Author: richwest3

September 12, 2012

As we didn’t have enough time to do everything, we decided to pick one from the three choices on the next stretch of coast. There was a beautiful set of beaches called Salamumu or the Return to Paradise beach (which was featured in the movie of the same name) or Matareva, which was described as having “delightful” coves and rock pools. The last one sounded best to us.

Once again, I only spotted the smallest street sign as we passed it, forcing us to turn around and head back to where a few large Samoan men were lying around a roadside fale like a pod of beached whales. We pulled up, hating to interrupt the group nap, and asked about heading down the unpaved road. It would be 15 tala, which was a little steep, but we decided to pay the price and head down.

It was a couple of miles down an unpaved road to the coast, but worth the drive once we got there. We found yet another fale resort on a beautiful crescent of white sand beach. Enclosing one side of the cove was an area of black lava rock and pools that we could walk out on. It was quite beautiful and well worth price we paid and the risk we took in disturbing the pod of large Samoans. -Cyndi

September 12, 2012

Once we got back over the mountains and to the south coast, we turned and headed west, picking up where we had left off. Our first stop was a place called the Virgin Cove Resort. It was a long drive down an unpaved road to a village where we had to pay 5 tala to continue on another long, unpaved road to the resort.

A few years ago a tsunami hit the south end of Samoa along with parts of Tonga, and the area was pretty devastated. Much of the vegetation and the beaches seem to be back, but some of the small resorts (there were only a handful to begin with) are struggling to get repaired and up and running. We weren’t sure if this place would be open, or what we might find when we got there. We did see a lovely stretch of white-sand beach on the way.

Once there we found a “resort” that was empty, but seemed to be open. There was a worker in the restaurant, and the very pretty public restroom was clean and stocked with toilet paper and fresh flowers. The grounds were beautiful, consisting of several small coves with beautiful white sand beaches and fales tucked into the tropical foliage.

A fale is an oval structure consisting of a platform above the ground and poles that hold up a thatched roof, making it completely open air. It is the traditional Samoan building style and can range in size from a room to a house to a community meeting place. It is wonderful for catching breezes but not so wonderful if you like privacy.

The enchanting setting might tempt me to book a room here for a night, but the mangrove swamp behind the resort would mean major mosquito activity in the evening. They probably have mosquito nets in the fale, but you would not want to crawl out from under it for a midnight bathroom run. It might be worthwhile, though, to book a fale just for the day. -Cyndi

September 12, 2012

We set out for our second day in our current favorite resort: the air conditioned, automatic-shift Toyota Rav 4 we had rented. We motored back up over the mountain, a cool air-conditioned breeze wafting through the upholstered seats. Our first stop was a waterfall lookout not far off the main highway. The waterfall is 100 meters tall in a heavily-forested gorge and quite a sight.

While there, we ran into another group of cruisers who had rented a car. One couple was clearly in charge of that day’s itinerary. I asked if they were stopping at the Tu Sua Trench, and they said no, that someone had told them, “It’s not worth the bother.” I notice people have a tendency to put more weight on the first opinion they hear about a place they’ve yet to visit, and to convince them otherwise is an uphill battle. I tried hard, especially for their passengers who seemed interested as I described it, but to no avail. I watched them drive off, knowing they weren’t going to change their minds and wondering if the person who had declared it “not worth the bother” had even been there.

Recently we had new neighbors arrive to our marina. They had been to Tonga and spent a total of four days there before heading on, complaining there was “nothing to do.” With hundreds of islands and anchorages spread out over two hundred miles, some of the worlds top dive and snorkel sites, breeding humpback whales and their young, and two good-size towns filled with waterfront bars and restaurants, we could not fathom how someone could be bored within four days, especially since two of them would be devoted to checking into and out of the country. Some people have strange opinions, but this was so crazy we wondered if they had actually had gone to Tonga or if they had in fact gone to the small island of Nuie and thought it was Tonga. We later confirmed they knew where Tonga was and had been there. All you can do is shake your head and wonder at some of the things people say and do.

This last bit has nothing to do with the waterfall, but as I write this I’m actually in Tonga and can now say with confidence that those guys were completely nuts. I guess the moral of this story is always get (and listen to) at least two opinions. -Cyndi

September 11, 2012

It was getting late in the day, and we decided we would head back to the boat and then continue on from this point the next day. There is a highway that bisects the island and could get us back to Apia in about 45 minutes.

As we headed up over the mountain, we noticed some immense trees that towered over the landscape. They turned out to be Aoas (or Giant Banyan Trees). This species of tree actually starts its growth on the top of a host tree, then shoots out roots to the ground and strangles its host. This tree would be tall on its own, but perched on top of another tall tree, it is massive.

When we got back to Apia that evening, we were both feeling much better and more upbeat than we usually do at this time of the day. We’d had a great day of touring the island, but I think the bigger reason was being able to spend the day in an air conditioned car! We looked forward to being able to spend a day in the car again tomorrow. -Cyndi

September 11, 2012

We did make two waterfall stops along the way. The first was the Sopo’aga Falls, a beautiful waterfall in an astonishingly tall wall of jungle greenery.

The second falls we stopped to see were the Togitogiga Falls in the O Le Pupu-pu’e National Park. There are lots of nice things in the national park, but all of them require way too much hiking for us, except for these falls. Oddly, the National Park was the one place we stopped that had no associated fees. We opted not to swim in the pools at the Togitogiga Falls, although you certainly can. -Cyndi