Blowholes and ferry

On our penultimate morning in Samoa we left Satuiatua at 7.30am in order to catch the 10am ferry but on the way we planned to see some 'Blowholes'. They are holes in the volcanic rock on the shoreline that send sea water shooting high in the air through the holes at high tide. The taxi driver, Valamer, arrived on time (unheard of in Samoa as everyone works on 'island time'). He took us to the blow holes, there are normally locals hanging around and for a few Tala perform the party trick of throwing a coconut shell into the hole so you can watch it fly into the air as the water shoots up. As we were so early there was no one there to do this so Valamer gave it a go. He saw I (Ruth) was wearing a camera and suggested 'a photo'. I agreed thankfully as you rarely get a photo together when there is only the 2 of you travelling but before I could take out the camera Valamer was next to John waiting for their photo together. As many Samoans don't have cameras they sometimes ask you to take theirs and post it to them. He then asked if I would like to be in one and handed John the camera.
Valamer got us to the ferry in plenty of time, but as we pulled up he translated the announcement to us that the 10am ferry was not going to sail but there should be one at 12, so we sat down for a few hours wait. When the 12pm ferry arrived, we joined the queue only to find out they were only letting a few people on due to the amount of cargo they were carrying. So the wait continued, but this time we were a little concerned as we had to catch this next one in order to make our flight the following morning. We decided to be on the safe side and stay in the line for the next 2 hours to secure a place. Fortunately they sent the larger ferry and off we sailed. Few!

Always read the label

As if I wasn't in the wars enough, we bought some peanuts which came with a sachet of what looked like pepper. I added it to my share of nuts and got tucked in. I thought it was unusual to have pepper with nuts. I read the packet which said DO NOT EAT. It was one of those sachets you get to absorb moisture in trainers and such things. It actually tasted pretty good, although I did stress for the next hour that I might die.

Surfing in Samoa can be painful

The waves in Samoa are very powerful even when small. The water where the waves are breaking is usually very shallow and has razor sharp coral reef underneath it. The reef is alive and cuts can become infected very quickly. The waves are very consequential and a mistake when surfing can be punishing. The waves have been the most challenging I have surfed, yet great, great fun. I (John) have had some very memorable waves yet have come a cropper a few times. At Maninoa I tattooed my back side when I landed Bum first on the reef in the first week. Then in Aganoa after making a bottom turn on a left hander the lip of the wave caught me and sent me head first in to the reef, leaving a couple of juicy scratches on my head. Ruth squeezed a lemon on the cuts to kill the coral which hurt worse than in the first place. The final flogging was the best though. After wiping out on a wave I went to dive under the next one only to be taken round with the curl of the wave and well and truly slammed in to the reef back first, then dragged along. My board was gone and I was so stiff from the impact I found it tough to swim. Eventually I got going and managed to swim to my board and paddle in. I hat cut my calves and my back and had a slow hobble back to the Fale. The lady that ran the place took me to hospital to get cleaned up. They gave me Penicillin to fight off any infection. I have loved surfing here, it has been a real challenge, and I have realised that Samoan surfing demands respect.

Siapo

Siapo is a traditional form of Samoan artwork;.where the bark of a mulberry tree is turned into a cloth and then painted with beautiful designs. People use it to hang on the walls as decoration and can also be made into clothes for special occasions including bridal gowns. I (Ruth) was really keen to see this being made. Whilst we were in Satuiatua I found out that there was a lady in the village that makes them and for a small fee you can go around to her house and you can watch as she talks you through the making of it. On our final morning in Salai'i I went to Makalata's house, the lady who makes the Siapo. She was a lovely lady with 5 children ranging from 0-19. Her husband had a stroke in December at the age of 41 and although his condition has started to improve since then he can no longer work so the whole family works very hard making Siapo which they sell at the market. The skill has been passed down through her family, her mother, grad mother and great grand mother all made Siapo. Although it only used to be the women who did this, today for financial reasons boys have started to learn the skill as well, including her 2 boys of 5 and 6 years old.
The demonstration started with the trunk of a Mulberry tree and 4 hours later, after she removed the bark and then soaked, scraped, flattened and stretched it, it became a beautiful cloth which she then used natural dyes to stamp and then hand paint it. She also makes to order, I limited myself to 3, which was really difficult as I wanted them all. The prosses making the cloth is strenuous work and only Makalata and her oldest daughter, Fili, are strong enough for that so far. But the boys and the 15 year old girl do a lot of the painting.

Great Snorkelling

The reef at Satiatua was very healthy. Much better than anywhere else we had stayed. We spent many hours snorkelling over the beautiful colours and looking at the tropical fish.

Church and UMU

Leiloma took Ruth and me to church with her on Sunday. It was Fathers Day and the church was packed. Everyone was dressed in the most amazingly white clothes I have ever seen. It was like a Daz commercial. The Aunt/ Chief, Leiloma had a fan and would whack anyone on the head if she wanted their attention. Even though we couldn't understand the priest we enjoyed it very much. All the Dads got up and sang songs and danced and even acted out a play. It was very humorous. The Samoans love to sing and they all do it very well. The Fathers were all given special Ula (garlands) which contained sweets. They even gave me (John) two. After the meal we went for a traditional Sunday meal called an Umu (named after a traditional Polynesian oven. The Women get up at 4 am to start preparing it. The food is cooked in the groung in an Umu. It was a really good experience sitting amongst the family eating Krayfish, Oka (marrinated raw fish), bread fruit, Palusani (young taro leaves baked in coconut cream) and much more. It comes with a strong local cocoa drink.

Save the best till last -Satiatua

For our final few days of the trip we had been recommended a lovely place called Satiatua on the south coast of Savaii. Again another Fale. This one was huge, you could have got a very large family in there. The food was great and you even got a choice of meals. The people were so friendly that ran the place. It was a real family affair as most things are in Samoa. Samaons' provide for themselves through plantations, fishing and livestock. They are extremely hard working people including the children. The Auntie of the Family was the village Matai (which is the chief), it is rare for a women to be appointed this role but after meeting her it was easy to see why. She was a great character, real fun with an infectious laugh. The picture shows Leiloma holding Mick Fannnings snapped board from when he stayed at the fale's ten years ago. She had no idea he was that famous, let alone 2 times world champion. It came up in conversation that a pro Hawian stayed there, but later turned out it wasn't a Hawaiian at all, but Aussie Mick. She told us when he left he and his friends wrote messages and signed his broken board and left it in the ceiling with the many other pieces of snapped board. That evening we checked all of the boards in the ceiling to try to find which one it might be. The boards were all thickly coated with dust so any that we suspected might be his we washed in the sea to check for messages. When we eventually found the likely candidate, with a massage from Mick F to match, Leiloma confirmed our find by shouting “It's the pig, It's the Pig, now remember, it's the Pig!”

Aganoa

Our first stop in Savaii was another surf camp called Aganoa. It was a similar set up and we stayed in another great Fale. This time we had a bed and use of a hot shower. The waves was an easy paddle out so no boat ride necessary. We went on a trip where we hiked up through the rain forest to see a crater. Then we headed to a waterfall, which was more like a water hole as it's the dry season so no falling water. It was a great water hole though and we swam and jumped of high rocks into the water, Great fun. I (John) then returned for a surf (most waves need high tide to surf in Samoa). Ruth and Aleeda went to look around the markets and ended up drinking the traditional drink of Cava with all the local men. You have to drink it in one go and then pass the cup on. Ruth said it made her tongue very numb but was not too potent.

Moving on to Savaii

After a week at Maninoa we were ready to see something new so with a Swiss guy called Eve and an Aussie girl called Aleeda we shared a taxi to the ferry which was going to take us to Savaii. The ferry is a real Samoan experience. It may run, it may not, it may run on time or just whenever they feel like it. We were pretty lucky on our first attempt as we only had to wait 2 and a half hours. It's a nice crossing though even though you do get tossed about a bit in the swell. Luckily we've got pretty good sea legs.

Johnny Wilkinson I am not!

Rugby is the main sport in Samoa so we had a game on the beach. Samoans, Kiwis, Aussies and me the token Brit. It was good fun but I have not inherited my fathers skills. I had a traumatic moment where I had to tackle an Aussie that had insisted on wearing speedos, nice!

Oops!

Mika (our Kiwi neighbour) snapped his much loved board never to discover where the other half went.There were a fair few board casualties during the trip.

A good days surf at Inside Siumus

Vailima is the local beer and it's very good!

Franny the surf guide

Our surf guide was one of a few surfing Samoans called Franny (Ferahny). He was a solidly built Samoan a good surfer, rugby player and excellent coconut getter. He could even play the guitar and sing. We taught him Pass the Pigs one night and he thought it was the best thing in the world.

A right friendly bunch

There were many people coming and going within the camp. Just about everyone was great company and we made some good friends. The majority were Kiwis and Aussies but there were also the odd Swiss, Irish and Brazilian. We were the only Brits. It was great to surf with everyone, share food, beers and a good laugh, I (John) tried to keep the British end up in a game of Rugby, but alas I was on the losing team.

Snorkelling in Maninoa

After the disappointment of not being able to visit the Great Barrier Reef we were both looking forward to some serious snorkelling in Samoa. The water is around 26 degrees C, very nice!Especially after the South Island of NZ. The reef was still very damaged in places but where it was healthy it was beautiful with plenty of tropical fish. On calm days we were able to journey out passed the lagoons to the reef where the surf broke. There we saw some much larger fish. Over our week there we saw lots of large sea turtles (dustbin lid sized), they were timid but would often pop up whilst we were surfing or pass under the boat as we journeyed to and from the waves. Ruth discovered the turtles love sea grass. She found the perfect spot to observe them and would hike out to it each day to see them whilst I went for a surf. She ended up showing a few people, she was like the turtle lady. We also saw lots of flying fish, Giant Trevellies, Parrot Fish, Trigger Fish, big blue Star Fish, Sea Cucumbers and many more.

Just 1 Go

For the first few days in Samoa the waves were small. Although I (Ruth) had never intended to surf in Samoa due to the heavy waves breaking over the shallow sharp coral reef I thought I'd give it just one go, before the swell built. I really enjoyed it, caught a hand full of waves and even came away with all of my skin and a surf board that was still intact. I decided to quit while I was ahead and save my next surf for some less consequential waves in California. Instead I decided to to put my energy into turtle spotting.

Samoa

Western Samoa is made up of two main Islands. Upollu in the east and Savaii in the west. We spent our first week or so on the south coast of Upollu at a surf camp called Maninoa. The camp had traditional Samoan accommodation called Fales (Far lays). It's a wooden hut, raised off the ground sometimes with sides and sometimes not. We were lucky not only did we have sides, we also had a door(as we were the only Fale with a female in). It's the perfect place to stay, you really don't need any more. We had a mattress on the floor under a mosquito net and our own balcony. The best feature was that the fale was situated right on the beach. The camp was sandwiched between two luxury resorts that were happy to let you use the facilities as long as you were buying a drink. Our accommodation included two meals breakfast and dinner. Both very ample and satisfying,usually consisting of some form of fish and local fruits. Paying a little extra also got you a boat trip out to the surf each day. The resort was in front of a lagoon and the surf was on the outside over the reef. The boats went everyday except Sunday. Samoans are very religious and believe you should do nothing on Sunday so many waves are prohibited to surf and if you do go out you must usually paddle (which can be along way). The resort had been pretty devastated by the 2009 tsunami that struck Samoa. A local surf guide from Hawaii described to Ruth what happened. It was 7.30 am and he was out with a group of surfers on the reefs when an earthquake was felt. The next thing they knew the tide was ebbing rapidly and the reef was becoming dry. He quickly got most people into his boat including his 9 year old son and his son's other 9 year old friend. They headed out to sea. The reef was so dry it had exposed a shelf that had never been seen before. They then waited out at sea whilst a series of 4 tidal surges raced in over the reef. Three surfers who had panicked and paddled to shore were found later bruised and battered and clinging to trees. Fortunately there was a warning system in place so most people were able to run to safety. One German lady was killed. In total 143 people lost their lives in Samoa that day including many children. Despite this the place has rebuilt it self and the atmosphere is a very happy one.