Leaving Tutuila, on to Savaii

  Savaii, Samoa
Monday, September 17, 2007

Finally, we left Tutuila.  John was sick as a dog the last week we were there, and we ended up hanging around with him, and watching a lot of movies.  But time waits for noone, and we set off to bigger places on the morning of the 17th.  A plane ride to Upolu, taxi to the wharf, ferry to Savaii, and another taxi to the car rental spot, and we were on our way to explore yet another Samoan island.
Savaii is like stepping into the past.  The way of life is simple and based mostly on farming and of course a bit of tourism.  The village life is alive and well and one can tell by how immaculate and vibrant the fales and gardens are.  There is so much vibrant color that surrounds such simply living.  Even though most people sleep on mats in open homes, with no doors or windows.  They have every flower imaginable pruned and precise surrounding there front walk and their neighbors do the same.  Making the trip around the island in a small car enjoyable in itself. We set out towards Manase, a well known village for its simple/cheap beach fale accomadations.  On the way we saw many pig and chicken families crossing and running along the road as they pleased.  It was a breath of fresh air to see men on bicycles with piles of fruite and vegetables and almost no cars on the 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, roof and frame with it.

The lava's path

New life

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 rental to see one of the plethera of the craters on the island and of course the view.  On our way up we picked up two hitchhikers on there way as well..  We had the crater man show us the way as we pushed up the steep and make shift road.

The world famous Craterman

Our guide, the man that has kept the sacred crater trek clean and historical since 2001, brought us to as small trail at the end of a beautiful drive.

The view from the Crater

We climbed only a few steps before arriving to the edge of lush lost hole.  If one wanted they could pay extra to have their message chipped into a wooden board made by the man of the crater for all to read on their journey to this wonderful hidden jungle spot.  The Crater man had met people from 99 countries and was hoping to reach 100 very soon.  The jungle that surrounded the crater had at least 50 varieties of orchids, a cinnamon tree and hanging moss along its boarder.  There were swallow tails dipping in the sweet smelling breeze and with the special touch of a friendly guide, we enjoyed every minute of our venture. 
After the crater we headed with our new friends in tow to a cave.  Luckily Dave and Jane were both avid cavers and prepared us for an adventure.  We climbed deep inside the "dwarf cave"  swimming through three pools and sliding through tight crevices.  We found both ends of the cave, almost all in barefeet and lava lava.  A dirty venture but quite cool.
Our last part of the day took us to the edge of today, at the most western point in the world.  We sat and watched the sun begin to set and listened to the waves lapping against the dark lava rock.  I swear you could almost see dawn breaking just ahead of us, a new tomorrow was beginning.

On the edge of tomorrow

After dinner and a fresh pina colada we fell asleep to the waves once more almost immediately.  We woke in the morning to go diving where we saw plenty of fish and coral, as well as two turtles.  They were just sitting on the bottom staring at us as we went past.  I found out that they could hold their breathe for over 6 hours!
We then drove to the other side of the island for a dip in a refreshing 50 foot pool with a waterfall dropping from above.  You could actually see the bottom!
Our last night on Savaii was spent underneath the banyan trees, in a tiny fale.  We enjoyed the best meal we had had since we arrived in Samoa of coconut, curried fresh fish with potatoes and salad. 
We were ready for our next adventure in New Zealand to begin but were sad to say goodbye to the tropical paradise. Goodbye "Samoa", land of the "Sacred Chicken.  We will miss your warmth and many wonders.

Our last fale