Day 42: Samoa!
Today, we're in Samoa. That's actually Saturday, February 17th, because we lost Friday as we crossed the International Date Line (see one of my prior posts). Samoa comprises two main islands - Upulo and Savai'i and two smaller islands named Manono and Apolima (plus a few uninhabited ones) with about 200,000 inhabitants. The islands are the classic volcanic left-behinds from a few million years ago. This means a large, mainly dormant volcano of about 4-6 thousand feet in the middle and steep slopes down to the sea. Mt. Matavanu in Savai'i blew its lid about 120 years ago, so it's still technically active, but...
According to the archeological record, the islands have been inhabited for over 3,000 years. Originally settled by those intrepid Polynesian explorers in their amazing catamarans. (Trivia: when caught in a major Pacific storm, these sailors would deliberately flood the hulls of their boats. The wood was still buoyant enough to keep them afloat, but it meant they didn't get so beat up by the waves and wind.) The islands of Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa form a triangle in the middle of the Pacific, and there was considerable interaction in the form of wars, invasions, inter-breeding and trading over the years.
One such example is the fale (fah-leh). They are rectangular open-air huts, usually made of corrugated iron, wood, and leaves. They can be very crude and simple if at a beach, very ornate if in someone's front yard, or very large and functional if they serve a village or church. It's not uncommon for large groups to meet in a fale, bring along mats, food, and music (maybe a few chairs for the elders), and party hearty.
The history of Samoa is intertwined with the British, Germans, and Americans over the last 150 years. Much like in American Samoa, the three powers duked it out, by proxy, for control of the islands. The Germans ended up in control at the end of the 19th century and did much to build the infrastructure and increase the efficiency of the local farmers. At the start of WW1, New Zealand was asked by the British to annex the islands as a matter of "vital national security." The Kiwis installed a governor who didn't pay much attention to the inhabitants, culminating in allowing a ship full of sailors to bypass quarantine in 1919 during the Spanish Flu pandemic. This resulted in over 1/3 of the natives dying. Eventually, in 1962, the island became the first in Polynesia to gain its independence as Western Samoa. It later became plain old Samoa in 1997 over the complaints of American Samoa. The president/prime minister also moved the country across the Date Line and switched which side of the road they drove on from the Right to the Left. Just because...
Meanwhile, we decided to mix culture and pleasure. Our morning was spent in a small minibus touring the south coast and hinterlands of the island. We visited the Sopoaga Falls in Matatufu Village. Beautiful! The viewing platform is on private land, so you must pay 5 tafu (not tofu, as per spellcheck) which is about $1.50 to enter. Even though the water descends almost 180ft, it's one of the quietest waterfalls I have ever heard.
After a few more stops, it was beach time. We'd decided there was no way we'd come to the South Pacific and NOT spend time on a beach. We ended up on the southern coast at Tafatafa Beach. Gorgeous! Protected from the waves by a coral reef several hundred offshore, it was exactly what you expect a Polynesian beach to be. Warm water, nice sand, and some local food. I walked the length of the beach and, at either end, saw no one for at least half a mile. Peace & Tranquility.
Sadly we had to leave early afternoon. On the way back, we stopped at a couple of other churches. More on that in a bit. We also tried for another waterfall, but it was "misted in" and totally invisible, and finally, the rain got us at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. Back to the churches. So I've complained about the amount of money directed at churches instead of useful and needed infrastructure and support programs. The way this works is by guilt and shame. The churches post, right at the entrance, a list of who gave how much to the church each month. It's a weird status symbol. Admittedly weird, from my viewpoint, but not the native Samoans. Aside from being in the medical profession, the best job on the island is a pastor/priest/rabbi, etc. The local saying is that "the pastor's kid is always the fattest."
Pics below are one of the local churches, the front of a house with a gravestone (hidden), and me having fun with the waterfall.
Tomorrow is a sea day - and then Fiji!!
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