2 weeks in Samoa

Approx. 2 weeks have gone by and Rye and I are leaving for Tonga tomorrow morning at 8 am. The time here has gone by fast even though life here is anything but fast.

We arrived in Apia. Samoa on Dec. 3 and decided to rent a car to get our bearings on Upoli (one of Samoa’s two large islands) and figure out where we wanted to stay. We ended up renting a Hyundai Getz, which is very similar to a Ford Focus…except the Getz ran a little rougher than the average Focus. We think that the fuel filters were more than a little plugged because we would step on the gas and the car would jerk forward and then stop and then jerk again and continue doing this until reaching the optimal speed on 45 km/hr.

We made our way into the capital of Apia. Along the way we went through several villages; most of the villages are located along the ocean. All of the villages made up of fales, which are thatch roofs on stilts and are open to the elements.

We found the place that we were going to stay and decided to hit the main market in town…BTW – I forgot the guidebook for Samoa and Tonga on the plane…The market was pretty busy and we were on the only westerners there so we got a lot of attention.

We spent the next couple of days checking out the sites around Apia. We went snorkeling at this marine reserve. Not that either of use have done a lot of snorkeling but this was by far the coolest we’ve done. We swam out about 100 m off-shore and then all of a sudden you reach this huge drop and the bottom goes from around 2 m to over 30 m. The drop is lined with coral reef and thousands of fish…quite the site.

We also went to the “sliding rocks”, which were three natural waterslides along this river high up in the jungle. There is a picture of me sliding down the first drop…or waterslide. The rocks were polished enough that it didn’t hurt too bad except some of the pools were a little shallow.

After the couple of days in Apia we caught a ride out to the east coast for six days of rest and relaxation. We stayed at Litia Sini’s Beach resort which has just re-opened after being totally wiped out after the 2009 tsunami. We got there and there were only five other people staying there so it was quite peaceful. The beach fales that we stayed in were only 20’ from the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The water was swimming pool warm and the classic teal blue that you imagine when you think of the South Pacific. After only two days we were the only two people staying there and we were absolutely spoiled. We spent the next five days taking lots of naps, taking turns reading books aloud to each other and eating. The rest was enough to heal Riley, who some of you know got sick with strep throat three days before we flew out.

On our way back to Apia we stopped at this ocean trench, which was a huge sink hole that was connected to the ocean. You had to climb down this 60’ ladder to get to the water below but once you were down you were surrounded by eden every which way you looked.

We caught the ferry over to the other island of Savaii. We sailed economy class and again were the only westerners on board. The ferry was quite a ride as they pack it full of people, cars/trucks and whatever else will fit on it and take it 1.5 hrs over to the next island.

We stayed four nights at a place called Lucia’s Lagoon Chalets and had a hut that was over top of the water. This hut was very similar to the local homes that I mentioned above where they have a thatch roof and are open to the elements, except ours had thatch walls that could be tied up or down. It seemed a little sketchy at first, but being able to see all the fish and watch the sunrise from bed …it was worth it.

We rented another car here to tour the island…I should mention that the local transport consists of old buses with wood seats, tons of decals and music cranked as loud as the speakers would go. They only cost 50 cents but are pretty unreliable but when they do come they are pretty full. People often sit on each others laps. We road the buses to and from the ferry but figured a rental car might be better to tour the island.

We made the circumnavigation of the island and stopped at an area with a bunch of blowholes. It’s an area of shoreline made of volcanic rock so it’s quite porous. When the waves come in their force causes pressure to build up and water shoots up through the holes like a geyser.

The northern part of island was another popular tourist destination, although at this time of year it was fairly abandoned so we decided to stay put at Lucia’s.

(this is Riley writing now)

I just need to mention that Samoans are the nicest people. Whether it’s giving travel advice, helping us with our packs or giving up their seat or knee on a bus, they have been more than accommodating. It’s definitely island living. There are pigs and chickens roaming the streets and the power often only works at night time and not on Sundays and family here is priority. It has been wonderful to experience their culture.

Love Q & R