Samoan Tour

08/11/08

The great thing about having visitors is that you get to see new sights and revisit some old ones. Here are a few of the places my children and I visited:

Savaii Island

Suifaga Beach: Great Italian restaurant with sea views, air-conditioned guest houses with hot showers. Expensive.

Aganoa Beach: Surfer’s beach. Quiet Cove. Good snorkeling. Off the beaten path.

Manase Beach: Main tourist destination with resorts for the well and not so well healed traveler.

Alofa Blowholes: A great way to blast coconuts 50 feet into the air.

Lover’s Leap: No guard rails to stop you. Love is not worth the leap.

Canopy Walkway: Above the rainforest with excellent views of sea and mountains. Also a wonderful way to spend the night in a tree atop the forest canopy.

Lava Fields: Hard to farm. Once a Savaii Hot Spot.

Samoa Dinner: Grab a mat. Dig in with your hands. The food is great.

Lucia’s in Salelologa: Good inexpensive food at blue lagoon with cold beer and few prying villagers. Peace Corps hangout, but you need to gone by 5:00 pm to catch the last bus back.

Savaii Peace Corps Office: A dump with rat holes, leaky roof, and water most of the time on the toilet floor, but with dial-up internet and no Peace Corps staff.

Upolu Island

Saniatu Waterfall: Near our original training village. Great swimming hole. Very private.

Papapapa-tai Waterfall: Tourist destination. High, and mighty. Great to photograph on a clear day.

Fagaloa Bay: Drive up a dangerous mountain road and this view awaits you at the top.

Bahai Temple: One of seven Bahai temples in the world.

Hidden Garden Fales: A Bed and Breakfast we stayed at in Apia. Small, personal, and hidden.