Blogs from Apia, Upolu, Samoa, Oceania
May 2nd 2012
One week in Samoa 2nd – 9th May ‘12 Well I will try and sum up our week and my thoughts on Samoa – I’ve saved all the nitty gritty for my notes. We landed at Faleofo airport on Upolu island, the Samoan island that we were staying on for our week here. We were greeted by a small band playing ukuleles and guitars and singing and I just thought WOW this is going to be fab! The Samoan people make the Samoan experience – they are so friendly, people just stop and say hello, ask you where you are from, what you think of Samoa and then start talking about rugby! They really are an open, warm lovely people and people really do wear flowers behind their ears!! The countryside and coast outside of Apai ... read more
February 20th 2011
Culture of respect... Very friendly people, no need to make an effort, they'll come talk to you!... read more
July 14th 2010
After a dive at Eastern island , we did 4 dives at Samoa. 2 at both Islands (savaii and Upolu). Samoa is famous for its turtles and yes we saw a lot of these amazing creatures.. The first of the two dives at Savaii we saw 3 turtles and one was so lazy it didn't move hahaha.. so after 2 picture just 1 meter in front of her she finally cruized away...and when we left, she came back to her spot to relax again.... the second dive was a wreck dive (ship around 1880, with missionares arriving to the island).. They did a beter job in spreading the religion of christianity in Samoa than got a ship save in the bay.... The ship structure was still good and new coral was growing around it. Unfortunaly ... read more
June 25th 2010
After long flight, finally arrived in paradise. My travelmate and I decided to start our travel from Pacific islands, then to go to New Zealand, Australia, China, India, South America and go back to Europe if we survive this heaven:). We landed first in Apia, Upolu island. We are planning to stay 2 weeks and then go to New Zealand. The weather is partly cloudy. Hopefully, the weather will serve us well cos we want to visit savai island also. At the moment we are staying in aggy greys resort which is stunning. We will see how things go and then decide where to go and what to do next:)... read more
February 13th 2010
Coming to Samoa is special. Flying from Auckland you literally go back in time 24 hours as you cross the international date line. The reality is far stranger as you enter a lush tropical paradise where people still hold the family and religious values of the 1800's! Yes they have the kind of beaches that bored office workers around the world can only dream of, but that's not actually the main attraction. It's the ability to experience a place where people exist in small manageable communities that are ruled by the laws of the village chiefs and church ministers, who use the 'fear of God' combined with strict traditional values to keep their flocks in order. Upolu Dave's cousin Peter and his wife, Moana, have been living in the Samoan capital Apia for the last ... read more
July 11th 2009
Back underway to get to Tonga, we’ve skipped a day! Yep, the international dateline strikes again. On the way out, we had two Mondays and now, they’ve skipped Saturday! What a crock... Friday, Sunday and back to Monday. At least they aren’t skipping pizza night. Every underway Saturday, the cooks make several different types of pizza and MWR committee donates sodas to the crew. The band is going to play again tonight, though I doubt they’ll ask me to sing again. I’ve been pretty sick sounding, feel just fine, can’t seem to kick the nasty, deep sounding cough coming out of my chest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that I have bronchitis or pneumonia. I went for a jog this morning to try to help, looks like it will take me a week ... read more
July 10th 2009
Outside of Apia (and beyond) I finally get off the ship when it’s still AM! So, Dave, the Navigator (2nd Mate), calls me last night to see if I’m still interested in sharing a taxi to go explore and I say, “of course”. I work a bit in the morning, just trying to get the guys off the ship to enjoy the island a bit. Why are we working on the 4th of July again? So after I get ridiculously antsy, Dave is finally ready to leave... we get outside the gate and I greet a taxi driver with a “talofa” (Hello!). We start asking about the going rate to have a taxi take us around for the day and he tells us he knows the perfect guy. We wait for 5 minutes and Misa ... read more
July 1st 2009
NOOOOoooo... this doesn't mean I'm mad a Jeremy. Roger and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific is the only exposure to what kind of adventure I'm in for with Pacific Partnership 2009. I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair is a song from that movie. :) What were you guys thinking?!? We anchored outside of Apia, Samoa on June 30th. What began as a fuzzy little speck of land transformed itself into a island with lots of green and even more waves and blue reef. But, before I get into that, here’s some things about the transit to Samoa: Pacific Partnership 2009 is now in full effect, with numerous temporary riders on board, from many different disciplines, it’s time to see if we can work together! We have Navy Construction Batallions (Seabees), dentists, doctors, veterinarians, ... read more
July 1st 2009
Arrived this morning to Apia....coming from very hot hot place to hot and humid place again...but thinking about seasons....love it. Love this kind of weather. Anyway...I think I am privileged by having an opportunity of travelling around OCEANIA and visiting beautiful places. Arrived to Apia this morning and staying at beautiful resort, called Aggy Greys. It was my friends recommendation. They were right, its stunning, little heaven.... read more
February 6th 2009
This is the place for another pin in the map. A little dot in the middle of hundreds of miles of the Pacific Ocean. It is most famous as the place where the famous author, Robert Louis Stevenson lived for the last 5 years of his life. He authored the book, Treasure Island. He moved here late in life because he had tuberculosis and felt the climate would be favorable. He and his wife died here and are buried here. His house is now a museum and is one of the main tourist attractions. That alone should give you an idea of how little of importance there is to see in Samoa. We arrived here at noon and leave again at 6:00 P.M. We are now 6 hours behind you time wise, so when we leave ... read more
