Va-I-Moana Seaside Lodge Asau

... of a whole strip of beach fale resorts, about 5-7 of them, all right next to each other along the beach. They are family-owned and operated (and that includes "all extended family") and are the largest, cheapest and most popular beach fale resort of that village. The food was not the best, however. All these resorts include breakfast and dinner with your stay since there are no nearby restaurants in that village. Unless ...

... br> We left for Savaii the next day on the ferry. It was really nice and the ocean is so blue. Arrived in Manase and got settled at Tanu Beach. It was run by a great set of staff and was right on the beach front. Our accommdation was the traditional fale style housing with is just a raised wooden floor with a tin roof and thatched venetian style blinds for walls. Our fale was literally 4m from the high tide mark. Dinner was supplied every night and was the ...

... grandeur instead of this pathetic Grinch-like shrunken mess it's become. These threatening tears aren't for sorrow, but for beauty, this is truly an inspirational sight. All the cliches are true: it is taking my breath away. On the bus ride to Tanu Beach Fales, there was a Samoan man sitting in front of me with a 'Canadian Rockies' t-shirt full of holes. I had to laugh - home is always reminding me that it's thinking of me. Even on the edge of the world ...

... literally every 50 meters to collect more and more people onboard, many of them with 50 kg bags of taro or breadfruit or palm leaf baskets full of coconuts - everybody on their way to the market to sell the produce. Soon the seats were all taken and the corridor stacked high with breadfruit. More people hopped on, sitting on the sacks. And then more people and more sacks, now people stacked up sitting on each others laps. Soon we decided it's best we stack as well ...

... that I really should try and get in the water, preferably without panicking... It actually went fine, a couple of beginner mistakes along the way, but I must say I'm surprised I even got in the water so far away from land. My first try was carried out above an old wreck that I actually could see from the surface and I have to admit that I felt a strange, slightly curious feeling inside. Then I remembered were I was and suddenly found ...

... ning hulgaliselt kohalikku rahvast ning ca 1:15 pikkuse sõidu tulemusena olimegi teisel saarel nimega Savai. Siin olime kavalamad ja leppisime ööbimiskoha kokku juba saare ringreisi alates, et oleks pimeda peale jäädes kindel sihtpunkt silme ees. Käisime vaatamas ilusat juga, mille all olevas basseinis sai ujuda. Mehed tegid vettehüppeid ja olime peale õues valitsevat parajat leitsakut selle ...

... 50 per night including breakfast and dinner! Superb! Car Rental, Rain, The Fords and Spam - We decided to rent a car on the first two days from a rental agency near the wharf. The roads in Savai'i are actually a real pleasure to drive on and it took us 45 minutes to get from the wharf to Manase. That was on the first day. On the second day, boy did it rain! So much so that our day of driving turn out to be a disaster. We decided to go down to the south by going east from Manase ...

... is of little concern to the Samoan, and judging from the public buses, neither is personal space - a bus will remain in it's starting location until filled, which usually takes about an hour and a half - and filled doesn't just mean the seats, but also the aisles, doorway, and the laps of those seated on the seats, living little extra space whatsoever. We didn't fancy any such trips with our rucksacks. The highlight ...

... little rust bucket of his. We met a man with amazing blue eyes and 2 surf boards to spare (and a dead wife according to Hales). We were given a grave warning to avoid the razor sharp coral underfoot, so armed with shoes, we tackled the waves. And how! After lunch of Chicken burgers (regardless of what was ordered) - which were terrible btw, we made our way over to the turtle feeding pool. Despite much coaxing and encouragement, Haley's feet ...

... t get much sleep on the first night thanks to the cockerels crowing from 3am to 7am and the neighbourhood dogs competing in their nightly 'who can bark the loudest' competition. We spent the first three days a bit zonked due to jet lag & the incredible heat & humidity. Apia was nothing special so to give us a flavour of the whole island we took a tour round the island with Skipper our friendly local guide. As you would expect, the island is ...