Samoa and Goodbye!

We caught the bus to Manono Island ferry which took about 1½ hours but gave us a good look at parts of Upolu that we hadn't seen before. When we arrived for the ferry, they weren't expecting us as for some reason they thought we were coming the day before! Once we sorted that out and confirmed our accommodation was still available, we had to wait half an hour for the ferry. This was a small aluminium boat which chugged across to Manono quite slowly. It seemed to take an age to get there but then no one in Samoa is ever in a hurry!!

We arrived at Sunset View Fales in time for a communal lunch and it was interesting to meet the other guests who were from all over the world. Our Fale (pronounced Far_ley) was basic but OK for the single night we were stopping although the shared outside toilet shower and basin were a bit grubby to our eyes BUT better than the locals probably have!

After lunch we started out to walk around the island but before we got very far there was a heavy shower and we took shelter. Once it stopped we started out again but after a few minutes the rain came down once again. This set the pattern for our walk and although we sheltered when we could, we got pretty wet!! The locals just ignored it altogether and kept on with whatever they were doing but then, they had a change of clothing at home and we did not as we had decided to travel light!! It was a pleasant walk apart from the rain, with friendly people anxious to chat and children wanting their picture taken! After dinner, we talked with the other guests for a while and then decided to get an early night.

The following morning, we had planned to go snorkelling on the nearby reef but there were still lots of black clouds and with no sun, we didn't think it was worth going. So, we caught an early ferry back to Upolu and managed to get a ride to Apia in the back of the chief of Manono's pick up. Bouncy but good views as we went along . We were glad to get back home to have a shower and get some clean clothes!

Later in the week we hired a car in Apia so that we could tour Upolu. We drove down the centre of the island stopping at the Bahai Temple which was very peaceful with lovely grounds. There were amazing views from the top of the island out to the south coast and the reefs. It was very rural with houses dotted along the road. Many were selling fruit and veg from a stand in front of their garden. We visited a few waterfalls and stopped at To Sua ocean trench for a swim. This was a big hole which links to the sea which you go down a path and steep ladder to get into. The drive back was up another inland road and this was even more rural with lots of cattle and steep drops. The last part of the drive was along the north coast along which we had sailed on the way to the marina.

Sunday evening we attended a gospel singing exhibition for the start of the Teuila festival. All the locals were dressed mainly in white and they were all in their Sunday best for church. We were given a Lei for around our necks made from orchids and local flowers. The singing was amazing and the choirs were all sizeable. Most of the congregation of the churches must be in the choir! We met another kiwi couple from Christchurch who have invited us to go and see them when we are on the south island. It was interesting hearing about the earthquakes in Christchurch from people who live there.

The following evening we became child minders for Zinnia and Cosmo (10 and 7 respectively) while their parents Liz and Colin had their first night out in 3 years! They are a British family that we have met in Samoa and spent time with. The children were frequent visitors to our boat until another boat arrived with 3 children on board and then we didn't see them!

The Teuila festival has gone on all week and we have had a really good time attending the events. There has been displays of traditional crafts, weaving, printing, carving and tattooing. The tattooing looked very painful and is done by tapping sharp prongs in to the skin. No electricity!! The Samoan men are heavily tattooed around their shoulder, middle and legs and the whole thing takes 12 sessions of 7 hours over 14 days. We have been told its very painful and it certainly looked it!

In the evenings there has been traditional dancing, fire knife dancing (long handled knives set in fire at both ends!!) and some modern dancing and singing. We saw the winner of the 'Samoa has Talent' programme and their winner of the equivalent of the X factor!

One of the best parts of the festival was the traditional Umu. This is the way the Samoans cook using hot rocks. The men do all the cooking and it included Octopus, a whole pig that they put hot rocks inside to help it cook, chicken, fish, lobster, crabs, breadfruit and taro leaves with coconut milk. Everything is cooked in coconut and breadfruit leaves. Once the food was prepared and cooking the men performed a traditional 'Ava welcoming ceremony and then did some traditional singing. This took the whole morning and then we got to taste the food once it was cooked. Unfortunately, all the octopus and pig went to the Government officials in the government building nearby so we didn't get to try any which was a bit disappointing.

While we were waiting for the food to be cooked, we went to collect some sewing we had organised to be done. On the way there we cut through between buildings following other people. As we got to the road, a dog walked by us then turned and bit my leg (KB). Fortunately it didn't hold on but it was very sore and is now very bruised. There was a doctors surgery near to where we were going so we got the bite treated straight away. It put a bit of a damper on the day but we still went back to get our Umu lunch!

Friday evening the festival ended with the Miss Samoa pageant. A group of us dressed up and went along. There were only 6 contestants but it was still quite long. The contestants had to do traditional dancing and answer some incredibly hard questions which they all did very badly on. Still we have never been to anything like it before and it was fun to see.

Unfortunately our time in Samoa has now come to an end as we must leave for Tonga tomorrow. We have really enjoyed ourselves here and wish we could stay longer! We must come back!!

One last thing – we have put some fish and shark pictures on the blog thanks to our friends on Knotty Lady and Gatogo for sharing.