Samoa Tourist Style Part 2 -- Upolu Island

I spent my last night ever on Savai'i with my friends R&J who are volunteers in a village near mine and the gal who made the Savai'i tour with me. The next morning I caught the ferry back to Upolu, grabbed a bus (I love those old wooden buses - talk about cultural integration!) and headed for Apia to check in with PC and rent a car for the rest of my trip. This time at least the car was in decent shape, at least until I got through with it. More on that later.

My plan was to circumnavigate the island taking in all the touristy things on the way but I had already seen a lot of Upolu since we trained there so I decided to skip a portion of the trip and go directly to Vaie'e to see my training family and bid them goodbye. I did stop long enough to get a photo of this great waterfall that you can see from a viewpoint along the Cross-Island Road. There are many many waterfalls in Samoa crashing down off the lava peaks into the valleys below but this is one of my favorites.

I arrived in Vaie'e mid-afternoon and the family was waiting for me. They were so happy to see me and so sad that it was because I was there to say goodbye. We talked and made plans for my stay. They do not have a car and I wanted to do something special for them so I told them we were all going to go to Togitotiga waterfall which is about 8 miles from their house. When I was in training they had showed me pictures of it and wished that we could all go there so now I was making that wish come true. It was the best way I knew how to thank them for everything they did for me while I was staying with them. We had an absolutely great time. Packed a picnic lunch and headed out. Mind you not everyone would fit in my car at one time so I made two trips there and two trips back but it was worth it. It is a two stage water fall with deep pools at the bottom of each section for swimming and lots of nice rock cliffs for jumping in if that was your desire. (Not mine!) M brought her adopted niece and we enjoyed playing in the water with her while the younger family members alternated between swimming, eating, and playing King-Of-The-Mountain on a big log that was laying off the bank down into the creek.

I stayed with the family for two nights and then said my goodbyes and headed out west along the southern coast of the island. The countryside is lush and green of course but pretty flat until you get close to Falelatai then there is a spur off one of the main mountains that reaches clear to the sea. The main road turns inland at this point and totally bypasses where I wanted to go but I had it all scoped out on a map and could see a "minor" road that would take me up and over the mountain and drop me right down into the village, so off I went. The first problem I ran into was finding the turnoff to get onto that road. I drove back and forth a couple of times before I was convinced that one of the side roads must be the right one. It was, but little did I know that this "road" would require me to cross a river without benefit of a bridge. I saw that, stopped, and was about to turn back since, at that point I still wasn't totally certain I was on the right track. However there was a group of Samoan men and some children parked there so I decided to ask them. They assured me it was the right road and also that my 4 wheel drive vehicle would have absolutely no problem with the level of the water in the river. They didn't think I would even need to put it in 4 wheel drive, but if I was afraid maybe I should turn back to the main road. WHAT! Me afraid! I think not! So I thanked them, put it in gear and eased into the water, thinking all the time that I was going to be sorry. It turned out to be a piece of cake. I might as well have been driving on dry land, but hey - how was I supposed to know? So on and upward I went.

I had made arrangements to stay with another volunteer on the northwest coast of the island and was not expected there until mid-afternoon so I decided to stop on the mountain in a shady spot along the road across from these flowers and read a book and relax for a while after my harrowing experience. There were virtually no houses but of course where I stopped there was one set back off the road and I looked in my rearview mirror and saw three kids standing in the road staring at my car. One took off towards the house and I decided it was time to move on - besides I sorta forgot that mosquitos are a 24 hour a day problem in Samoa and they had found me.

I arrived safely at my destination and spent a relaxing 2 days reading, and yakking with my friend then prepared to head on down the road back to Apia for my last week in Samoa. Now, remember I told you I'd talk about the car later? Well, this is the time. As I was backing out of her host family's driveway I backed right into the gatepost and busted out the tail light. Fortunately I had overcome my tightwad personality and purchased the "collision" insurance when I rented the car so I just had to decide whether I wanted to blame it on someone else or fess-up that I am just stupid. Hmmm. I asked my friend if it might look like someone had hit me and she said "Sure, absolutely". Now mind you I would never have considered this option if I thought I was going to get someone in trouble, but #1. Samoans don't buy insurance. #2. Traffic accidents are never reported or investigated unless someone is seriously injured. #3. Because of #1 and #2, Samoans won't even bother to stop if they hit someone because it's going to cost them money and they won't get in trouble for not filing a report.

Well, the devil made me do it. I turned the car in at the rental agency with a sad story about being clipped by a car behind me that was turning right. They said okay, you're covered, and then they gave me back my deposit and I left feeling somewhat guilty but not enough to cough up the $700 USD it would have cost to fix it.

The rest of my time before departure was one of just enjoying being a tourist. I rented a room in a bed and breakfast hotel right across the street from the ocean for four nights where I made friends with a couple from Denmark who have been volunteering as teachers in Malawi for the last couple of years (not PC). We had some good discussions about volunteerism in general and PC vs. private. One night a bunch of us who were staying there ordered pizza delivered and had a great time pretending we were home.

The hotel put on a little demonstration each afternoon for their tourist guests which ranged from learning to siva (samoan dance) to how to husk, crack, and grate a coconut to make coconut cream which they then served with boiled bananas (have I mentioned how much I hate boiled green bananas?) It was fun to pretend I didn't know anything about this stuff.

One afternoon I got a front row seat as one of the fautasi boat teams prepared to practice for the upcoming Independence Day races. These boats hold 48 rowers seated two abreast, and one man who usually stands and tells them what to do. It was a kick, because after first starting to load the boat they waited 30 minutes for the 1/3rd of the team that wasn't there yet. Finally they snagged a couple of neighborhood kids to man some oars and set out for a practice run. About 15 minutes later they came back and picked up some more guys, but still didn't have a full complement. Eventually they did manage to get most of the team in the boat and the kids back on shore and then rowed off into the gathering rainclouds and around the Palolo Deep point where I couldn't see them any more.




One day when I was walking to the Peace Corps office I decided I should probably get a picture of Apia Harbor because it really is a pretty sight and the only other pictures I have are from downtown looking out towards the sea. So I took a few shots and stitched a couple together and this is the result.

Friday night before my departure friends from my training group all got together and took me out for a farewell dinner at one of the nicer spots in town and since my "brother" La from my training village family is going with one of them he came too. I was glad to get another chance to say goodbye to him plus he brought me this really neat t-shirt as a gift from his family. I was disappointed that my friends R&J from Savai'i couldn't be there too but they had family visiting from the States and couldn't make it.

After spending all day Monday in the PC office, collecting all manner of paperwork and getting stuck for bloodwork one more time I headed out to the airport at 9:30 at night arrived at the ticket counter with my itinerary in hand, assuming I had an e-ticket since that is all they had given me, only to find out NO-O I was supposed to have a paper ticket. I called one of the emergency PC numbers and said "Whas up?" Well, not exactly those words. They did some phoning around and found out my ticket was safely locked up in someone's desk! Yeah! Nice to know you are keeping it safe for me.

Mind you it takes 40 minutes to get from the office to the airport. It is now 11:00pm and my flight leaves at 12:45! My PC driver headed back to town to get it and I was absolutely convinced he'd never get back in time, but he made the round trip in 50 minutes! Good thing it was Samoa or he would have had one of the biggest speeding tickets of all time. He admitted to doing up to 100mph! Guess they really wanted to get rid of me.

Anyway I made it safe and sound, minus one of my suitcases which got derailed by the Transportation Security Administration inspection. It was delivered to the house via FedEx the next day so not too much of a problem.

So that's the end of this Grand Adventure, and it was a grand adventure. Would I do it again? Probably not. Certainly not for such a long period of time. But stand by! Who knows what the future may hold. Until next time, "Tofa soifua!."

Samoa Tourist Style Part 1 -- Savai'i Island

If you think you want to go to Samoa as a tourist, do it! I highly recommend it as a tropical escape destination but I wouldn't want to live there!!! In going through my photos I am reminded of what a beautiful place it really is, and the cultural aspects they show the tourists are unique to the Pacific islanders and a real treat to observe.

So, as promised, I give you Samoa from a tourist point of view.

May 21 --
I and all my worldly possessions were picked up by a Peace Corps driver in the village and after a drive around Savaii (for other PC related business) we arrived in in the big village of Salelologa which is the ferry terminal. I said goodbye to my stuff as I was staying on Savaii to do the tourist thing and the driver caught the ferry taking my things to the office in Apia. I picked up my rental car, now totally feeling like a tourist since we are not allowed to drive, and it's a beaut! I don't think it could even pass the rigid standards of "Rent a Wreck".

I had planned to stay the night with friends, but their schedule was interrupted by the forced departure that night of 4 of the volunteers and they went in to Apia to see them off so I rented an over-the-water beach fale there in town and spent a very relaxing - can we even say wonderful evening doing nothing but sitting on my "back porch" staring at the water and watching the schools of little fish going airborne all at once whenever bigger fish came in for dinner. The sunset was beautiful and a promise of things to come.

Next morning I picked up one of my volunteer friends at the ferry and we headed north to Manase which is a really big tourist spot. They do a lot of snorkeling and surfing there and there is row after row of beach fales, some impressively western and impressively expensive, others just the bare minimum of a floor on stilts with posts supporting a thatched roof. I rented one of those and Sarah and I unloaded the car and then went swimming - it's more like hanging out in the water because it's hard to swim and talk at the same time. (Notice the foot - just trying to prove that I was there.) We had dinner which was excellent, then I drove Sarah back to her village which was really close and then went back and went to bed. The next morning I picked her up and we headed west across the northern side of Savaii passing Asau which is supposed to be a great sailing harbor but didn't see either boats or docks. Hmmmm.

Next stop, the PeaPea Cave. It's a lava tube but quite unimpressive compared to the Ape Caves of Mt. St. Helens fame. Sara however was quite impressed. (She's from Texas - enough said?)

Heading on west we arrive at the Falealupo Rain Forest Preserve to check out the Canopy Walkway. It's pretty impressive. A suspension bridge (which uses aluminum extension ladder sections as the base - how clever is that?) was built about 50 feet from the ground ending at a huge banyan tree. Once across you can climb another 100 feet up inside the banyan to a platform on top. Really cool!! You can actually rent the platform for the night - they provide sleeping mats, mosquito nets, candles, and dinner and breakfast.

We left there and drove through the village of Falealupo to see a church that was destroyed in a catastrophic cyclone in 1968. The church was impressive enough but across the road is the most interesting part and something you would NEVER see in the states or probably most other parts of the world. So many people were killed and no one left to bury them a concrete tomb was built and the bodies placed inside. There is an open crypt that still contains those bones, at least the ones that morbid sick souvenir hunters haven't picked up. Mind you there is no door on this tomb -it's open to the world and the weather and all sorts of other things we won't even go into right now. The Samoans hold great reverence for their dead and the church is on a road less travelled and not advertised as a tourist attraction so I suppose it is relatively secure, but still---!

It was now time for lunch and we weren't about to let anything stand in the way of that so we headed on down the road to Vaisala to check out a hotel we had heard about. It is in a terrific location and the rooms, some with AC, are huge. They even have a game room and a library on the premises. They serve $5 WST (about $2.25 US) sandwiches that are pretty good though small and have a full kitchen for breakfast and lunch. A friend of ours stayed there a couple of weeks later when her mother was visiting and they really liked it. That's the Vaisala Beach Hotel in case you ever need a hotel while in Savai'i.

When we left we planned to go get a place for the night at some beach fales in Falealupo but learned they were expecting a bus full of people (we saw them when we were at the walkway) and had no more room so after getting unstuck from the sand where I had parked we drove on down the west coast a ways and stayed in some fales another volunteer had recommended. It turned out well as I actually liked this site better anyway.We had a nice little fale right on the beach and they had actual beds instead of mattresses on the floor. The place was empty too so it was nice and quiet. Check our our boat dock! Just kidding. The people who own the place use it for fishing. Come to think of it this is the only aluminum fishing boat I saw in Samoa. Mostly they use paopao canoes. Of course we had to have a deck for sitting on to watch the sunset. Check out the banyan tree strangling the coconut tree. Did you know a banyan isn't really a tree at all? It has no trunk. What you see are roots. Talk about a mixed up creation! The seeds land in the top of another tree and then the roots grow downward around the existing tree. Over time it kills the host tree and you see what appears to be a free standing banyan. Okay, biology lesson over. Time to move on.


Next stop the Taga blowholes. The whole southwest side of the island is an old lava flow with "cliffs" that drop off into the ocean. At Taga there are lava tubes in the rock and when the waves come into the tubes they blow out the holes where the tube roof has collapsed. It's really pretty cool - not as good as the Spouting Horn at Depoe Bay though. And then, last but not least, there is only one gas station on the entire west coast of Savai'i and this is it. There is this old, old, old gas pump that uses no electricity. The girl hand pumps however many liters of fuel you want into that big glass container on the top of the pump then lets gravity run it into your gas tank. Amazing!

Well, that's it folks for the island of Savai'i. I hope you enjoyed your visit. Now on to Upolu.

Final Edition

I left my village on May 21st and rented a car to tour around the island of Savai'i. I picked up a friend the first day and she went on around with me. We had a grand time. I really think Samoa is a great tourist destination and can recommend it to anyone who wants to "do tropical". Just don't plan to stay two years!

I went in to Apia, rented another car, and drove around on the island of Upolu for 4 days- well actually I spent two nights with my host family from the training village and another couple of nights with another volunteer in her village, but I did drive through parts of the island I had not yet seen.

I'm sitting here on the balcony outside my room in the Apia Central Hotel watching my last Samoan sunrise with glee! The next sunrise I see will be compliments of Air New Zealand as I wing my way over the cool Pacific towards Los Angeles and home. Today is Saturday and I will be here in Apia for the next two nights, then on Tuesday the 5th at 12:45am I'll board my flight for LosAngeles and home. I don't get back to Bellingham until 11:45pm on the 5th so with time zones etc. I'm not sure just how long the whole process is but I'm ready!

The other volunteers from my training class have been wonderful and supportive of my decision to leave. I think some of them wish they were leaving with me. I jokingly mentioned that when we are at the airport I would take an old lavalava, tie it in a knot, and throw it over my shoulder like a bridal bouquet. Whoever caught it got to be the next one going home! They thought that was a grand idea and we should start a tradition. They threw me a farewell dinner on Friday night at the Lighthouse restaurant and I got lots of hugs and well wishes to say nothing of the great food.

I have never had to say a permanent good bye before and it is really quite trying. Usually, even if you know you probably won't see someone again, there is always a possibility that you could. This is true of my fellow volunteers, but saying goodbye to my Samoan family was really hard. There just is absolutely NO chance that I will ever see them again and they know it. It is painful for them which makes it so for me as well. They were so good to me.

Well, the sun is up (it takes all of 15 minutes) and it is time for breakfast. I hope the water is back on by the time I am done so I can take a shower before I head over to the office. It was off and on all day yesterday so who knows. There is a shower at the office I can use if they have water, but this is Samoa.

When I get home I'll post some of my touristy pictures as there is really some great scenery so standby!