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.