The best meal we had in Tonga was served in a palm leaf hut. We were the only guests, well, except for the goat.

We disembarked on a deserted beach, followed a hand made sign up uneven stairs, past sheep, goats, chickens, and pigs. The structure at the top of the hill was primitively made out of particleboard on three sides and palm leaves on the veranda facing the bay. We would have turned around at this point had the restaurant not come highly recommended.

These were not the first roaming animals we’d meet in Tonga. Chickens, dogs and pigs run free in the street, including the cutest little piggies you’ve even seen (we are from the suburbs and not accustomed to farm life.) Roosters woke us every morning, no matter which outer island we anchored near the night before. It’s not like the cartoons where roosters trumpet once at dawn; these zealous cocks crow continuously until you get up, with no option to punch the snooze button.

Inside La Paella restaurant is a lovely, intimate setting with colorful table linens, live music, and 180 degree views of the bay. The goat ushered us in and kept us company throughout the evening.

What a surprising and amazing meal it was! They chef from Spain and her assistant served us several trays of intricately arranged tapas, gazpacho, croquets, and finally paella as the main event. Very impressive for a team of two over an open fire on a remote island.

Meanwhile, back on the boat, we cobbled together what could be best described as camp food: eggs, pb&j, cheese and crackers, and beer. Luckily we were hungry from swimming everyday, so everything tasted good.

The small bodegas on the islands offer a limited selection of food with imports primarily from New Zealand and China. At the open-air market, women sell produce from picnic tables. Here we picked up pineapple, papaya, plantains, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. The local farmers have recently started cultivating vanilla, and Peter bought several beans from a friendly man who paddled over in his canoe.

Another funny note about the food: the ketchup here tastes like nutmeg. Even the tomato sauce I used for the pasta was strangely reminiscent of Christmas cookies.