The city of Apia is in Western Samoa (not to be confused with American Samoa) and has a population of about 40,000. It is on the island of Upolu.
When we first pulled up to the pier about 9 am - there was a whole host of singers, drummers and dancers performing, entertaining our ship. We were fortunate to be on the starboard side of the ship and had a perfect sight line from our verandah. We knew we were on the same tour as V & R from Vancouver and their room was on the port side - just two doors down from our previous room. We phoned them up and invited them to watch the welcome from our verandah and they appreciated the call and clapped and whistled along with us!
We had a wonderful independent bus tour with Samoa Holiday and Events. Robert was our tour guide and driver and was excellent. He didn’t talk the entire duration - but he was happy to answer the variety of questions we posed. We had 17 guests on our van/bus and it had beautiful big windows and the all important air conditioning for our comfort!
This country is stunningly beautiful. They have palm trees growing in the wild - not purposefully planted for looks. We stopped at Lemafa - a cattle and Sheep research Development station - to look at the view. We then drove to Sopoaga Water Falls where we met up with about 4 other vans from the ship - so that stop felt a bit crowded but a pretty stop just the same.
We then headed to the Sua Trench - now that was a sight we will not experience elsewhere! This is an underwater cave where the overhead roof has collapsed in in two places and allow you to climb down a ladder to get into the pool of water. The cave is still connected to the ocean and has a small amount of current in it as a result. What a cool experience!
We then drove to Lalomanu Beach where we were fed lunch. J bought a Taula beer that was 22 ounces and 7 % alcohol for $5 US! The best tropical beer he has ever drank! I bought a banana smoothie for the same price - all helping the Samoans recover from a decimating 3 years of having no ships visit. The first ship to visit came 2 days ago, and then the Zuiderdam visited today. We were asked to wear masks everywhere on the island. (We removed them for the swimming part!) Lunch consisted of BBQ chicken, fish, cole slaw and taro (a starchy root vegetable commonly used on the island!) Swimming was on a white sand beach and a beautiful temperature!
We then drove through the Alepata District to head back towards Le Mafa Pass. We saw a game of cricket going on as we headed on down to Piula Cave Pool to go for a freshwater swim - in cool water like at the cottage in Northern Ontario! It was a pool where water was flowing out of the forest into the ocean. I chose to put my feet in and sit in the hot sun!
Back on the ship we enjoyed dinner and entertainment by pianist Hyperion Knight in the MainStage. Then I had to write up my blog and hopefully we will have time to watch a movie before bed!
In a world where we can be anything, be kind! Samoa was filled with kind, friendly people! What a privilege to visit this wonderful country!
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