Tatiana Motel -Tanugamanono Apia

... been much older than my teen aged brother asked me for the 30 millionth time if I was married, I crossed the street away from him and laughed, calling back; "I'm beginning to wish I was!" Lalomanu Beach was much better. (Before Lalomanu I took the ferry across to Savai'i and spent a week there, I will have a separate entry for that island and the pictures I took there.) Clear across the island, it took almost three hours on the public bus (check out the pics - I ...

... decided to put her mattress on the floor, Hannah decided that she was going to remove all the slats 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 much the same as the bus in Tonga, it's so much fun being on them. Once on the Island of Savi'i, we stayed ...

... for the Alofaaga Blowholes to see the water shoot out from the lava cliffs. Even though we kept our safety distance, which was quite a lot, it was a spectacular experience! When a big wave came the water was pressed out through holes in the ground and shot up with an enormous power high up in the sky with a really loud sound. Really impressive! If you want you can get coconuts thrown in to the holes to be shot up when the water comes ...

... by bus in Samoa, now that's an adventure ;-) You simply stand by the road and wait for a bus heading for the right destination, hoping it won't drive right pass you. There are no timetables, usually you can get a bus every 10 or 20 minutes depending on were you're going, but then again you never know. If you're lucky enough to be picked up your next challenge is to find a seat, maybe there's seat available, probably not. Most Samoans, especially ...

... St meet up with Main Beach Rd. It is constructed in the honor of the soldiers that fought and died in WW1. A pity it doesn't work though. I'm not sure whether this is deliberate or that it just needs looking in to... I just have to introduce you to our favorite lunch hangout, the "Rainforest", also located on Main Beach Rd. We found this place on our first sightseeing in Apia and we have become frequent visitors since ...

... room with lots of flowery covers and curtains. And a fantasitic balcony for everyone to use. Our first breakfast was served after a quick freshen up. It consisted of lots of fresh fruit including banana, avocado and papaya. Coffee and toast also played a part but the fruit was delicious! Following breakfast it was our intention, well Vic's, to have a quick nap and then we'd go out. But the quick nap turn into a lot of sleep, I'm ...

... road. Our first stop was to the latest lava flow. The volcano errupted from 1905-1911. It first slipped down the mountain towards the sea, was cooled by the ocean breeze and change direction, covering an entire town leaving only a few cement churches in its wake. It was amazing to see the waves and destruction frozen in time. It actually passed through a church leaving the main structure but taking the windows ...

... such was its beauty and relaxation factor. Whilst in Lalomanu myself and a German girl hired bikes and headed along the coast of the island to an ocean trench that we heard was worth visiting. When we got there after an hour of cycling we paid our money and went into the ocean trench. The ocean trench is a whole in the ground where water seeps into it from the ocean. To get down into the ocean trench which ...

The drive along the western coast of Samoa is rarely done by tourists but should be taken by everyone. Tradition is still very important to the Samoans and villages are still run by chiefs and the villagers work on the land and meet regularly in the large village Fale's. A gorgeous village, clean and decorated with beautiful gardens and flowers sits along the road to Samoana. Heidi and Pete have named it their Tidy Town of the ...

... and even deeper into the cultural interest reserves for our time here. Having spent a couple of days in the messy, busyy and very stuffy/muggy town of Apia, we headed for the beautiful beach of Lalomanu. Samoans are BIG, not just a wee bit chubby and not chubby alone, just BIG. The young guys are predominantly walking Adonis' (Adonii?) with rippling muscles and six packs, towering easily 6 foot in height and above. The women are also large ...