Audacious Freedom Live anywhere. Travel everywhere.

Samoa is divided into a number of islands. The two main ones are Savaii and Upolu. Apia, the capital city, and the international airport are both based on Upolu. Our plan was to stay one week on Savaii and one week on Upolu. We didn’t want to go and just stay in one fale resort and do day trips. We wanted to really explore the different areas and experience the different villages’ way of life. One of the holiday fales we wanted to stay at on the most western point was 8km down a dusty road. No bus went out there and according to the reviews we read it was possible to catch a taxi, however, this was very expensive and meant waiting around until a taxi happened along.

We made the decision to hire a car. Having a car turned out to be an excellent decision. It gave us freedom to travel and explore without waiting for public transport. It meant we weren’t tied to bus schedules when we wanted to go to tourist sites or go diving.

Samoa is mainly a Christian country. Each village has at least one church but usually at least two or more churches. The churches and surrounding areas were always well kept and looked beautiful. Because they are mainly Christian it means that there are some customs that outsiders aren’t used to. One is the 6pm to 6:30pm quiet time. This time is set aside for reflection and relaxation. You will know that it has started by the church bells ringing. During this time it is expected that you will respect their quietness ie no hooting, loud radios, shouting or talking loudly. In some villages cars pull to the side of the road during that time and it is not unknown for villagers to sit in the road during this half hour.  It also means that on Sundays most of the shops are closed – so buy food in advance if you are there over a Sunday. We did find resort shops and restaurants open but some of the cafes and most of the shops in the capital city were closed all day.

Most Samoans live in fales. These consist of a wooden platform, a roof and shutters made from woven palm leaves which could be rolled up or left down for a bit of privacy. Most Samoans seemed to leave the sides open. It was fascinating driving past all these homes and being able to see everything they possessed from TVs to microwaves. Even stranger was seeing them sleeping in the evenings without walls.

Each village also has a meeting house. There is a self governing hierarchy within villages and the chiefs, talking chiefs and heads of families meet once a week to discuss family and village matters. If you ever get invited into a meeting house remember to take your shoes off, don’t enter if a chief is present and if the chief invites you make sure you sit – don’t stand around and when you sit make sure your feet are covered or at least pointing away from the chief. It is considered disrespectful to be higher than the chief.

Each island had their own unique beauty and attractiveness. Of the two islands I preferred Savaii; it seemed less pressurized, more colourful, beautiful and less influenced by the west. It is good to experience the capital city but now that I have been there once, if I go again I would head straight for Savaii. We spent three nights in Apia, the capital (situated on Upolu). Apia is a typical third world city, there is a lot of litter lying around, it is run down and dirty. The people make up for it though – they are friendly and colourfully dressed. If we planned it again we would have stayed for a maximum of two nights. There is a lot of interesting things to see like the museums and the Pablo Marine Reserve, but we would rather have spent more time in Savaii.