samoa

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We had exceptionally high hopes for Samoa thanks to our poor weather in Fiji we arrived very late into the night to the end of a rain storm!!!! By the time we got a taxi from the airport to our hostel it was gone 1am in the morning. As we went to check in it became evident there was a problem we had actually got our dates wrong and were not booked until the following day. This is all due to crossing the international date line and we could not believe after our endless date workings that we had still managed to get it wrong. We left Fiji on the 13th May in the afternoon, we arrived in Samoa on the 13th at 1am. We had booked a room for the night of the 13th but should have actually booked for one the night of the 12th. It's late were tired and now unsure of what happens next when the lady tells us that they have vacancies and they can actually give us room. It meant that we would actually stay 3 nights instead of the original 2 (no refund as the are obviously used to this mistake) so we agreed and checked in taking ourselves straight to bed.

We woke quite late and missed breakfast. It was an overcast day so we decided to take a walk into the local town Apia, it was so humid and tiring taking the 20 minute walk that by the time we got there we were shattered. We stopped at a cafe and drank lots of tea while deciding what to do with our day. Having finshed up we had a leisurely walk through the town but found it to be lacking anything of any major interest (except cheap internet) which was a shame. The city itself is quite busy for Samoa with alot of traffic but shopping, eateries and entertainment are definately difficult to find. we stopped off at a bakery and indulged in some really nice chicken salad sandwiches and then walked back to our hostel. It was an uneventful first day but we still had high hopes for the rest of our stay. Our second day was a bit better Tim headed back into the town to see if he could buy anything for dinner but he found that Samoa has the same problem at Fiji does, the food markets are limited to anything reasonably healthy and arrived back with another chicken salad sandwich pretty deflated. He did however manage to rent a DVD for our evening entertainment which turned out to be less than entertaining too. Taking the bull by the horns the next day our last night we decided to head into town for dinner but having had a few duty free vodkas/gins at the hostel were slightly merry by the time we got out the taxi in town. We were supposed to be going for dinner but ended up befriending some locals and drank the night away. We had a pretty good night until we hit a semi club sort of place and the R&B was ramped up. Tim hates it and I only like some of it so it put a dampner on the end of the night. Waking the next morning to a raging hangover and having to travel to our next destination was not good planning either. Tim reckons I deserved the hangover for making him listen to R&B!!!!

So we took a taxi having got a reasonable price from the guy to our next destination called Virgin Cove on the south of Upolu Samoa. We would have liked to have taken a bus but they are all so over crowded and difficult to get on without a back pack to deal with. Also the cove was off the main road down a dirt track and buses did not go all the way which also proved a problem. After about 90 minutes of travelling over the island through small quiant villages and immense ongoing greenery we pulled off the road and wound our way through the mangrove swamps to Virgin Cove. It was a gloriously hot day and we were both very sweaty by the time we had just taken out our back packs. The staff made us welcome and offered us tea which we happily accepted. My headache was still giving me some stick and I really was not feeling too good!! we sat in the restaurant area drinking our tea watching the staff energetically decorating the whole area for a wedding the following day. The had taken large palm tree leaves and were literally plaiting them around all of the wooden struts and then moving to the next one. Very impressive!! It suddenly occurred to me that my arm was stinging. I looked over at it and was mortified to find 6 large white lumps in very close proximity to each other. Immediately knowing these were mozzie bites my hangover took to a new level as I itched and bitched about how unfair the existance of mosquities are. By the time we had finshed our tea and I had managed to find our repellant I was quite inundated with them. We were booked into a fale which is a traditionally built home made purely from local wood and palm tree leaves. It had a reasonable sized area to put our back packs and a large mattress on the floor with a mosquitoe net. A cupboard at the foot of the bed provided storage with padlockable doors for personal items. Otherwise it was open to all unless you put all the shutters down. we did not intend on doing that as the view was so lovely so we knew to expect a lack of privacy while we were staying. It seemed very quaint and the place in general very peaceful. Tim wanted to go off for a snorkel and I decided to sleep through the remainder of my hang over on the beach. We got our stuff together and headed the few steps from our fale to the beach. The setting is stunning real picture postcard tropical and we were delighted that for once it was exactly what the description and pictures had shown. I settled down and Tim went off mask in hand he had only been gone a few minutes when I realised that the mozzies were on the beach. I have never experienced this before and this started the need of a 2 hourly ritual of repellant during the whole day. However, like I said it was a very pretty setting and the sun was shining so mozzies aside we were both pleased. That evening we had our first meal in the restaurant this was the only place in the area to eat and the choice seemed reasonable. We both had fish steaks which were deliciously cooked in a white wine sauce. We found that a gas lamp had been put outside our fale when we returned from dinner as there is no electricity outside of the main building. We decided we would make the most of our days as the evening entertainment was limited. Our meal had been served by candle light so playing cards or anything of that nature was way too difficult. Even with the gas lamp in the fale it was not much use so early nights were going to be the order of our days here. Settling in under our net we both enjoyed an pretty unbroken sleep unless we woke to the lapping of waves.

Opening my eyes the next morning and turning over onto my stomach I looked out of our fale to the most beautiful view onto the beach and the rhythmic lapping sound of the sea. The sun was already warm and I was up within minutes. Having pointedly dragged myself over Tim to get our from under the mozzy net he was now also awake and we both enthusiastically headed off for breakfast. Now breakfast became a focal point of discussions during the time we stayed at the cove. Our first experience was a selection of local fruits including coconut, paw paw, star fruit, oranges and banana. Served with this was a small omelette and 4 chunks of uncut bread the strangest accompanyment was a local dish of coconut rice. very brown in colour and sweet in taste I tried but failed to like it, Tim did okay though. For some reason they could not serve toast which we learnt from a rather loud Australian woman complaining. Anyhow although a strange mix washed down with lovely mugs of tea it was a good start to the day. Since we have been travelling I have learnt to stop worrying about white bread/proper butter and calories as in these circumstances it is eat what you get or dont and quite frankly I'm not one to starve under any circumstances. Breakfast fruits remained the same throughout our stay but the coco rice was swapped for a local pie one morning which was gorgeous and we hoped to get more of but it didnt appear again, the omlette was swapped with hard boiled egg and in al lit was always a weird mix of things. Surprisingly on our last morning we got toast which was extremely welcome at that point!!!

Anyway I digress our first morning was also the day of the wedding. We spent breakfast time watching the staff decorate the whole restaurant with flowers, coupled with the palm tree leaves the area took on a really beautiful look. At the same time two guys were decorating two boats in leaves and flowers and the whole staff were going to town having already made an archway for the ceremony the previous afternoon. I dont know what they charge but without a doubt the entire community of staff were involved in making everything perfect. After breakfast we went for a walk on the beach and noticed there were also staff decorating the beach where the ceremony would take place. Simple but extremely affective decoration of coconuts and fresh flowers marked out an aisle of sorts and the archway had been fully decorated with fresh flowers stood at the end. At the back of the archway was a large collection of rocks which perfected the setting and along the side was a shady tree area for guests to watch the ceremony. Whilst taking this walk the manager told us that everyone was welcome to the ceremony as the couple had no official guests and we therefore adopting the guests at the cove. We decided that as long as we did not seem intrusive we would take a look. The ceremony was still over 90 minutes away so we finished our walk and Tim headed off for another snorkel while a lay on the beach catching some rays. As the ceremony time drew closer there was alot of hustle and bustle and I saw the groom heading off down the beach and the bride arriving to the boat. My concern at this point was that any pictures would have Tim snorkelling in the background or worse he would swim in as she was in the boat. Fortunately he realised and got out of the way in the nick of time. It was a beautiful start to the ceremony as the bride was paddled through the oceon by traditionally dressed Samoans calling out and blowing conches. Arriving at the beach where the ceremony would take place they carried her off the boat and delivered her to the altar (of sorts). We watched from under the trees as the vows took place then there was some traditional dancing after. It was really pretty and as it turned out the hottest day of our stay. I did feel sorry for the bride as I was hot and sweaty in the shade!!!!

Our mornings at the cove turned out to be very interesting as the local village chief would come along and teach us various things. Our first day was weaving with palm tree leaves and this was very impressive. We both made a plate but we watched the chief weave two baskets, a ball, a bowler hat and a cap. Following all of this activity by scaling the coconut trees at the back of the cove and providing us all with some refreshment. Our second day he took us into the local village teaching us about village life, fishing and how they use the local fruits to make various jewelleries. Finally we discussed the importance of the village chiefs and the cermonies that take place, truly fascinating stuff. He showed us the next morning how to make fire the natural way by rubbing the wood and this was also very impressive. He had a full fire going in minutes which he proceeded to raost local peanuts on. We missed the last outing into the mangroves as neither of us could face the amount of mozzies that would be up there but the chief came back with a large coconut crab and we continued to be impressed by how he lived the traditional life and how he had learnt all of his abilities from his parents. He was a very humble guy who was extremely proud of the Samoan life and was so enthusiastic to tell you about it. During one of our long question and answer sessions we found out that he was actually chief of 3 villages which is a massive achievement. We became fast friends with the chief and he was always willing to chat with us.

On one of the good mornings that we had at the cove we decided to head off around the bay to see if we could find anymore beaches. This was mainly due to one reason and that was that a large family with kids had checked in and the little girls preferred sqealing to any other acitivity you could imagine. If they were not screaming the little boy was crying and it was not an ideal situation when the cove advertised that they did not have any under 12's. One lady had complained but was told it was a long standing booking before the rule was made. It forced us however to go and investigate and after some knee to thigh deep wading we found a small set of beaches which we had completely to ourselves. Unfortunately the weather did not last and so we decided to amuse ourselves playing hopscotch and coconut bowls. It's amazing what you will do to entertain yourself in the rain and we had a really good laugh until the rain got much heavier and it was time to head back. The weather was a disappointment as for the next few days it was either full on rain or overcast. The mozzie situation had reached an all time high and I had so many it was almost unbearable. At this point Tim was starting to get bitten too so finally I had some sympathy with the situation and we brought the local soap, repellant and various bits to try and help. It did for a while but we were collecting around 10 new bites a day which was hard going!!!

As the weather had shown no signs of improvement we got a taxi back to Apia to watch the pacific cup rugby between the local Samoan team and Tonga. It was a good game and we had a fun time Samoa won and after the game the taxi was waiting to take us back. It was extravagant as the taxi was not cheap but it was worth it. On the way back the taxi driver told us that the final was the following week and the two teams we had watched that day were also the finalists (apparently Fiji got trounced by someone else) so we were toying with the idea of going to that as we would be back in Apia. We got back to the Cove in the dark and quite late, as our fale was right next to the restaurant we realised that they must have some entertainment going on as the area was all marked out and things had been moved around. Heading straight to dinner we made it just in time for a traditional night of local dancing ,fire dancing and singing it was very very good.

During our stay at the cove we hit the one time that the pair of us have both been on a low. The weather was difficult to deal with at times (paradise is not so in the wet), the mozzy bites were ridiculous (thanks to the mangrove swamps) and we were honest enough to admit that we were a little bored. The cove is very remote and with only one place to centre all your attention it gets hard to continue to be inventive. We knew it was because of the weather etc but we both suffered with travel blues I think and got homesick and debated whether we were doing the right thing? Should we go home early? Can we travel for another 6 months without going out of our mind ??? It was a strange conversation but we decided at the end of it that we both wanted to continue as we still have so much we want to achieve. We miss our families but going home really would be the easy option and neither of us like to take that route. With hindsight a month in Fiji and Samoa was too long, it would have been heaven travelling directly from the UK and work but long term travelling requires more than just a beach for your activities as if the sun does not come out you really are scuppered.

We left the cove to head back for our last few nights in Apia. On our departure the whole staff gathered and sang the virgin cove song to us. It was very touching and we realised we had enjoyed our stay and that we would miss our outings with the chief and the breakfast debates. It is very strange having people sing to you though!! We both gots hugs from the staff and the chief said long goodbyes to us. We had given him some clothes the day before for the villagers as we would not be needing them and he was so grateful. Funnily enough the morning we left one of the guys from the village arrived at the cove in Tims Wildlife t-shirt and a pair of his shorts but it was good to see them go to good use. Our next few months travelling will be cold and we didnt need all the beach stuff anymore. So we headed back to Apia to the Princess Tui right by the sea.

The next few days flew by the hostel was lovely and we settled into having a proper bed no problem. The beach in front was not so good as you would expect from a town beach but the sun came out and we enjoyed sitting on the steps watching the ocean. We went back to Apia Park for the Pacific Cup Rugby final and paid to have the hospitality seats (only a tenner each). The food was not up to much burger and chicken drumstick but the wine was nice!!! Unfortunately Samoa lost which was a shame but it was a really good day and we both enjoyed it immensely. I ended up sitting next to an agent that had signed 3 Samoans to Bristol and had a really interesting conversation with how Samoans cope with English life. We stayed for the cup presentation and Tim got some really good shots as he was actually down in the press area at one point!! No security like home, we even walked past the dressing rooms on the way out and could see the Tongans celebrating with the cup. Unusual but great fun.

On our last day as the sun was still shining we headed down the road to the marine reserve so Tim could go for a snorkel. I was more than happy to sit with my book after my Fiji experience. The area is very corally and no sign of a beach just rough coral pieces and old shelters/picnic tables. Tim went off and I got myself as comfortable as possible on the 'beach'. The weather did not last though and a few spits of rain saw us heading back to the hostel with a view to heading into town to get some lunch. It was Sunday and that was not the wisest of ideas as all the shops and bars are closed. In the end we treated ourselves and headed off to Aggy Greys which is the prime hotel in Apia it actually used to look after the US soldiers in the war that needed some rest and relaxation and has been around for years. It was a lovely setting by the pool and the afternoon sunshine made it all the nicer. The prices were very reasonable and we had a very enjoyable afternoon with excellent food, wine and a very pretty setting.

Our departure was not a sad one from Samoa we were both ready to move on again and get on the road. As we were heading back to NZ and Auckland to pick up another campervan and explore the far north of the north island. We flew out of Samoa on the 26th May and back over the international date line.........

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Photos

The beaches round the bay
WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!

Huge coconut crab
The chief took it home for dinner!!!

Beach hopscotch
Can you believe Tim beat me!!!!

THis was what I couldnt see!!!
Not very nice eh!!!!

One loud samoan shirt
I did try to explain about the pinstripes shorts not matching but gave up, god bless his dress sense!!!!!!

Rather hot in apia
After our nice meal at Aggy Greya

Tims excellent photo taking
Tonga raise the cup

Bristol player in the making
His dad was playing for Samoa - one for you Mr Murray!!