September 11, 2012
We had decided early on not to take a guided tour of the island, but we did consider sharing a car rental with other cruisers. Several people had asked us if we’d like to go in on a rental, but in the end I realized that it’s hard enough to decide what to do and where to stop with just the two of us. (Plus, I already have Rich rolling his eyes when I want yet another photo-op stop; I don’t need three people rolling their eyes at me!)
We ended up with a nice, comfortable car with air conditioning. The air conditioning was to be one of our favorite things about our circle-island trip! The driving was on the wrong side of the road, with the wheel on the wrong side of the car. Rich had no problem with this (we saved money by making him the only driver). Soon, we were hitting the road to see the island. We rented the car for two days; so we thought we might make this a 2-day process as it’s a rather large island with a lot to see.
Apia, our starting point, is on the north side of the island. The coastline here is rather rugged, with little in the way of actual beaches. The highway runs along it for awhile, then turns inland and goes up through mountain and rainforest before going back down to the water on the east coast. -Cyndi
