Next stop on our whistle stop tour of Samoa was Lalomanu Beach. We drove around the coast through many beautiful villages to the north and north east of the island before rounding the corner on to the south side and passing Namu'a where Adam and I paddled our Kayak.
Lalomanu beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Samoa with white sands and is an excellent spot for snorkelling and looking at the fish and coral. We had booked, or so I thought, to stay in the Taufua beach fales. Upon arrival though we found that our booking had been lost and so had to enter into some negotiation as to whether there were 2 rooms for us or not!! In the end Latika and Hedley were allocated a beach fale with views from out the tarpaulan to the sea and Adam and I took one of the fales set back a bit behind the others but with a small verandah and table that would be useful for drinks later on!
As the weather was not that warm (did I just say that?) we went for a walk exploring along the beach. You will see from the photos the massive clam shells we found and we also came back with bits of coral, shells and other treasures (which to be honest are at home now and smelling a bit fishey!!) We watched some of the local children race bottle tops down roads they had made in the sand and also looked to see what we could spot in the tide pools. Adam and Latika reakoned they spotted an eel .... Just a little one!
On the way back (Hedley was keeping an eye on the time and Happy 2 Hours was due to start) I decided it was time to tackle a Coconut tree so Latika pointed out a reasonable one and off I went to climb up it. It was a bit freaky and quite high up but with a bit of crawling and shimmying I managed to get close enough to the top that I couldn't turn back without picking a coconut! Grabbing hold of a sturdy frond I stood up and had to twist the coconut before it would fall down. Pretty happy with that. This nut was later named Louis (after Robert Louis Stevenson of course) but no matter how hard we tried no one would open it up for us (stupid dumb tourists climbing trees aye - jeeze!) I have now found out that that tree won't fruit again as women are not meant to climb. Oh well at least there are plenty of others here in Samoa!!
Happy 2 hours turned into a number of "blue" drinks for me and various other coctails for the others. The evening meal was great. Plenty of food served at one long table to all the guests around 7.00pm.
The next morning it was up for another "last supper" type breakfast before heading out to do some snorkelling. I was pleased that the day had dawned a bit sunnier than the one before however you will see photographic evidence of why it is not a good idea to fall asleep under the so called shade of a coconut tree!! You will see lots of underwater photos on Flickr too. What an amazing sight. Snorkelling around here is just fantastic and there is always something to look at. This time round I was particularly amazed at the schools of fish that swam below and around me. Close enough to touch. Awesome.
And what a way to top off a great day but to sit back for another Happy 2 Hours with netball friends Ray and Mary and their family who had come over to stay for a night. Many laughs and netball stories told this night as I'm sure you can imagine!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
On Holiday - Robert Louis Stevenson House and Museum
Well what a start to the holiday. A Faafa show and then a netball party? Thought it was about time to take our guests away for a few days for some rest and relaxation.
Monday morning (in the car and driving by 9.00am please Angela - and yes I made it!!) we headed off first stopping at the Robert Louis Stevenson house/museum. Lovely gardens and well manicured lawns. The weather was a bit cloudy and drizzly but that did not dampen our spirits - we were now on holiday. We paid our money and joined the tour of the house which was due to start in 10 minutes - that would be a Samoan 10 minutes which meant about 20!! Never mind it gave us time to look in the gift shop at the rather expensive souvenirs for sale.
The house was apparently damaged in a hurricane some years ago so had been completely rebuilt and refurnished. They had done an excellent job by following photos that were available of how the rooms used to look. We started off in the Tapa room with the lion (yes a real one) rug on the floor. Then it was upstairs to the bedrooms. Robert Louis Stevenson slept separately from his wife due to suffering from TB for most of his life. His bed was in his study which was also set up with a massive writing desk and many old editions of his books (which the librarian enjoyed looking through!) Fanny's room was lovely of course but the best bedroom in the house went to the mother who apparently complained so much about the heat downstairs that she was given the best room in the house upstairs with sea and garden views and plenty of space to spread out.
I was facinated with the old sewing machine they had set up there and there were also some great photos and drawings on the walls that really gave an idea of what it used to be like.
Coming back downstairs through the impressive dining room we saw a huge dining table and also a large safe which Robert apparently used to lock his jewels, money and whisky in. Wise man!!
Outside was a tiny tiny house which was the kitchen and I found it strange that large meals would be cooked in such a small space. Unfortunately it was not set up like the rest of the house so we couldn't see what that used to be like.
I'd recommend a visit here very interesting. If the weather had have been better then we may also have climbed the hill up the back of the house to Robert Louis Stevenson's grave site but we left that for another time. Robert lived in Samoa for the last 4 years of his life and died in the house.
Monday morning (in the car and driving by 9.00am please Angela - and yes I made it!!) we headed off first stopping at the Robert Louis Stevenson house/museum. Lovely gardens and well manicured lawns. The weather was a bit cloudy and drizzly but that did not dampen our spirits - we were now on holiday. We paid our money and joined the tour of the house which was due to start in 10 minutes - that would be a Samoan 10 minutes which meant about 20!! Never mind it gave us time to look in the gift shop at the rather expensive souvenirs for sale.
The house was apparently damaged in a hurricane some years ago so had been completely rebuilt and refurnished. They had done an excellent job by following photos that were available of how the rooms used to look. We started off in the Tapa room with the lion (yes a real one) rug on the floor. Then it was upstairs to the bedrooms. Robert Louis Stevenson slept separately from his wife due to suffering from TB for most of his life. His bed was in his study which was also set up with a massive writing desk and many old editions of his books (which the librarian enjoyed looking through!) Fanny's room was lovely of course but the best bedroom in the house went to the mother who apparently complained so much about the heat downstairs that she was given the best room in the house upstairs with sea and garden views and plenty of space to spread out.
I was facinated with the old sewing machine they had set up there and there were also some great photos and drawings on the walls that really gave an idea of what it used to be like.
Coming back downstairs through the impressive dining room we saw a huge dining table and also a large safe which Robert apparently used to lock his jewels, money and whisky in. Wise man!!
Outside was a tiny tiny house which was the kitchen and I found it strange that large meals would be cooked in such a small space. Unfortunately it was not set up like the rest of the house so we couldn't see what that used to be like.
I'd recommend a visit here very interesting. If the weather had have been better then we may also have climbed the hill up the back of the house to Robert Louis Stevenson's grave site but we left that for another time. Robert lived in Samoa for the last 4 years of his life and died in the house.
Miss Drag Queen 2008
Latika and Hedley had just arrived at 5.40am Friday morning but we thought they shouldn't miss a classic Samoan cultural show - the Miss Drag queen 2008. Adam and I worked through the day and left our guests to rest and catch up on some sleep, apparently the flight over was a bit bumpy and not very restful.
Friday night and we headed out the the Hotel Kitano where the competition was being held. There were 14 contestants and the show was absolutely hilarious. Quite a mixture of Faafas - some very feminine - some very masculine! We were treated to a number of lip-synched songs but the best category was the "what you want to be when you grow up" category with a sniper, photographer, lawyer, business woman but the best of all was the astronaut! This was the costume replicated by Hedley the next night when we held the Miss Hyundai Competition at our house - complete with vacuum cleaner pipe and bike helmet. I tell no lies. Guess who Latika wanted to be? Yep - the sniper!!
The outfits were elaborate with much floaty chiffon and glitter and glam. Not sure we agreed with the final winners but it was an excellent night out and we sure got our quota of laughter medicine.
Friday night and we headed out the the Hotel Kitano where the competition was being held. There were 14 contestants and the show was absolutely hilarious. Quite a mixture of Faafas - some very feminine - some very masculine! We were treated to a number of lip-synched songs but the best category was the "what you want to be when you grow up" category with a sniper, photographer, lawyer, business woman but the best of all was the astronaut! This was the costume replicated by Hedley the next night when we held the Miss Hyundai Competition at our house - complete with vacuum cleaner pipe and bike helmet. I tell no lies. Guess who Latika wanted to be? Yep - the sniper!!
The outfits were elaborate with much floaty chiffon and glitter and glam. Not sure we agreed with the final winners but it was an excellent night out and we sure got our quota of laughter medicine.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Party Time
On the 13th September we played our second to last netball games and finished off with a party at our house on the Saturday night. Incidentally the season has now ended (I hear you breathe a sigh of relief!) but that will not be the end of the netball stories as the Business House competition is about to start :-) (I hear you groan!)
Anyway back to the important stuff, the party. We invited everyone from the 3 Hyundai teams around to our place for a BBQ. It has become the tradition to go to someone's house on a Saturday night for a bit of a do so we (correction I) figured it was about time we paid back the hospitality.
Latika and Hedley had arrived the day before so we geared them up for a bit of fun! In the morning Adam, Hedley and Latika headed to the markets to get supplies for the evening while I dutifully headed to netball to play and umpire. Luckily they bumped into Mary who had managed to clean out all of the sausages available in the supermarket for the BBQ and so avoided a panic!! WHAT NO SAUSAGES LEFT!!! Anyway they managed to get some beef.
The party began just before 6.00pm when a ute came driving down our road piled with boys on the back!! Unfortunately for us they had all been to one of the church bazaars and had begun drinking Vailima during the afternoon. Hence they made a very hungry arrival and managed to polish off a few bowls off chips and dip!
Our next guests also turned up from the bazaar and brought with them a whole pig that had been cooked in the umu and won in an auction. I was a bit worried that we had far too much food but I majorly underestimated the apetite of the Samoan male - they polished off all the food and were asking for more when they left at 1.00am!
Anyway it was a great party. As you can see from the photos our resident guests from NZ joined in the fun. Latika now has many more "sisters" than she had before in the faafines and also won the Miss Hyundai competition as Miss Fiji!! Actually the Miss Hyundai competition was hilarious. Miss Australia (aka Holly) played a mean digeridoo on a Vailima beer bottle and had us all in stitches and Hedley (aka Miss NZ) managed to re-model our vacuum cleaner hose and bike helmet into a replica of the space man outfit we saw at the Miss Drag Queen 2008 show on Friday night!
I had warned the neighbours about any noise before the night began which was lucky as those Faafa's in our club sure have great singing voices and put them into practice. We had many renditions of Samoan songs as well as some attempted Maori ones including the Haka with made up words where appropriate. The singing is usually accompanied by traditional Samonan Siva (dancing).
Managed to pack up the chairs around 1.00am and then run a free taxi for the "hangers on" home to get rid of them and so we were in bed late but not too late. A great night was had by all and the Samoan Grape Vine meant that even others down at the netball court had heard about the party a week later!
Anyway back to the important stuff, the party. We invited everyone from the 3 Hyundai teams around to our place for a BBQ. It has become the tradition to go to someone's house on a Saturday night for a bit of a do so we (correction I) figured it was about time we paid back the hospitality.
Latika and Hedley had arrived the day before so we geared them up for a bit of fun! In the morning Adam, Hedley and Latika headed to the markets to get supplies for the evening while I dutifully headed to netball to play and umpire. Luckily they bumped into Mary who had managed to clean out all of the sausages available in the supermarket for the BBQ and so avoided a panic!! WHAT NO SAUSAGES LEFT!!! Anyway they managed to get some beef.
The party began just before 6.00pm when a ute came driving down our road piled with boys on the back!! Unfortunately for us they had all been to one of the church bazaars and had begun drinking Vailima during the afternoon. Hence they made a very hungry arrival and managed to polish off a few bowls off chips and dip!
Our next guests also turned up from the bazaar and brought with them a whole pig that had been cooked in the umu and won in an auction. I was a bit worried that we had far too much food but I majorly underestimated the apetite of the Samoan male - they polished off all the food and were asking for more when they left at 1.00am!
Anyway it was a great party. As you can see from the photos our resident guests from NZ joined in the fun. Latika now has many more "sisters" than she had before in the faafines and also won the Miss Hyundai competition as Miss Fiji!! Actually the Miss Hyundai competition was hilarious. Miss Australia (aka Holly) played a mean digeridoo on a Vailima beer bottle and had us all in stitches and Hedley (aka Miss NZ) managed to re-model our vacuum cleaner hose and bike helmet into a replica of the space man outfit we saw at the Miss Drag Queen 2008 show on Friday night!
I had warned the neighbours about any noise before the night began which was lucky as those Faafa's in our club sure have great singing voices and put them into practice. We had many renditions of Samoan songs as well as some attempted Maori ones including the Haka with made up words where appropriate. The singing is usually accompanied by traditional Samonan Siva (dancing).
Managed to pack up the chairs around 1.00am and then run a free taxi for the "hangers on" home to get rid of them and so we were in bed late but not too late. A great night was had by all and the Samoan Grape Vine meant that even others down at the netball court had heard about the party a week later!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Teuila Festival 2008
Last week was the Teuila (pronounced Tu-eela) festival for 2008. It doesn't seem to take much for the Samoans to put on a festival which is great. Lots of entertainment and excitement. Anyway the Teuila is the flower that grows on top of the ginger plant (picture on Flickr) and seems to come in 2 shades, a fuchia pink and a pale pink. This is the national flower of Samoa.
During the week long festivities there was fautasi boat racing, craft stalls, umu demonstrations and performances during the evening by many different culture groups and bands etc. It wasn't until last Friday, the last day of the festival, that I managed to have a day off work and get into town to soak up some of the atmosphere.
I couldn't resist texting Mum to say that I was sitting in the sun with the warm breeze on my back waiting for the Miss Samoa float parade to go past!! While waiting many people stopped to say hello, or Morning, to me including a policeman and I got various waves from people driving past. I think it was the palagi legs shining bright in the sunlight that got their attention.
Anyway in true Samoan Style an hour after the parade was meant to have been and I still hadn't seen it go past so I decided to move on and check out some other things. I came across the St Josephs School students getting ready for their performance. They were pretty impressive dressed in their palm frond skirts and carrying wooden spears. There were lots of them and they were singing and chanting so managed to get some pictures and a couple of movies of them.
I also checked out the stalls that were set up behind the information fale. Some nice craft works on display there for reasonable prices.
In the evening Adam, I and our friend Nicola went to the Miss Samoa pageant. After grabbing a nice dinner at the yacht club (that's the club with no yachts!!) we went to the EFKS youth hall in Mulinuu and joined a few hundred other people for the show. I had been warned that the show could go on for a few hours so we were prepared! Anyway it was lots of fun. There were 9 contestants including Miss Samoa NZ and in between the contestants coming on stage we had Siva Afi fire knife dancing, singers and dancers. The show went for 4 1/4 hours!!! Actually I didn't once get bored but felt a bit sorry for the young children there who were asleep in their parents arms or crying as they would like to be asleep somewhere!
The contestants all introduced themselves then appeared in traditionally inspired attire, sarong attire and puletasi (skirt and top). There were prizes for the designers of these costumes. They also had to do the talent category and had most of us in stitches with their performances which were well thought out and performed. Miss Rugby Union came out complete in her rugby outfit and performed a skit with a whistle in her mouth and goal posts as her props. As seems to be the thing here in Samoa the interviews were OK but nearing disaster! The girls all seemed to struggle to say anything sensible but got there in the end. Our friend Miss Rugby Union managed to admit to being a bit over rugby as it is everywhere in Samoa!!
Anway the winner at the end of the night was Miss Samoa USA - Miss Gwendolyn Tuaitanu. She was lovely and definately completed the interview section the best plus had a great singing voice for the talent category. I am sure she is going to be a great ambassador for Samoa and undertake her duties with enthusiasm and expertise. It is a pity to see the 2007-2008 Miss Samoa - Miss Sherry Elekana - end her reign as she is definitely lovely and we have seen her out and about during the time we have been here so the winner is obviously kept very busy during her 1 year reign.
Anyway I was amazed to see Adam was still awake at the end of the pageant. We hear that next week is the Miss Tuity Fruity where the Faafafines compete for the title of Miss Drag Queen. That should be a right laugh especially as we know some of the people involved from netball!!
Well must sign off for now. Speak to you again soon probably after Latika and Hedley's visit. They arrive this Friday - yay.
Angela
During the week long festivities there was fautasi boat racing, craft stalls, umu demonstrations and performances during the evening by many different culture groups and bands etc. It wasn't until last Friday, the last day of the festival, that I managed to have a day off work and get into town to soak up some of the atmosphere.
I couldn't resist texting Mum to say that I was sitting in the sun with the warm breeze on my back waiting for the Miss Samoa float parade to go past!! While waiting many people stopped to say hello, or Morning, to me including a policeman and I got various waves from people driving past. I think it was the palagi legs shining bright in the sunlight that got their attention.
Anyway in true Samoan Style an hour after the parade was meant to have been and I still hadn't seen it go past so I decided to move on and check out some other things. I came across the St Josephs School students getting ready for their performance. They were pretty impressive dressed in their palm frond skirts and carrying wooden spears. There were lots of them and they were singing and chanting so managed to get some pictures and a couple of movies of them.
I also checked out the stalls that were set up behind the information fale. Some nice craft works on display there for reasonable prices.
In the evening Adam, I and our friend Nicola went to the Miss Samoa pageant. After grabbing a nice dinner at the yacht club (that's the club with no yachts!!) we went to the EFKS youth hall in Mulinuu and joined a few hundred other people for the show. I had been warned that the show could go on for a few hours so we were prepared! Anyway it was lots of fun. There were 9 contestants including Miss Samoa NZ and in between the contestants coming on stage we had Siva Afi fire knife dancing, singers and dancers. The show went for 4 1/4 hours!!! Actually I didn't once get bored but felt a bit sorry for the young children there who were asleep in their parents arms or crying as they would like to be asleep somewhere!
The contestants all introduced themselves then appeared in traditionally inspired attire, sarong attire and puletasi (skirt and top). There were prizes for the designers of these costumes. They also had to do the talent category and had most of us in stitches with their performances which were well thought out and performed. Miss Rugby Union came out complete in her rugby outfit and performed a skit with a whistle in her mouth and goal posts as her props. As seems to be the thing here in Samoa the interviews were OK but nearing disaster! The girls all seemed to struggle to say anything sensible but got there in the end. Our friend Miss Rugby Union managed to admit to being a bit over rugby as it is everywhere in Samoa!!
Anway the winner at the end of the night was Miss Samoa USA - Miss Gwendolyn Tuaitanu. She was lovely and definately completed the interview section the best plus had a great singing voice for the talent category. I am sure she is going to be a great ambassador for Samoa and undertake her duties with enthusiasm and expertise. It is a pity to see the 2007-2008 Miss Samoa - Miss Sherry Elekana - end her reign as she is definitely lovely and we have seen her out and about during the time we have been here so the winner is obviously kept very busy during her 1 year reign.
Anyway I was amazed to see Adam was still awake at the end of the pageant. We hear that next week is the Miss Tuity Fruity where the Faafafines compete for the title of Miss Drag Queen. That should be a right laugh especially as we know some of the people involved from netball!!
Well must sign off for now. Speak to you again soon probably after Latika and Hedley's visit. They arrive this Friday - yay.
Angela
Frangipani Update
Hello All
Well Adam and I are both feeling a lot better now although Adam is still suffering from the Dengue side effects a bit. He gets pretty tired but is definitely on the mend which is great. I played netball yesterday and WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I know. That was like a minor miracle really especially as we had only 6 players on the court! Means we get up off the bottom of the table though and with a bit more luck we will beat one of the other teams too before the end of the season (in 2 weeks time) so will end up about 4th overall.
Anyway I wanted to give you an update on my frangipani. I have uploaded a couple of photos for you. My bare sticks that are stuck in yogurt pots and are sitting on the kitchen bench have begun to sprout much to Adam's amazement!!! He did not believe that bits of stick would grow. Anway I have been talking nicely to the sticks and now we have results!! When they get a bit bigger I will transplant them to pots outside on our verandah. I have managed to score a maroon colour, pink with orange centre, another pink from the tree at work and the traditional white with yellow centre. Can't wait for them to start flowering. I'm eyeing up a yellow one but so far haven't plucked up the courage to go raiding bits of stick from in someones front yard - will have to wait til the dead of night!!
Oh yes and just to finish off with I've put up a picture of a bloody big spider that went running into the bathroom from our bedroom (hate to think what happens when I'm asleep) the other night and freaked me out!! (Photo for Virginia!!)
Well Adam and I are both feeling a lot better now although Adam is still suffering from the Dengue side effects a bit. He gets pretty tired but is definitely on the mend which is great. I played netball yesterday and WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes I know. That was like a minor miracle really especially as we had only 6 players on the court! Means we get up off the bottom of the table though and with a bit more luck we will beat one of the other teams too before the end of the season (in 2 weeks time) so will end up about 4th overall.
Anyway I wanted to give you an update on my frangipani. I have uploaded a couple of photos for you. My bare sticks that are stuck in yogurt pots and are sitting on the kitchen bench have begun to sprout much to Adam's amazement!!! He did not believe that bits of stick would grow. Anway I have been talking nicely to the sticks and now we have results!! When they get a bit bigger I will transplant them to pots outside on our verandah. I have managed to score a maroon colour, pink with orange centre, another pink from the tree at work and the traditional white with yellow centre. Can't wait for them to start flowering. I'm eyeing up a yellow one but so far haven't plucked up the courage to go raiding bits of stick from in someones front yard - will have to wait til the dead of night!!
Oh yes and just to finish off with I've put up a picture of a bloody big spider that went running into the bathroom from our bedroom (hate to think what happens when I'm asleep) the other night and freaked me out!! (Photo for Virginia!!)
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