Samoa – where they drive like us

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80 miles west of Chris and Roisin's last port of call (Pago Pago), lies Western Samoa. This group of islands consists of 2 main islands and several smaller ones. The capital is Apia, situated on the larger of the 2 islands Upolu. These islands are huge compared to American Samoa covering an expanse of 1,137 square miles.

On arriving in Apia at 8am, the picturesque waterfront is dominated by their catholic cathedral and the line of public buildings, shops and trading companies. The town feels like a collection of villages rather that a city where 35,000 of the 217,000 islanders live.

Today is Saturday 9th October 2010. This is the eve of an annual ceremony dedicated to children called White Sunday. It is celebrated every 2nd Sunday in October and this is a special day for youngsters. All aspects of life are valued in Samoa, especially children. On this day they attend church services, are served special foods and receive special gifts and clothing to wear. Unfortunately, for any cruise ship that happens to arrive on the 2nd Saturday in October, the city shuts down at lunchtime to prepare for the festivities which they take very seriously.

Vallima is a stately mansion and tropical gardens. It was home to Tusitala. This means 'teller of tales' in Samoan. This was the name given to the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson whose mansion lies about 3 miles up the hill behind the city.

As browsing in shop windows doesn't compute in Chris or Roisin's language, they decided to take a cab and check out this famous landmark.

The driver of the taxi was very pleasant and introduced himself as Ed – he did!

Western Samoa now drive on the left, the same side as the UK. They changed over in 2009. This is all very odd as most countries that change over usually change to the right as in Europe and the USA. Perhaps they wanted to fall in line with most of the Commonwealth?? Is Samoa in the commonwealth? I don't know! If they're not, perhaps they should be!!

On the drive to Vallima, Chris and Roisin passed at least 4 schools or colleges. All seemed to be in immaculate condition and well maintained. Education, it seems, is something else the Samoans take very seriously.

Ed asked Chris if he was interested in Rugby. It wasn't long before the conversation centred on Maurie Fa'asavalu, a Samoan who was recently in the England squad. When Chris asked, ‘What club does he play for?" Ed answered, "St. Helens.”

It was surreal to hear the name of a town 6 miles from where Chris and Roisin live “on the map” and casually dropped in to conversation by a local taxi driver of a tiny island on the other side of the world.

Vallima has been restored to its former grandeur and glory. On entering the grounds Chris and Roisin were met by a wonderful colourful array of tropical trees, bushes, shrubs and flowers. The building is of typical collonial style and one could see why Robert Louis Stevenson preferred the climate and serene beauty of the South Pacific to the cold and cobbled streets of aul Reekie!

Chris and Roisin were just in time to witness a Kava Ceremony. This seems to have been laid on for the coach load of official tours but as it was held in a fale, a traditional house with no walls, just a straw roof, they had no problem ‘bunking in'!!!

It is traditional in Samoan life when entering another village to accept the drink of the kava plant from your hosts. The elder, or mat'e should not be addressed by their first name but by their esteemed title. On accepting the kava, one has to reply, “Fa'a'fetai mat'e” which roughly translated means “Thanks mate!!”

The entertainment lasted for about 40 minutes then, as if by magic, Ed, the friendly driver appeared and said, “I've come to take you back to the ship, I have!!”.

In the last port of Pago Pago, Chris and Roisin had noticed the wail of a couple of ambulances and the odd police car. Back on board it wasn't long before they learned what had happened.

Incident 1 – A passenger was bitten by one of the many stray dogs and was taken to the local hospital in Pago Pago where she was checked for Rabies and given the appropriate treatment. Needless to say, she missed the boat and was flown to Apia to meet up with it. Insurance Companies must love the longer cruise. One couple Chris and Roisin were talking to were quoted Au$1,300 for 30 days medical insurance. That's about £750!!

Incident 2 – A passenger was accused of stealing from other passengers. When her cabin was searched, security found a number of stolen items. In a separate incident she started screaming when someone sat down to share a table with her. She had also tried using the Lotus Spa facilities without paying and when challenged started screaming and shouting. She had to be restrained and sedated. Her luggage was repacked and she and her son were off loaded on American Soil (Pago Pago). He was taken, with their luggage, in a police car; She was last seen being carted off in an ambulance. It sounds like she was the rabid passenger and incident 1 was a case of mistaken identity??! Perhaps incident 2 was bitten by incident 1 who was not bitten by a dog but by a cow and mad cow disease has reared its ugly head??!

The next stop on this journey is Suva in Fiji. Tonight at approximately 19:40 the Sapphire Princess crossed the International Date Line. This means that 9th October at 19:40 became the 10th October at 19:40. Chris was in the shower at the time. His last words to Roisin were, “I'm going for a shower. I may be some time!!”

Not only did the ship lose a whole day but that evening the clocks also went back 1 hour. Told you it got complicated. In all, the clocks went forward 23 hours. From being 12 hours behind the UK until now, Chris and Roisin are now 12 hours ahead of UK time. Although they have lost a day, they will gradually borrow the additional time as they fly home from Sydney via Hong Kong. The loss of time is only temporary. It's sort of a global flexi time!!

Evening quizzes have now stopped. Despite being hugely popular, the cruise director has said that there are too many. I feel that there is going to be a riot before the voyage is over.

In place of the quiz tonight is a ‘70s polyester night'. Chris and Roisin popped their heads in to Club Fusion so see a bunch of people led by a number of cruise staff line dancing to the Harlem Shuffle!

Next was the Wheel House Bar. Rosie's quartet were in full swing and guess what. Line dancing. Is that all people can do on this ship?? Tomorrow is a Latin Dance Party. I suppose they'll all be line dancing to Gloria Estafan!!

Chris and Roisin watched a film in the cinema after dinner called the Green Zone starring Matt Damon. The film finished at 11:35. Both Chris and Roisin were feeling tired as Chris's parting remark demonstrated. “It's only really 10:35 but f**k knows what day it is!!”

A day at sea tomorrow. Not many sunshine days left now as Chris and Roisin travel further south and on to Fiji.

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Comments

[Dave]

Samoa was at one point part of New Zealand and I can recall it joining the commonwealth. On checking though it was in 1970. Makes me feel really old.