Sunday, September 27, 2009

Samoa!

Living it up on the island of Upolu in Samoa


Location is everything says our beach hut


Mr Peacock and Mr Turtle



Hey everyone! Hope things are good wherever you are, whether it's turning to fall or mid spring already.

I just got back from an amazing holiday out in Samoa, super chill and laid back island culture. I travelled with my flatmate Sam for 8 days, over which I turned 25 years old. We explored both of the main islands spending many an hour upon the beach, both in the water and out. The hair was pretty salty by the end and the mattress was filled with sand every night. We spent the nights in open beach huts called Fales. No locks, no frills, just a mattress, sheet and mosquito net with thatch wall hangings to cover the sides if wanted and just a few steps away from the water.

Got to swim with 8 turtles out in a lagoon. Pretty friendly animals that come right up to you. Fun to swim around with them and get smacked in the back when wasn't looking. They'd often gain up on us, surrounding us and get in a good whack when we weren't looking. Fed them some papaya and they loved it.

Outside of Apia, the capital, we slid down a couple waterfalls which didn't look too safe, but turned out to be just grand. In the city we hit up the food market where you get fresh coconuts, taro, vegetables and fish. Just make sure you buy the fish from the place where they wave a fan around the keep the flies away.

Snorkelling was amazing, with schools of fish all around and bright blue starfish a shallow dive down. One of the places we stayed had a great coral reef just 15 feet out.

I helped cooked a traditional Samoan meal, starting with making fire by hand and using hot stones to cook the food. Using fresh coconuts that a guy climbed a 50 foot tree to get, along with fresh vegetables and fresh fish, we cooked the meal over the stones with lots of leaves on top keeping the heat in. Turned out to be a damn tasty meal along with the freshly cut coconuts which had been cut open for us.

Played some beach volleyball, met lots of cool people, saw several whales, ate lobster and crab caught off the shore and just lived it up. Now I'm back ready to rock in Wellington, NZ. Good to be back with some structure in the life, working at the same cafe and loving it. The visa extension is taking a few turns, but is nearing completion as my current visa runs out. Pretty soon I'll be all set to stay legally and enjoy my time down here in the coming summer, and then start planning a big trip up through Australia and SE Asia when the summer ends in March.

Here are some pics of the latest trip. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/JustusPB/Samoa#

Cheers,
Justus

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Off to Samoa

Tomorrow my flatmate Sam and I are off to Samoa. We leave Saturday at 10am from Wellington and get into Samoa Friday night at 9pm, so I'll get to have 2 Friday nights. When we come back I lose a Sunday night, a fair trade in my opinion thanks to the international dateline.

It's currently windy and rainy, so a perfect time to take off north to a more tropical south pacific island. Aim to be swimmin with turtles by this time tomorrow, with a volcano in the background.

I had a bout with the flu that kicked my butt and kept me in bed for 5 days, but now I'm back on top of my game, full of attitude and life. Good to be back and rocking, ready for the holiday.

Still working on getting my visa sorted out, luckily I got my passport back so I can leave the country, but it may be a bit tricky upon returning as my current visa ends the 30th of this month, a few days after I get back from Samoa.

I'll be turning 25 on holiday, celebrating by chilling on a beach and snorkeling around. Going to be cruisy.

Hope everyone is rocking and rolling.

Next time, pictures from Samoa and stories of the adventures.