be up early so I could enjoy my last few hours in Tokelau and because I didn’t know when the ship would arrive. They don’t have a passenger list and it leaves with or without you. The boat ended up not arriving until 5 PM but I made sure to get down there early in case it was full. I thought it was going straight back to Apia but it’s stopping at the other atolls beforehand, so I had a final opportunity to get a passport stamp for Nukunonu. Fortunately, my sea legs didn't take long to sprout but I'd have no chance to set foot on Nukunonu. The journey back to Samoa was similar to the way here, only a bit calmer with yet another technicolour sunset off the starboard side.
Tokelau is the most difficult country I’ve been to in terms of both logistics and bureaucracy, but all the effort, sweat, and tears required to get here makes a journey one you’ll never forget.
