Panga-what?

Here in Tonga, Sunday is strictly a day of rest and religion, with most of the local population heading into church for a large chunk of the day. Almost all shops and restuarants are shut, catching a bus or taxi becomes near impossible and even working out is frowned upon.

Not a bad place to spend a Sunday

To pass the time, I headed with a group of other medical students to Pangaimoto, a popular island resort just twenty minutes from the harbour, where a huge chunk of the non-religious population gather on a Sunday. For only ~£15 you get a boat transfer, lunch, and free reign of a beautiful island and its white sand beaches. I was there from 11am till 5pm enjoying the sunshine, swimming in the calm water and playing card games in the shade when it got a bit too much. All in all a tough day! 

You can climb up this sunken ship, and jump off into the sea

Here is the first place I've spotted any signs of damage from the recent cyclone- when you head around the island you can see how strong the winds must have been, just from a look at the palm trees! 

Tomorrow I'll brave the hospital for the first time- everyone's advised me to just a pick a ward and show up, so I think I'm going to give A&E a try to begin with (mainly cause it lets me wear my scrubs!) but we'll see how things go....!