Yum!!!!

After breakfast, we formally checked in at Reception, and were offered apologies as they could not put us in a Beachfront Fale (bungalow) as they were fully booked.  With many apologies, they offered us one of the Over-the-Water Fales.  Wait a minute.  You are offering to put us in an Overwater Bungalow and apologizing about it?  Well, OK.  We accept your apologies, but just this once!

The Over-the-Water Fale is truly a once in a lifetime experience.  The walkway delivers you to one of two Fales, built in traditional Samoan style.  There is a sitting area with a couch (that converted to Travel Boy's bed), a king size bed facing out to the large glass doors and amazing views, a large open bathroom with shower and soaking tub, and a large overwater deck where you can sit and relax, spotting fish in the water, and later in the day, witness an amazing Samoan tropical sunset.  We can't speak highly enough of the Overwater experience, and we can only hope that our next visit to Coconuts ends up in apologies and an overwater bungalow . . .


Our Overwater Bungalow

Now, Samoa Culture Day is, in a word, remarkable.  Albert is a large (and I mean large), lovely, caring, thoughtful Samoan man who taught us and fellow guests many things about Samoan family life, ancient Samoan cultures, food and drink, and so much more. Albert entertained us with amazing stories. We learned of the importance of the coconut to island life; the strong focus on family in Samoa; we had a kava ceremony in a traditional fale; Albert told of his 8-week ordeal in having his traditional Samoan tattoo made (lets just say it involves a sharp pig bone, ink, and loads of excruciating pain); and he and his friends made us a Samoan feast. They cooked fresh fish, coconut milk, vegetables, and even a suckling pig. All of us in attendance had to learn to weave our own plate, using palm fronds.  We were served this feast along with a Samoan napkin (a leaf!).  It was simply an amazing learning, and fun experience.  Albert and his friends did an amazing job.  And, the cost for this Samoan Culture Day?  Free.


Albert & Friends - notice his traditional tattoo

After lunch, we took a tour of the neighboring village of Maninoa.  Cute kids, traditional Samoan Fales, and quiet village life.  Dinner that night continued with the Samoan culture theme, as there was an after-dinner fire knife dance show.  And this was just our first day in Samoa. Simply amazing.

Day two started off with some more pancakes, great coffee, and a plan to simply relax and hang out.  Travel Boy discovered the thousands of hermit crabs in the wading pools by the beach, and spent hours building small crab enclosures made of sand.  Travel Gal and I relaxed around the pool and beach, with promises that we would snorkel and kayak sometime during the week. 

All suites and bungalows include a free minibar. It is a self-service mini bar.  Each room has a woven basket, and when brought to the main beach bar, gets filled every day with a carafe of wine, two local Vailima beers, two sodas, and two bottles of water.  We never finished our daily minibar rations, but most of our neighbors took it as a challenge to polish off their mini bars well before afternoon happy hour.  Speaking of happy hour, it was a great time to sit and meet people from all over the globe.  Everyone is happy and talkative when they have a nice cold coconut drink in front of them.

As a surprise, I purchased a massage for Travel Gal in the brand new Coco Spa, which is one of the nicest island resort spa facilities I have seen.  Travel Gal emerged from the Spa completely and utterly relaxed, and pretty much useless for the rest of the day!

That evening, we enjoyed yet another amazing dinner.  From what I have heard and read, Coconuts features the islands best restaurant, and we can certainly attest that we did not have one even mediocre meal.  The food was fresh, the presentation was top notch, and the 'Samoan inspired' dishes were served in traditional plates woven from palm fronds.  We always pride ourselves on remembering vacations by the meals we ate.  There will be no problem for us remembering our meals at Coconuts.

The next morning, we rented a small Suzuki jeep to explore this beautiful island.  When Travel Boy hopped in the jeep, he noticed the hand crank window handles and couldn't get over the fact that you could open the windows this way.  He asked if we could get a car with these old fashioned cranks. HA!

Our tour of the island was pretty extensive.  We visited several breathtaking waterfalls, the fascinating Robert Louis Stephenson Museum, the shops and markets in Apia, a refreshing cave pool, some deserted beaches, the breathtaking To Sua Trench, and more.

As is customary when visiting sights on private land, it is appropriate to pay a small 'fee' to the landowner.  We visited an amazing waterfall, and the owner of the land took us to the top of the waterfall for a frightening look down.  After returning to our car, he asked us for his small contribution. When offered a larger denomination of Samoan Tala, he told us in his very limited English that he had no change.  He then advised us to drive down to the nearby market and get change.  He told us to take his 12 year old daughter with us (for fear we wouldn't return with money?).  Now, just imagine, a place where you feel confident enough to send your young daughter with strangers.  She was a beautiful girl, and enthusiastically spoke with Travel Boy in the back seat during our ride. After purchasing some water for us, and candy for the kids back at her house, we returned and paid our fee.


One of MANY breathtaking waterfalls in Samoa

Our next stop was the To Sua Trench. I did not have a chance to visit this on my first trip to Samoa and was so looking forward to seeing it.  Now, this is a very difficult place to describe.  Imagine if you can, a tall cliff at the ocean's edge.  On top of this cliff, is an unassuming grassy area, with beautiful gardens.  Amonst these gardens are two enormous holes in the earth.  Looking down from the edge, you see a large hole with water at the bottom.  A short and steep path brings you to a home-made ladder, made by lashing two telephone poles together with 2x4 steps, leading to a small concrete landing.  Now, I have never been a fan of heights.  But I was made more anxious by watching Travel Boy climb down this ladder, with seemingly no fear at all.  There is simply NO WAY this ladder and access would have been allowed in our we-must-protect-us-from-ourselves America!


(not our best Parenting decision . . .)

Once down in the trench, the water was cool and refreshing. We could hear the crashing sea on the other side of the cliff, and we could feel the water rise and lower with the incoming waves. It was a very strange feeling indeed.  We swam through the cave until we came to the other giant 'hole' and looked up to the sky.  Floating on our backs, we relaxed in the water, listening to the creaks and moans of the cave, as water surged in from an ocean we could only imagine.  Really relaxing, very freaky, and incredibly cool.

A quick drive to the west coast brought us by many traditional villages, some small beach fale resorts, and some of the prettiest white sand beaches we have seen.  We did make it back to Coconuts before dark (JUST before dark), and were a bit disappointed as we barely missed the wedding ceremony for two of our new friends at the resort.  Oh well, we were able to see some photos and hear strories over dinner.

Tomorrow, we are off to the other main island - Savaii, which is much less developed (not that Upolu is particularly developed in the first place!), and promises to be an adventure.