Ahhh, these fales! I’m really enjoying my stay here. Faofao is run by Koroseta, the lolofietele (village chief) of Saleapaga. She’s a wonderful Samoan-sized lady of about 50 and always dressed colourfully. With the sound of the sea, I awoke early for a magical Samoan sunrise. Bliss! Snap! Bliss! Snap!
Brekkie at the fale is a rather simple and communal one, usually pancakes, fresh papaya, bananas, and instant coffee. Peter and Penny (P&P) are from Townsville, and we had some really good chats last night. Today they are off to American Samoa for a few days and they agreed to give me a lift to Le Mafa Pass today. It’s surprising that there are only about five geocaches in all of Samoa, but there’s one there with a gorgeous view. Fresh and clean after a shower, we all piled into the car. 20 minutes later they dropped me at the pass, and view is wonderful, and shortly thereafter I had my third Samoan geocache in hand.
All three caches so far have been nanos (very tiny). To-Sua Trench is all the rave at the fales, so I headed off in that direction, on the way being picked up by a Samoan family visiting from Melbourne. Samoan heat is icky, but a coconut would quench my thirst as I made my way toward the trench. Many natural attractions (waterfalls, trenches, etc.) that are normally free in other Pacific islands have an admission charge here. Visiting the trench has a 20 tala fee, but I made the most of it. Two guys the other day had a fear of heights and wouldn’t climb down the ladder for a swim but it was simple for me. A dip in the trench is wonderful on a hot day. After a swim I met my first contact from American Samoa. Leuso is from there, but is visiting from Oregon with his friend Brendan. Accommodation options are very limited and pricey over that way, and I don’t know anybody in American Samoa so if I had someone I could stay with or at least a patch of grass to pitch my tent, it would help exponentially. Lately I’ve been kicking myself, feeling like I put too much effort in finding someone to stay with on Lord Howe, but almost none for this trip. It was scorching hot, so I opted for another swim. It’s best to make the most of time when there’s an admission fee. The tide was higher, so I could jump from a fair way up. For more than four hours I was at To-Sua Trench and I loved every minute of it.
Three guys picked me up and gave me my first Vailima beer. One of the national dishes of Samoa is oka, which is raw fish marinated in coconut cream and lime juice. It was part of our dinner this evening, along with stir-fry, BBQ chicken, and grilled fish. Every dinner I’ve had features a heavy dose of meat. Samoan vodka is decent, though it’s surprising that Samoa doesn’t produce rum. I’ve run the gamut tonight as far as both food and drink: fish, chicken, salad, stir-fry, beer, coffee, vodka, and wine. Tonight there'd be a spectacular fire dancing show. I wish I could do something like this!
Samoa is paradise, and perhaps this is the truest "holiday" I’ve ever had.
