Tatiana Apartments - Apaula Heights Apia

... in love with them) through some amazing rainforest landscape and a bunch of villages. It was a fantastic ride - all for 5 tala = 3.5 NZD - and sure beat taking an 'air conditioned coach' like Flight Center suggested for a steep 250 tala! Arriving with no plans, Julia (more on her later) and I walked the whole 5 minutes it took to check out each fale option, choosing the cheapest one. They were very confused when we said no, we didn't want to share, there were ...

... Ta nu beach Fales. it was Paradise, we were welcomed with fresh coconut which i drank straight from it! I then had a dip in the sea, it was beautiful and warm! Before dinner we met a group form inverkargill who were on holiday so we sat with them at dinner and exchanged stories etc. Kerstin and I also got chatting to a lovely couple from Auckland Victoria and Daniel. After dinner we just read in our fale and looked at the stars! Thursday 17th July Savi ...

... we passed on that agreeing that it wasn't worth the money we'd have to pay. When it was time for lunch we found a nice little Beach fale place with a restaurant in Satuiatua on the western side of Savaii. After a good meal and lots of fluid we continued NW to the Falealupo Peninsula and the rainforest preserve. There we went to have a look at the canopy walkway which is a 24 metre long swing bridge hoisted 9 metres up in the air between ...

... girls, find a lap fairly easy. When we "palagi" get on there's usually made place for us. I have been told that the rule is that elderly and adults go before youngsters, and the less you weigh the greater risk of having to sit in some ones lap instead of in your own seat. The windows are really smart, they are usually open but when a rain shower comes you simply put a peace of plexiglas in front of the window gap and you're in the clear. As soon ...

... food, fair prices, excellent service and an outstanding atmosphere - can it get any better... Then we have the main marketplace, Maketi Fou. There you get all the fruit and vegetables you need and want. My personal favorite? I think, would have to be the pineapples or the coconuts... Pineapples are just so sweet and refreshing and the coconuts provide a very nice, and popular, drink. (A hole is made in the top of the nut ...

... you wouldn't believe me if I told you but she slept all day!! Since breakfast I wasn't tired so sat and read the book on Samoa for a few hours before being overwhelmed with tiredness myself and hitting the sack around 2pm myself. We both slipped in and out of consciousness for the rest of the day, mainly due to the lashing rain, cockerels cook-a-doodling and many other wonderful noises!! And so ends our day of traveling and ...

... and frame with it. We then arrived in Manase to enjoy an evening by the sea, with sandy beaches, Samoan homecooking and a little fale of our own, with a porch and chairs to enjoy the sunset and pecking chickens that slipped between the cocunut trees, the roosters calling to their hens to move along in the dying light. We had come for an adventure so the next day we began by climbing the mountain in our toyota rav4 ...

... about 30 meters you have to climb down a ladder and hope not to accidentally fall down it at the same time, because it was a long drop. The water in the ocean trench was really refreshing after cycling a long way and was a beautiful blue colour. I left Lalomanu and headed for Mulfanua wharf to catch a ferry to Savii the other island of Samoa. Once I arrived in Savii I was luckily picked up by an Aussie couple ...

... Villages lease out their land for resorts to be built but those resorts are still mainly low key and eco-friendly where possibly. Sa'Moana is one such resort. Leased from Salamumu village this eco resort is run by Australian's and only has a few large, enclosed fale's with their own facilities, including the amazing outdoor shower. It is private, but you feel as though you are showering under a waterfall with the coconut ...

... have the same large bones that no diet can hide! As a nation they seem to love life, they eat loads, nap in the afternoons and place family above all else except their faith. Its a christian country with a quite remarkable number of Churches, both Prot. and Cat. They love their sport and from 6:30 am (sunrise) on a saturday they have their volleyball and rugby matches before the heat gets too strong. The laid back attitudes of the locals ...