Blogs from Samoa, Oceania
Lalumano Beach
Culture of respect... Very friendly people, no need to make an effort, they'll come talk to you!... read more
P1040980
Firstly we’d like to start by saying that we hope everybody had a great Christmas and celebrating going into 2011 without too much of a hangover (yes Turnip we’re talking to you!) And Secondly we’d like to apologise for being a bit behind on the travel blog front, the festive period took over! So without further ado I give you our Second South Pacific Edition.... It was a cold rainy day back in August; we were in Christchurch perusing the internet to pass a bit of time. Now anybody that knows me knows I love a bargain, if I didn’t get it off ebay I got it in the sale! So when I saw the Slogan “Samoa For Lowa”, I’d booked the tickets before Cerri had even realised what I was doing! After doing a bit ... read more
Coming in to American Samoa
2,200 miles of sea from Hawaii and we made it. American Samoa (as opposed to Western Somoa). We got off the ship in Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) a town of around 4,000 people. Another Princess ship was in port. Between the two of us, about 5,000 people got off to visit a town of 4,000 all at the same time. So we waited for our tour bus about 1.5 hours. I don't think the town has ever seen a traffic jamb quite like this. Somoans are some big people. The men at the pier would have made the giants front line proud (some of the women too!). Somoa did not look real prosperous. The amazing thing was how friendly the people were. Everywhere we went we heard Talofa (hello) and a wave. It was pretty ... read more
P8040798
And now the end is near and I face the final curtain.........(to travel don't worry I'm not suicidal!) Two and a half years ago one big dopey Welshman with big grin and half a plan set out to see the world, challenge himself and see some amazing places and meet some of the crazy happy characters of the world. Well this is my last week........ I couldn't finish in the cold of New Zealand and I heard good tings about Samoa so at a coin toss between that and Fiji Samoa it was! The frfiendliness of the locals was all I was hearing about so after two days travel from Queenstown to Chritchurch then to Auckland before arriving late in Samoa a day earlier than I had left! (The international date line which would late casue ... read more
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
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
A beach in Savai'i
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
Canyon Ranch Gym
WOW! We have departed Bora Bora at about 4:00pm on the 25th headed for Apia, Samoa. The next day, and on the 27th we were rocking & rolling to some incredible seas and winds. Stuff started flying! The ship was going at about half speed to contend with the high waves and deep swells, in what we found out was a Gale 5 storm. Annette and I were having lunch in the La Veranda Restaurant on Deck 11 when dishes and glasses took flight. The staff was doing whatever they could to secure things. With one big wave Doug’s chair went over sideways. “Batten down the hatches”! So, Captain Dag made the decision and announcement that we had to by-pass Apia, Samoa and head directly for Lautoka, Fiji. Fortunately, over the next day, the winds and ... read more
Closing Reception
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
Random house
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
