Blogs from Upolu, Samoa, Oceania - page 7

This was my first trip to Samoa and I was determined to make the most of it. I was rapidly realising that even though I lived in the Pacific, visiting the many hundreds of islands in it within the next year was going to be tricky, so every opportunity had to be grabbed by the horns (so to speak). Samoa for me conjured up images of fierce warriors, tribal tattoos and, more recently, a pretty decent rugby team in the World Cup. I had this image of the ultimate Pacific experience, a quite undefined and vague concept and yet I was not disappointed; Samoa more than delivered on my vague day dreams. Before I get into the nitty gritty, maybe a little background is worthwhile to set the scene. Samoa gained its independence from New Zealand ... read more

I think it is going to rain again. The rainy season seems to have started as soon as September finished. Last Sunday as I started walking home after to'ona'i (the reason I don't miss Thanksgiving: every Sunday is a Thanksgiving in Samoa; I am going to get so fat), the sky ripped its belly open and I was immediately soaked. I decided to walk the rest of the way home. On my way, I saw a sign for Samoan Prayer House. I was intrigued. I followed the signs up a hill, past a church youth practice, some faleoloa, and lots of Samoans confused about what a palagi would be doing by herself on a Sunday in the rain, I found the most beautiful building I have ever seen in Samoa. Not to say that a fale ... read more

As I walk to school in the morning, I pass a house whose gardener my roommate and I affectionately call "the bean man." This tiny, wiry old man gives us long beans (pi u'umi) or tomatoes or cucumbers because he says "there's no one to look after you." He talks to his plants, and he yells at them if they aren't giving flowers or fruit. I asked him about it one day and he said, "oh, that's how you get them to do what you want. I'm always talking to my flowers." He used to work on a cattle farm and says it works to talk to animals, too. He has a little boy who lives with him. I love his stories about that boy. They usually involve him neglecting his studies to go play, which ... read more

well i flew out of Auckland tea time on a thursday and landed thursday morning ! strange thing this date line business. spent a day around Apia then headed out to Return to Paradise beach,(named after a Cary Grant film) it was beautiful and i got chatting to two Kiwi Samoans who gave me beer, food and Sprite. top blokes stayed for a couple of nights above Apia in Cloud 9 eco lodge. absolutely stunning views and i had the place all to myself ! nice bottle of Pinot noir with steak then got the ferry over to Savai'i. very quiet except for the mothers day traffic.(they have public hols for mothers day , fathers day and Children day)! went up to Cape mulinu or soemthing. the last place on land to see the sun ... read more

SAMOA - Apia After 10 days Tonga we arrived in Samoa. The first day we spent in Apia, de capital, beautifully located at a bay. Here you can make a walk along the bay, visit the Robert Louis Stevenson museum and there is even real good snorkeling! Willem en ik mochten allebei een Pacific eilandje uitkiezen. Willem koos Tonga en ik wilde heel graag naar Samoa (vanwege margaret mead, de grootmoeder van de antropologie). En het stelde me niet teleur, zelfs niet toen ik al vrij snel hoorde dat het onderzoek van MM niet op Independent samoa maar op Amerikaans samoa plaats had gevonden. Het is een prachtige eilandengroep met nog veel traditioneel leven en vriendelijke mensen. Qua duiken komt het niet in de buurt van Tonga, maar de groene regenwouden, idyllische lagoons en watervallen ... read more