The Perfect Way to End The Trip

Trip Start Sep 18, 2005
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Trip End Dec 20, 2005


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Flag of Samoa Western  ,
Friday, December 16, 2005

After spending a few long days in the capital city I decided to take an island tour and figure out my next move. I had heard of a place that was supposed to be phenominal called the Taufua Beach Fales in Lalomanu. Set on the Lower east coast of the Island of Upolu, Taufua Beach Fales is basicly a family run string of beach huts that rest no more than 20 yards off the pacific waves. A reef protects the area from large surges and both the sunrise and sunset are visible over the waters horizon. The sand here is probably the best Samoa has to offer (This was confirmed by many travellers including some who had been coming to Samoa for over twenty years), and the lifestyle is about as relaxed as it gets. I spent my entire two weeks at this one location and I couldn't have made a better decision. Two meals a day are included in the price and most of the staff speak fluent english. There is a Dive & Surf shop based out of the same building as the reception and dining area, and I took advantage of this fact by getting my advanced diver certification. In exchange for a few free dives, I painted a mural for the shop window which you can see in the pictures section of this entry A happy dive instructor
A happy dive instructor
 . Just for the artists out there: if you're thinking about painting while in Samoa or any of the south pacific islands for that matter, bring your art supplies with you! It took four hours of shopping in office supply and hardware stores to find even the most basic of paints and brushes. I had to haggle with a store manager to let me buy pure yellow tint, and finding dust covered boxes of unmarked oil paints from tailand in the back of the last office depot I walked into had more to do with their poor inventory managment than my particular artistic demands being met by a forward thinking buisness. That being said, This was definitely one of the high points of my three month adventure and I recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind trading walls for tarps and eating family style with fascinating strangers.
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