Salt Lake City to Apia, Samoa...Day 1

June 15th we headed to the Salt Lake City airport to catch a flight to LAX, the first leg of our 11 hour journey.

We piled in the back of the car, along with 8 pieces of luggage, not including one carry-on bag for each of us. We had a suitcase full of snacks and another large duffle bag filled with all of our snorkeling gear.


Julia killed some time writing in her journal in Salt Lake. Our plane was a little late taking off which made for a quick change of planes in Los Angeles. We had a direct flight on Air New Zealand to Apia.

There were so many missionaries at the Salt Lake airport waiting to head out into the mission field, two of whom happened to be native Samoans headed to the Fiji mission. Dan had so much fun talking to them and they insisted that we take some of their goodies they had stashed for their flights---Oreos and giant candy bars. I was reluctant to accept them but Dan said it is considered rude in their culture to not accept something that is offered.

We finally arrived in Apia, Samoa at 5:30 am local time.

Can you tell that I'm ready for a shower and a change of clothes? I couldn't believe how warm and humid it was when we stepped off the plane into the dark morning. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised considering Samoa is so close to the equator.

We had reserved a rental van before we arrived and really had no idea what we'd be getting. It was a 2007 Toyota with 15 seats and the all important A/C. The van was stick shift and the car rental attendant claimed the van had been used by the Survivor crew during filming. We weren't overly impressed by that fact and I have to admit I became a little nervous when the attendant showed us where the car tools were located. I thought this might be an ominous sign, but we never had to use them. And boy did we run this reliable, noisy van into the ground!

Inside the unairconditioned baggage claim we were greeted by these guys. I couldn't believe how early it was in the morning and they were there all smiles singing.

The drive from the airport to the main part of Apia was about 45 minutes. We drove along the main road through village after village, catching glimpses of school children in their brightly colored uniforms walking alongside the road. We also saw scenes of what would become familiar throughtout our stay--- chickens, pigs, dogs, and horses roaming everywhere but the street. I swear the loose animals there stop and look both ways before crossing the street.

Something that impressed me right off on the drive to Apia were all the young children out in their yards with large baskets picking up breadfruit. We were told that it is pretty common for children to be up at dawn doing chores before going to school.

This is just one view of Apia harbor where we stayed. We were so grateful that we were able to check into our rooms at Aggie Grey's when we arrived. We all took showers, changed clothes, and headed out for our first full day in Samoa!