Blogs from Samoa, Oceania - page 4

24th March Apia Apia is the capital of Samoa The travel blurb has you conjuring up visions of dusky maidens dancing between swaying palm trees. One of the things that struck us as we walked into the town were number of churches. Some 45% of Samoans are in the Congregational church with 20% Catholic. The remaining Samoans are mainly Mormon and Methodists with some minor sects thrown into the mix such as, Church of the Nazarene, Jehovahs Witness and the Bahai faith. They say that Samoa is 'founded on God' and many believe this true when in 1991 a Cyclone VAL flattened the whole of Samoa. The people believed because of their religion that God had mercy as only 7 deaths were noted over the 3 days that the storm raged. The walk from the Pier ... read more

Geo: -13.83, -171.76We're scheduled to arrive in Apia at 8am this morning. With no tendering, this should be simple. The only problem we see is that our CC tour person John, unlike others, has provided no details regarding who and where to meet after disembarking. We have our usual breakfast and exit the ship just after 8am. We see no one with any tour signs. I walk around and ask and when I approach what appears to be a tour guide and ask about our trip, he says, "This is it. Where are all your people?" Hey buddy, I'm not running this thing. Two by two, our group slowly finds us and gathers at the bus. This tour has been full for several months but apparently, unbeknownst to the tour operator, John has added people on ... read more

Geo: -13.7847, -171.013As we sail from Pago Pago, we cross the International Date Line and, as you can see, we go from Tuesday to Thursday, skipping Wednesday. That lost day will come back on October 28. It's all the same day but for now, we are one day ahead of California. Nothing to see here.... read more

It rained today in Pango Pango, American Samoa…seems we have hit a weather pattern that won’t end. Perhaps two days at sea will change everything. We walked along the coast and visited the US post office to mail a package home. It was nice to deal in US dollars again and the post office employees are the same everywhere. After lunch we walked to the Sadie Thompson Inn where Somerset Maugham wrote his short story “Rain” which was made into a movie. Going to have to see if I can get that one when we get home. Met a couple from the ship at the Inn and drank some local beer before heading back. Did a little shopping along the way and then it was time to leave. Nice island but wish it had been sunny ... read more

To be honest I was feeling a little cross and out of sorts. There I was on New Years Eve back in the Fijian resort town of Nadi, swinging away in a hammock. The thing is though, I was meant to be in Samoa already, but Fijian Airways cancelled my flight without explanation and this had thrown my into a temporary funk. It was great to be back at Bamboo Backpackers, but it was not where I expected to be at that time. Then a beautiful blonde from Sweden approached and started a conversation. It came up within minutes of our chat we were both heading for Samoa, and after exchanging details she moved on for the evening. Part of me was thinking this was all a dream, as surely such coincidences can't happen in real ... read more