It’s only seventy-five miles from Pago Pago to Apia, so we made a very slow trip during the night and arrived before 8:00 the next morning. There were no interesting excursions being offered by the cruise line so a group of
my new “roll call” friends and I had arranged for a private van tour of the island. I’m usually a little leery of private tours, since the ship will leave without you if you don’t get back by all-aboard time. We made sure that our driver knew that we wanted to be back with time to spare. Our group had decided to disembark as soon as the gangway was in place in order to beat the ship’s tours to our first stop, the Robert Louis Stevenson museum. So I was number two off the ship. We were greeted on the pier by a Police Band and a Polynesian dance troupe in full native dress. We enjoyed the show while we waited for Jennifer, who had booked the tour, to locate the driver. Both groups were good but the Polynesian group was outstanding!
Our van was waiting and we got away ahead of the other tours. We were the first group at the museum and made it through in record time. I’m not particularly interested in seeing old buildings and such but I will admit that this place was impressive. It was built around 1890 on more than three hundred acres on the slopes of Mt. Vaea. It has five bedrooms, a library, a ballroom and the only fireplace in Samoa. Stevenson is buried on the mountain overlooking the estate. After wandering the grounds and taking a few pictures, we continued on our tour.
Our next stop was the Baha’i Temple for a quick look around the grounds. There wasn’t much to see but the architecture was unusual and the grounds were immaculate. Next we made a brief stop at Papapapaitai Falls, an average-sized waterfall in a magnificent setting. After a few minutes of picture-taking, we headed down the coastline to Lalomanu Beach, where we planned to have lunch and spend a couple of hours doing water stuff. The drive along the coast was beautiful (again) but the beach itself was even better! The sand
was the whitest, softest powder I’ve ever seen. And the setting was just fantastic. Several of the group had brought snorkel gear and did a bit of snorkeling, but mostly we stayed out of the sun under the patio roof. The tropical sun is brutal and you can get a serious burn before you know it. Best to be careful! At about 2:00 pm, we decided to start back to the ship, making our way through the LeMafa Pass and making a short stop at Falefa Falls, a small but pretty waterfall. Most of the drive back was on two lane back roads and we passed a lot of residential areas. One of the most interesting things I saw in Samoa relates to the living arrangements. I mentioned earlier that family is extremely important to the Samoan people. 
This is reflected in their family home sites, where several generations share the land. There is typically one house, where the eldest live. The house is surrounded by any number of fales, open-sided structures where other family groups reside. No walls, no doors, no windows! As we passed the fales, we could look in and see beds, furnishings, etc. We didn’t stop for pictures since our guide said that it was considered rude to do so. I guess that would be the equivalent of a “Peeping Tom”, but we did snap a few as we drove by. Being from the U.S., I still wonder how people live that way.
After seeing more banana plants and palm trees than I’ve ever seen in my life, we arrived back at the Volendam with about an hour to spare. I bought a dolphin necklace and a baseball cap from the craft vendors on the pier, then boarded the ship. Next stop: Fiji…..
my new “roll call” friends and I had arranged for a private van tour of the island. I’m usually a little leery of private tours, since the ship will leave without you if you don’t get back by all-aboard time. We made sure that our driver knew that we wanted to be back with time to spare. Our group had decided to disembark as soon as the gangway was in place in order to beat the ship’s tours to our first stop, the Robert Louis Stevenson museum. So I was number two off the ship. We were greeted on the pier by a Police Band and a Polynesian dance troupe in full native dress. We enjoyed the show while we waited for Jennifer, who had booked the tour, to locate the driver. Both groups were good but the Polynesian group was outstanding!Our van was waiting and we got away ahead of the other tours. We were the first group at the museum and made it through in record time. I’m not particularly interested in seeing old buildings and such but I will admit that this place was impressive. It was built around 1890 on more than three hundred acres on the slopes of Mt. Vaea. It has five bedrooms, a library, a ballroom and the only fireplace in Samoa. Stevenson is buried on the mountain overlooking the estate. After wandering the grounds and taking a few pictures, we continued on our tour.
Our next stop was the Baha’i Temple for a quick look around the grounds. There wasn’t much to see but the architecture was unusual and the grounds were immaculate. Next we made a brief stop at Papapapaitai Falls, an average-sized waterfall in a magnificent setting. After a few minutes of picture-taking, we headed down the coastline to Lalomanu Beach, where we planned to have lunch and spend a couple of hours doing water stuff. The drive along the coast was beautiful (again) but the beach itself was even better! The sand
was the whitest, softest powder I’ve ever seen. And the setting was just fantastic. Several of the group had brought snorkel gear and did a bit of snorkeling, but mostly we stayed out of the sun under the patio roof. The tropical sun is brutal and you can get a serious burn before you know it. Best to be careful! At about 2:00 pm, we decided to start back to the ship, making our way through the LeMafa Pass and making a short stop at Falefa Falls, a small but pretty waterfall. Most of the drive back was on two lane back roads and we passed a lot of residential areas. One of the most interesting things I saw in Samoa relates to the living arrangements. I mentioned earlier that family is extremely important to the Samoan people. 
This is reflected in their family home sites, where several generations share the land. There is typically one house, where the eldest live. The house is surrounded by any number of fales, open-sided structures where other family groups reside. No walls, no doors, no windows! As we passed the fales, we could look in and see beds, furnishings, etc. We didn’t stop for pictures since our guide said that it was considered rude to do so. I guess that would be the equivalent of a “Peeping Tom”, but we did snap a few as we drove by. Being from the U.S., I still wonder how people live that way.After seeing more banana plants and palm trees than I’ve ever seen in my life, we arrived back at the Volendam with about an hour to spare. I bought a dolphin necklace and a baseball cap from the craft vendors on the pier, then boarded the ship. Next stop: Fiji…..
No comments:
Post a Comment