Day 5 Savai'i

WARNING: This blog entry is a picture palooza for sure...

Saturday morning we left the hotel at 5:30 a.m. to drive over to Malifunua Wharf to catch the ferry over to the big island, Savai'i. Even though we had purchased our tickets, we still had to line up an hour early to ensure we had a spot. There is a ferry that leaves in the morning and then comes back in the afternoon--not a lot of choices.

With the sun rising, Dan and Hilary scoped out a small store near the wharf for some cold drinks.

We found over the course of the week that you buy them when you can find them.

We were able to get on the new ferry, Lady Samoa III, that is very roomy and has a large, air conditioned sitting area up top. It reminded me of something we've ridden on when we've visited Seattle. Inside the cabin, everyone watched rebroadcasts of Samoan rugby games on the large screen televisions. The ride was quite smooth and only took an hour.

Saleleloga Wharf greeted us on our approach to the big island.

Again, the color of the water was astonishingly beautiful.

We made a quick stop at the local market for some fresh produce and headed toward our first stop, Alofaaga Blow Holes.


Five years ago when Dan visited, the locals didn't charge anything to go into the villages and see places like the blow holes. Now, almost everything worth seeing requires a small fee. I'm sure as Samoa becomes more of a destination vacation spot (which it definitely has for New Zealanders and Aussies) that this practice will continue. I think it's a great way for the locals to keep control of their personal property and the natural beauty of their nation.

We paid the nominal fee to go through the village and picked up an older gentleman, who's occupation he said was throwing coconuts into the blowholes. We thought that was pretty funny that he described it as an occupation. Having said that, you do have to have perfect timing to throw the coconut into the blowholes to see it shoot hundreds of feet into the air and break apart. You can catch a glimpse of it in the picture above.

We don't look like we're getting wet in these pictures, but we were constantly being sprayed by the ocean.

Our personal coconut thrower

A few of the blow holes in the area...

Our next stop was Falealupo Rainforest Perserve that was started by the aforementioned Paul Cox to protect that unique area of Samoa. We drove westward along the main coastal road and found the village very easily. We pulled into the main village area where a rugby game was taking place. There were hundreds of young men and men surrounding the area watching the game. We were looking for the chief of the village whom we needed to deliver a letter to on behalf of Paul Cox. We were quite a sight, a bunch of palangi girls and Dan getting out of a van in the middle of a busy village square. We were escorted to a fale where Dan was questioned in Samoan to make sure he was who he said he was. The chief was sitting on a bench alone and invited all of us to sit with him. He and Dan talked for a few minutes and then he opened the letter from Paul and was relieved to know that all was well with him. Apparently, some of the locals had been unsuccessful in getting in touch with Paul and they feared he might be dead.

We were fortunate once again on this trip. The canopy had been closed for a lengthy period of time to have the wooden stairs that led to the canopy walkway replaced with aluminum staircases. The walkway had just been reopened the previous day. The photo above shows some of the newer staircases that lead up to the walkway.

This is just one of the stunning views from the top of the 230 year-old banyan tree that overlooks the rainforest.

Dan and girls on the highest platform in the banyan tree.

There are a series of aluminum staircases that lead to this walkway across the rainforest. Once across, a series of wooden staircases lead to the top of the tree.

Here is a picture of the village chief. He purposely removed his shirt for the photo so that you could see his tattoo which illustrates his chief status.

The walkway is literally a bunch of ladders hooked together with wood planks placed on top. I'll admit, I really questioned the stability and engineering of the staircases and walkway.

Following the chief through the rainforest that was hot, humid, bug-laden and without even an outhouse of any kind near it. The fact that there were hundreds of stairs to the top of the tree, that we needed and didn't have any sleeping mats, and finally the lack of any running water or bathroom facilities for 5 females made it a very easy decision to not sleep in a tree that night. The most surprising part (which it probably shouldn't have been) was that we were literally in the middle of nowhere.

The village rugby game being played near the rainforest preserve.

We drove a few more miles westward and came to the last area where Dan served his mission. This area was hit hard by a cyclone in the early 1990's but has slowly been rebuilt, a little further inland. We found a deserted beach and cooled off. We found huge sea shells on this beach and sat in awe thinking about how this is the western most point on the earth where you can watch the sunset. Because of our decision to head back to Upolu for Sunday and not stay the night in banyan tree, we couldn't wait around for the sunset.

We gathered our things up, climbed back into the van and headed back on the main coastal road so we could catch the ferry back.

We were so hot, thirsty and hungry by late afternoon. We had gone through most of the snacks we had brought from home and though we had plenty of warm water to drink, we were excited when Dan found some cold C0kes. He came out of the make-shift store with two bottles and I sent him back in for a third--not knowing when we'd have another opportunity for a cold drink before getting back to the hotel.

Julia and Hilary outside the car, waiting in line for the ferry. In the background you can see a little boy who came by our car selling banana chips. The kids enjoyed the deep-fat fried treat.

Rows of colorful buses waiting to pick up passengers that would be disembarking the ferry that we were waiting to board.

The wharf on Savai'i boasted a seedier crowd that we had seen anywhere else. This was the first place where I didn't feel safe being left alone with a bunch of girls while Dan went to secure our passage back. So, we all stuck together and only had one encounter with an aggressive man who Dan let know to back off and he did.

The ferry ride back to Upolu was completely different. There were only a half dozen cars on this smaller ferry and we stayed in the van during the entire trip. We had all decided to take some motion sickness medication before boarding because the water looked a little rough. All I can say is that I'm glad we did. The entire ride was so rough and bumpy and LONG--two hours. I seriously began to wonder if we'd ever get off of it!

By the time we headed off the ferry, the sun was setting and the roads were busy with people heading out on a Saturday night. We made it back to the hotel in time to eat at their nicer restaurant. The kids devoured fish and chips and I ordered a "traditional Caesar salad." I had to laugh when they brought the salad out--it was nothing but coleslaw! Oh well, it's amazing when you're really hungry what you will eat.

Day 4 - Return to Paradise Beach

We went to bed on our third night to the sounds of pouring rain and crashing thunder. I was hoping that we would wake up to sunny skies on Day 4 and we did.

After enduring the relentless rain at Return to Paradise Beach the day before, we decided we really wanted to spend some quality time there while the weather was nice.

The beach and its beautiful surroundings didn't disappoint. For me, it was my favorite beach we visited in all of Samoa.

Dan honing his skills in breaking open coconuts to eat the meat.

The coconut milk was so refreshing and a nice change from bottled water and soda.

The local in the picture above was the same guy who had been on the beach the previous day opening coconuts for us.

The water was warm and the sun was shining all day!

Julia and I loved sorting through and collecting sea shells. We brought home a good-sized bag of large and small sea shells. I already have them in a large glass jar in my bathroom to go with my collection.

Five hours of snorkeling, swimming, exploring and soaking up the sun, we loaded up in the now very sandy, wet van for the trek back to the hotel.

That evening we tried out a nicer Italian Restaurant, "Paddles" for dinner. We ran into two couple missionaries, the Bells from northern Utah and the Tolemans from Mesa, Arizona who know my parents. Both of the husbands had served missions in Samoa as young elders. They gave us suggestions for the rest of our trip and we enjoyed hearing about some of their experiences. I'm sure that Dan and I will be in their shoes someday in the future.

Day 3

We woke up this morning and headed to the hotel's breakfast buffet at 6:30 a.m.

We had made arrangements with the Samoa Apia Temple prior to our arrival for the three older girls to do baptisms. We drove over in a heavy rainstorm, sat in the van for a few minutes hoping it would subside and then darted for the front of the temple.

We were greeted by the Temple President and he had our girls and Dan join a youth group that was visiting from the island of Savai'i for the week. Julia and I sat on a bench outside the entrance of the temple and enjoyed a cool breeze and watched the rain diminish. I visited with a local member and wrote in my journal. By the time the rain cleared, Dan had finished up and Julia and I followed him next door to the mission offices. We met with two senior missionary couples who updated us on the mission, how many missionaries were now serving and also about their own mission. We expressed to these couple missionaries how our own parents had served missions and what a blessing it has been to our family, especially the grandkids.

After our visit we walked back to the temple and met up with the girls who were soaking wet from walking around in the rain. We also took a group picture of all the local young men and women whom the girls had met and performed the baptisms with.

It was neat to see the temple, (which was first dedicated in 1983 when Dan was serving his mission there), and the newer temple which was rebuilt and dedicated in 2005 after it burned down during renovations. Dan was able to attend the dedication in 2005 with a group of former missionary companions and his mission president, but it was a first for the rest of us.

Following our temple excursion we drove around the block to a new primary school, Ah Mu Academy. Paul Cox, a former missionary to Samoa and a world famous botanist who lives in Provo, had asked us if we would visit this school for him. The last time he had been in Samoa he had seen these school children trying to learn in very primitive conditions. He, with the help of others, built a new school and he hadn't had the opportunity of seeing the final product. We were privileged to visit in his behalf and take pictures of the school children and the facility.

The children loved getting their pictures taken and I'm pretty sure we disrupted their school day for the hour that we were there. It is an English immersion learning program and these native Samoan children speak as well as American children in English.

A quick change of clothes and we headed to the southern end of Upolu to go to one of Samoa's beautiful beaches. We drove nearly 90 minutes to Return to Paradise Beach. A 1951 Cary Grant movie was filmed at this location and after seeing it, I understand why. Sadly, we pulled up and it proceeded to downpour. However, this didn't dissuade us from jumping into the crystal clear, warm Pacific and letting the cold rain fall. We were soaking wet by the time we decided it was too cold and the water was too rough. We headed under the shelter of a palm tree where we found a local cutting open coconuts to drink from. Even in the pouring rain, it was amazing to us that we had been the only people on this beautiful, remote beach.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped to view Papapapai-tai Falls. The falls plunge 100 meters into a rainforest gorge. It was truly spectacular! Unlike Niagara Falls (which are spectacular in its own way), the primitive setting of these falls and the foliage which surrounds them make extra ordinary.

We ended the day at this pizza bar in the heart of Apia. We liked the pizza so much, we ended up eating there another time. We enjoyed the company of a black cat (not really) that Hannah nicknamed Beyonce. I nearly died when the cat strolled to the back of the restaurant and into the kitchen. I said a silent prayer that the cat wouldn't be able to jump onto the counters where the food was being prepared. No cat hair was found and no food poisoning ensued!

Another day and another adventure in the southern hemisphere.