sublime - adj. - of great excellence or beauty (Oxford Languages)
Similar to the U.S. Virgin Islands in terms of its topography, simple, sublime Samoa is filled with pleasant surprises. Initially, I had no expectations of the island, once affiliated with Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. The German influence has long disappeared, yet the British and American remain as all Samoans speak English, appreciate rugby, drive on the left side of the road, and eat in McDonalds. It became the first Pacific nation to gain independence in 1962, and the pride of autonomy shows.
After disembarking, my Russian and German friend and I ignored the numerous taxis corralling fellow passengers in the harbor, braved the heat (about 88), and walked about 1.6 miles into Apia, Samoa's main city. On the way to a recommended marketplace, we noticed many houses of worship and wound up spending about ten minutes appreciating the wood carvings and stained glass in the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, a Catholic masterpiece signifying the natives' acceptance of Christianity as their primary religion. From there, we followed a paper map (yup) that led us to the main open-air market Fulgalei Fresh Produce in the center of town. The stalls were so narrow and heat of the day too suffocating that we left early in search of a taxi to take us to Piula freshwater cave pool in Upolu, about twenty miles east.
Fortunately, we found Eete, a twice married young man with five children, in his Toyota right in front of the visitors' center. When I sat in the "suicide seat," on the left side as opposed to right, I saw that Eete had a mini version of the New Testament on the dashboard, which made me feel more at ease considering my vulnerable position in the front of the vehicle. While on the narrow, serpentine, macadam route, Eete serenaded us with Christian reggae music on his car radio. The quiet hamlets we passed featured brightly painted, concrete homes and gardens (Some plants were in recycled tires painted orange). The inhabitants seemed to understand the adage, "Cleanliness is next to godliness" since their pride in ownership was obvious despite their not owning much. We also saw that the beaches that outline the coast vary from chocolate to white and the water from brunette to aqua and turquoise.
Once we arrived at the pool, we mingled with the native peoples who seemed nonplussed that they had to share their waters with foreigners. Personally, I enjoyed snorkeling both in the cave pool and ocean, meeting many friendly, colorful tropical fish at an intimate distance, including a clown fish that looked like a stunt double for Nemo. On the journey back to the ship, we noticed many school children in well-pressed uniforms, and college students dressed in all black. I'm sorry to say but we did not have enough time to visit the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, the island home of Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, that Samoa no doubt inspired. He had built and occupied it in a town just outside of Apia called Vailima, a far cry from his birthplace of Edinburgh (that home I did see back in 2017).
After our journey was over, we did not have any problems using American dollars to pay Eete as an American dollar is worth $2.68 in Samoan currency. With the approximately $172.00 in Samoan money that we paid Eete, he probably took his wives and children out to a sumptuous dinner, a treat well deserved.
If you are ever in the vicinity of New Zealand, take a flight to simple, subline Samoa. You won't regret it.
#Samoa, #cruises, #travel, #blog, #blogger
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