Samoa Western Travel Blogs

Samoan Insect Dance
Jul 30, 2003 (16 photos)

... Savaii island. And finally, a great big shout out to Mo (of Herkmo inc.) for encouraging us, no strongarming us, into including Samoa on our world tour. Great call. This place is a true gem (and cheap too!). Plus no hard feelings about the spider. ...

Fa'a Samoa
May 17, 2005 (12 photos)

... to explore. How hard can this place be? It's the pacific after all.. So after some wandering around I located a nice western style cafe, ordered a strong coffee and a full English breakfast and waited for my friends to arrive. Sure enough they did and ...

Samoa Travelling
Feb 21, 2006

 

First week in country this year
Feb 27, 2003 (3 photos)

... . He has graduated from the local university and now works on the top (5th) floor of the government building doing work on Samoa's Economic Plan. His degree is in Commerce. I purposely missed my bus Saturday, and headed to the beach with some friends ...

Escape
Jan 17, 2005

... ever really get away when you are a foreigner living here? The answer: No. Somehow they know. They always know. In my case, Samoa is too small for them not too. Plus, my friend had been there before and they knew already. No matter where you go, ...

It is true: My take on an unusual situation
Jan 24, 2005

... 't seem to mind dressing as girls or looking like them. They seem to prefer the company of girls. Often times among my Western friends there is discussion as to the fairness of incorrectly identifying and raising a child as the opposite sex. It seems ...

A week in the sun is more than enough fun!
May 9, 2007 (15 photos)

... New Zealand, we arrived in Samoa in a torrential downpour! The plan from the outset was that we would arrive in Samoa, exhausted from travelling frenzy with 3 weeks to chill, sunbathe and snorkel getting home in idyllic calm. The actual outworking was ...

Samoa
Jun 6, 2007

bioooo

Arrive in Samoa
Oct 31, 2007

After a long couple of flights (managing to sleep a bit on the second), we finally touched down in Samoa. Outside I could see palm trees and ocean. As soon as we were off the plane I could feel the warmth and humidity. Chris spotted his parents straight ...

Discovering Aggies & new friends
Nov 26, 2009 (4 photos)

TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS Use Aggie Grey hotel to book trips. Easy and they come to hotels to collect you OUR BLOG Up and out walking again. We both need the exercise. Huge storm last night with crashing thunder and torrential rain……we heard nothing ...

The past 12 days in the village have proven ...
Jul 19, 2002 (4 photos)

... down the main road in the village, or going to the beach. Sometimes we sit outside the village store on the grave. In Samoa it is respectful to sit on the graves of the deceased, which are usually situated in front of every fale (house). Today was ...

Exploring Southern Samoa
Nov 28, 2009 (5 photos)

TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS Always ask hotel staff to negotiate a taxi and driver for the whole trip, including waiting for you at places, even if for 2/3 hours. They get an agreed price for the day. However when you arrange this the taxi driver may not be that ...

Secret defenses of Samoa
Oct 25, 2007 (7 photos)

Those of you who know Ray know that he is very involved with Civil War re-enacting.  This is a special report that he produced for the Battery Rag of Battery G Northern Illinois Light Artillery.  Though Ray had to give up his commission as a ...

Time for a Holiday
Mar 23, 2007 (10 photos)

... for six months had taken its toll and we were in need of a holiday. So we took a week at Coconuts Beach Resort & Spa in Samoa. It was pretty much what you might expect: a week of lazing by the pool, where the most energetic thing we did all day was ...

We made it
Jun 14, 2006

We have finally reached our objective-Apia, Samoa. We arrived at about 5:30 in the morning just as the sun was coming up. We were met by a party of Peace Corps volunteers with flowers, along with a traditional Samoan band, then we were packed off in vans ...

One year down
Jul 2, 2007 (8 photos)

We have completed our first year in Samoa.  I think we have made it past the one year slump when people seem to get depressed and wonder how they will ever make it to the end.  Don't know if we will make it all the way to August 2008 but it does ...

Viimane päev Samoal.
Mar 4, 2008 (17 photos)

See hommik oli tõeliselt vihmane ja tormine. Korraks tekkis meil isegi kahtlus, et kas praamid ikka liiguvad ning kas me jõuame õhtuks tagasi peasaarele, et sealt lennukile minna. Võtsime hommikusöögi, milles oli ohtralt puuvilju. Leidsime, et kõige tuttavamad ...

Wish List
Jan 2, 2005

Well, everyone has been fantastic in sending me care packages. I can't tell you how much they mean. It is a great surprise. If I haven't emailed you about receiving one, I haven't received it yet. Sometimes they take a pretty long time. I will be on ...

the diversity of this simple clothing accessory!
May 10, 2007 (13 photos)

Having purchased and lost a Buff from south africa to south east asia, its loss was so noticed that a new one was bought in New Zealand- what is a Buff i hear you cry? Its a simple elasticated tube of cloth which can be used in a multitude of ways. its ...

Last phase of our pacific islands
Jul 25, 2008

... off her bed and but the mattress through the frame, it looked like she was sleeping in a giant cot! Wednesday 16th July Savi'i Samoa We got a taxi to the bus station the morning and rode to the wharf to catch the ferry to Savi'i. The bus was pretty ...

It's been a few days since my last entry ...
Aug 20, 2002 (1 photos)

It's been a few days since my last entry, and I have so much to share this time around. For starters, our group is down to 11, and I am the only guy now. We lost Mark and Brian to a policy violation. The way in which the matter was handled did not ...

The Regatta
Jun 5, 2005

... around the harbor, sometimes we paddle over to Tamasina Beach and back. I have met a lot of fantastic people including Samoa's national women's team, many of them members of Pualele. (There are other clubs in town.) They train almost everyday of the ...

Vailoa Palauli
Aug 17, 2006

... , here. Even the poorest Samoan will attempt to beautify his dwelling as best he can. It has surprised the 'western' sensibilities of some of our volunteers that village beautification ranks high amongst the development concerns of Samoans, as compared ...

Deep Fried Paradise: Savai'i Island
Oct 31, 2008 (46 photos)

My first impression of Savai'i: I stand in water made white by the reflection of the sand beneath it and I watch the colour deepen, flaring out into endless blue; and as embarassingly cliched as this is, I want to cry. Looking out at the turquoise ...

One Year, No Way!
Jun 10, 2005 (2 photos)

Traditionally around here, group members tend to celebrate benchmarks in their service. Group 72 of PC Samoa was no exception. We decided to head back to the beginnings of our affair with Vailima and South Pacific Pizza, Italianos Pizzeria. As all-too ...

Catching up after vacation
Oct 26, 2007 (29 photos)

... in our group. Then a few days later I was off to DeKalb for surgery. Everything went fine and I will be back in Samoa by Halloween. Peace Corps policy only allows the sick spouse to be Medivaced so Ray has been held hostage ensuring my return. If it wasn ...

The Shortest day of our lives
Dec 2, 2009 (2 photos)

... He reported to the police but because the dogs belonged to wealthy people nothing was done……therefore The Mad Dog Murderer of Samoa tossed some poisoned meat to the dog and the dog was no more. Having got a taste for this The Mad Dog Murderer ...

Aggie Grey Day
Nov 30, 2009 (2 photos)

... .and thought that if we went they might feel they were being stalked by two old Brits…..and it was their last day in Samoa. Book reading, swimming and then taxi to Sails. Had a great meal of fish soup, raw fish, meat plate and Tuna with Chilli jam ...

Life in the village
Nov 11, 2006

Days start early in Samoa. People start getting up around 5:30, with the sun. We can hear the sound of coconuts being scraped out to extract the coconut cream. The smell of smoke drifts into the room from the cooking fires. The water runs a people take ...

Village Life
Jul 4, 2006

... four small children. Fepuleai is also raising the 2 year old son of an adopted daughter who lives in Australia. T.K. will live in Samoa until he is 5. A niece, Veronika and her family live across the road. She spends a lot of time at our house and does ...