Tofa and Fa'afetai

Tofa All Samoan Islands, and Fa'afetai!!

Our last day here on Tutuila was perfect, and sunny, and Craig never said it was too hot - amazing! I am especially glad, as it rained long and hard last night, and there was a flash flood warning. 

We were lucky to be able to leave the luggage in the cottage for the day, so took the bus, and then walked around Vatia, on the north shore of the island. It's a small, pretty village, on the other side of the central mountain ridge, and the National Park maintains land, and trails here. 

Link to the end of our Samoan experience pic's



Saw rocks of a different color scheme than we have seen elsewhere on the beaches, or anywhere else. We lucked out and were able to take a few pictures, and sit on these rocks, watching the tide come in, before the waves started splashing us. The roar of the surf was impressive, and you definitely feel the power of the ocean, even in this bay. Pretty much everywhere else we have been so far, there was a coral reef which calmed the seas,  before the waves hit the beach.

The road to Vatia is winding, narrow, and steep; Craig saw a sign for a 15% grade. The bus was totally full on the way back, and we both, separately, hoped the brakes would hold. I could have walked faster than the bus climbed some parts. Again, everyone made room for new passengers getting on. I had tried to reciprocate, and to move over to Craig's lap at one point, but the teenagers piled in 2 to half a seat (the other occupant was size XXXL..), so the old foreign lady could have her own 2/3 seat. And another young guy moved up front and sat on a box, by the stick shift, rubbing elbows with the driver.

Tonight we checked in the suitcases at the airport, but had several hours before we needed to get back here. A peppy, and kind young woman realized we didn't know what we were doing. So she offered us a ride to the cafe we wanted to have dinner at, joined us there, and then took us back to the airport! She was on her way home after dropping her Father off, and saw us walking... the last bus had left, which we didn't know. We learned she, as the youngest daughter, is expected, and wants to, be the one to help her elderly parents. She had moved back from Hawaii a few years ago, and now works 1.5 jobs here. She is clearly of a more modern mind set, and e.g. tries to eat well, and exercises. But at the same time, she does not doubt there might be ghosts in the Manu'a islands, and has experienced some herself. She told them who she was, and that she had no bad intentions. 

Dinner was very good - I had a salad with tofu, and Craig had sword fish with a curry sauce. This place was recommended by the family we met on Ofu, and was a nice surprise after our experiences in the grocery stores, and seeing some fast food type places along the roads. I do not eat at McDonald's, and we saw a billboard where they advertised a spam sandwich - truly a sad commentary on the diet here.

Am writing this as we are leaving this exotic, friendly, beautiful, and interesting part of the world. We are very happy we came; never needed the high end mosquito net I brought everywhere we went.., but we did see a total of maybe 10 huge roaches, lots of tiny geckos, and tiny ants, but found nothing in our beds, have had no biting insects, and have had no stomach problems. We have a steri pen, which is a device that uses UV light to disinfect water, and have used it daily.

On all the Samoan islands we saw lots of kids, and Craig read the birth rate is 4 per woman in independent Samoa. In the USA, and much of Europe I think, it is <2. They have some family planning, but we did hear unplanned teenage pregnancies are common.

Craig seemed nostalgic leaving Ofu yesterday, but later said he is ready for first world comforts, and  I agree. I am also looking forward to biking, as Savai'i seems like such a long time ago, even though it only is 9 days since we returned from there.

We arrive in Brisbane, Australia Tuesday Oct. 16, via Sydney, and hope to get a bunch of posts published as soon as the pictures get uploaded.