Samoa (previously called Western Samoa) is the sister of American Samoa, but feels very different. Whereas American Samoa has a tight connection to the US, Samoa is an independent country.
Samoa used to be a colony of Germany and New Zealand, before it became independent in 1962. The Samoans have developed a healthy tourist industry, and it is easy to fly here from New Zealand and Australia.
We sailed from American Samoa to Samoa during a short overnight passage, and arrived early in the morning on a Sunday. However, we left American Samoa on a Friday, and since we had to cross the dateline on our way there, we lost a Saturday.
We were very happy to learn that the authorities allowed us to check into the country on a weekend, especially since the next day was a public holiday. So, instead of sitting and waiting on our boat for two days, we were able to go ashore and start exploring right away.
Which, to be honest, wasn’t all that adventurous during the first few days… The captain caught a cold virus while in American Samoa, and was not feeling great. Soon, the admiral caught the bug as well. So, we spent the first few days more or less cooped up on our boat, reading up on all of the exciting things we could do.
When we eventually started exploring, we soon discovered just how good Samoans are at catering to tourists. We started by going to the tourist office, where we participated in a “getting to know Samoan culture” event. On our way there, we witnessed the police marching to the governmental building to raise the flag. This happens every week day at 9:00 in the morning.
We then continued to the tourist office, where we witnessed several cultural traditions; ‘ava ceremony (a ceremonial beverage to mark an important occasion), traditional dances, tattooing session and the making of an “umu” (earth oven).
We rented a car for three days, and shared it with Jeanne and Dan from SV Lucky Dog. We drove through most of the main island, Upolu, and visited almost all of the attractions it offers. We started in town, where we visited the EFKS Museum associated with the local art university.
We continued driving around the island, and ended up lunching on a beautiful beach, Lalomanu Beach, which is voted the best beach in Samoa. It is famous for its surf waves, as well as offering great snorkeling.
Samoa is mostly covered in rainforest, and there are many waterfalls. The tallest one has a freefall of 100 meters. Several of them, we reached by walking through people’s gardens. The families had most often arranged a path, and for a small fee, we were allowed on their land. We met and interacted with a lot of super happy and warm islanders on our way.
Samoa is also famous for its volcanic trenches and caves you can swim in. To-Sua Ocean Trench means “giant swimming hole” in Samoan. It is quite an amazing spot. We walked into someone’s garden, and right next to their house, was a giant hole, with a fence around it. The trench itself is 30 meters deep, and there is a cave that makes it possible to swim through to the ocean.
The captain of course had to try it, and brought his flashlights and fins to make it happen. It is definitely not for everyone, and he had to swim against the current to get through.
Driving around, we again were mesmerized by all of the beautiful flowers and plants we see everywhere. No wonder Polynesians love to dress up wearing flowers in their hair and decorates with flowers. It is hard not to get inspired by all the vibrant colors and lovely shapes. Here is just a very narrow selection of them.
Samoans are not only excellent at making great experiences from their natural surroundings for tourists, they have also imported one of their tourist attractions. They have imported some giant clams, and made a tourist destination of them at sea. Together with the giant clams, were also smaller, local clams, in all kinds of vibrant colors. We were actually more mesmerized by them, with their eclectic patterns and beautiful colors.
We also enjoyed lots of fabulous restaurants and cozy cafes while in Samoa. We were so happy to go to air conditioned cafes for smoothies and lattes. It felt so civilized to be back in a cafe setting, and listening to the buzz around us.
Religion is very important in Samoa, just as everywhere else in Polynesia. There were so many churches, catering to so many different religions. Even some we had never heard about before. The Baháʼí Faith has one of only eight temples worldwide in Samoa. We visited their lovely grounds as the temple is open to the public.
We left Samoa after 10 days, and we easily could have stayed much longer. However, we are craving to be able to swim off our boat in pristine waters again. And, the season is quickly moving along. We are still going to explore Tonga, before we head to New Zealand before November 1st.
We went to the market in town, for a last round of provisioning fresh produce, as our next stop is a remote island in Toga, with only 700 inhabitants and no veggies available.
We left Samoa, thinking this is absolutely a place we would love to come back to. The people were so friendly and smiling. Everyone greeted us when we moved around, even downtown in the capital. We loved how the Samoans actively work to maintain their traditions and way of living, in combination of having a flourishing tourist industry.
