We Love Samoa!

Well, there’s only one word to say about Samoa – FANTASTIC.

We’ve had such a fantastic time here. It’s not that Samoa is the most beautiful island we’ve visited, it’s really the people that make this island so great. Everyone has a smile and genuine kindness that comes naturally to the young and old.

We’ve been staying in a marina for our time here. Initially it was so we could repair the main sail, but after we got that taken care of, the convenience of staying on the dock was too tempting to resist so we remained tied up for the entire two weeks we’ve been here. Aaaaa, an endless supply of fresh water has been liberating!

You might want to know what we’ve done while here…. Honestly, we haven’t done a lot. I really believe it’s the people you meet and spend time with along the way that make the best memories, and Samoa has been full of great people. It’s also been a magnet for a lot of cruisers we’ve met in our travels. It’s been great to catch up with everyone!

So, I have no fabulous stories to pass along – and it’s too darn hot siting here typing this so I’m going straight into photos!

Tony from Knot Tide Down welcomed our arrival to Apia marina! We ended up enjoying a number of happy hours with him and a host of other cruisers we’ve met along the way.

We went to a Samoan cultural show that was wonderful. I don’t usually go for these types of shows, but this one was great. They explained the Samoan culture within the family, how traditional foods are prepared, the native art of tattooing (we couldn’t photograph that), the creation of tapa cloths, how to make fire from two sticks (yes, it really does work!), etc, etc. I could go on and on, but I’m far too hot sitting here! Samoa is humid!

Preparing the food for the fire. See the way he’s wrapping the tuna in a palm frond? In the foreground the palusami is being prepared.

Bread fruit, tuna and palusami. We fell in love with palusami. It’s taro leaves and coconut milk wrapped in leaves. It’s so simple and delicious!

Dancing with fire. This guy was really funny.

Samoan dancing. They were REALLY good, but best of all, they didn’t act like they were doing it for the tourists – they genuinely seemed to be having fun doing it! 

The fish market. I didn’t photograph the large tuna and mahi mahi, but the reef fish were too colorful to pass up! The woman didn't want her picture taken... but I wanted to get the fish!!

The flea market where all types of Samoan crafts and food can be found. Yummm.

The Samoan busses are as colorful as the people.

We went snorkeling at a reserve. Despite the fact that it was a rainy day (cloudy skies and murky water) the coral was colorful and there were loads of little tropical fish. The highlight was spotting a large sea turtle that didn’t seem to mind us watching him from a distance!

In the picture from left to right; Bill, Leighanne, Steve, Tony, Craig and Dell.

So that's it for Samoa. Tonight, we're heading to a remote island in Tonga which I don't know how to spell, but it's something like Nuiatoputapu. We've heard a rumor that the King of Tonga is visiting the island in the coming days so we're off to socialize with royalty!
It's only 186 nautical miles, so we should be there in 37 or so hours. It's quite a remote place where internet is intermittent at best, so don't expect to hear from us soon!

Hope you all are doing well and we'll catch you next time :)