Saturday, January 17 – transit from Apia to Si’umu

Today I’m crossing the island (north to south) to stay at a resort in the town of Si’umu. I’m typically not a resort guy (probably to cheap), but it’s only for two nights, so I thought I’d check it out.

It’s about a 30 minute drive to get there, so I asked the hotel to get me a price for a taxi. 80 Tala. What? That’s more than I paid to get from the airport, which is further away. You may recall that earlier in the week I walked by the bus depot and mentioned that I might use the local bus to make the cross island journey. Well, I’m going for it! (My hotel reception person here in Apia thinks I must be a little off; I probably am!).

I checked out of the hotel at 9:45am, and made it to the bus depot a little before 10am. Written down on a piece of paper I had the name of the bus I needed, and the name of the resort where I was staying. I asked around at the depot, and was pleasantly surprised at how helpful the locals were – walking around with me to look for the bus; asking others its status. Amazing!

It turns out I didn’t have to wait very long for my bus. It showed up at 10:10. And it was packed! There was a seat available near the front though, and I was able to put my bag in the aisle. And the passengers on the bus were super nice. As I was getting on the there was a man seated at the front who confirmed I was on the correct bus, and after I sat down the women seated behind me checked to make sure I was sorted. Wow! I was blown away. I ended up talking a bit with Lani (the woman behind me) throughout the trip. Although it was difficult at times because there was loud music playing constantly! She kind of explained the idiosyncrasies of the journey, and her stop was past mine, so she would be able to point out when I should get off the bus.

I soon realized that, for many of the passengers, this bus was used as a means of transporting goods. There was a stack of lumber running down the aisle (4x4s, 12′ long), and something was stored under pretty much every seat. One passenger, as he was exiting, stopped at my seat and pulled out a couple cans of paint from underneath.

Besides the normal stops along the route, the bus also made the following diversions:

• Gas station for a fill up
• Local store – we stopped here and people got off the bus to go shopping and then got back on. About a 15 minute stop. Lani exited and said I was welcome to join her if I wanted to get something to drink, but I passed.
• Drop off of aforementioned lumber

As we approached my resort Lani made sure the driver was aware I was exiting, and another passenger helped me with my bag. What an amazing experience! I’m so glad I did this! Samoans are awesome!

(Apologies, I didn’t take any pictures during the trip. As I said, the bus was packed, and I thought it would be rude to take photos along the way.)

So, we left the bus depot at 10:10 and arrived at my resort at 11:50. Besides our diversions, another reason for the lengthy journey was the fact that we descending very slowly down to the south side of the island. The driver basically kept the bus in low gear the whole time. Kind of a long trip, but the time flew by.

And the cost? 5 Tala (a little less than 2 USD). Lani told me how much to pay…

Sidenote: Lani works in Apia, but returns to her home village on the weekends, which is very close to the resort where I was staying. She invited me to attend her village’s church service the following day. It was tempting, but when she told me it lasts 3 hours, I decided to decline her invitation. (probably something I’ll regret)

My bus stop, and my accommodation for the next two nights. Sinalei Reef Resort & Spa.

The outdoor shower (and bathroom) is kind of fun at first. But then there’s the bug issue, especially in the evenings. (I will say the sun warming the soap dispensers was an interesting experience – warm soap and shampoo! I liked it.)

The following are some random pictures from around the resort…

I couldn’t check-in until 2pm. So, after getting settled in it was time for afternoon tea. With some mini quiche. Yumm. And I was the only one there!

This is a view from the pier where I’m staying back towards the neighboring resort.

…not great, but I’ll take it! (I’d be a jerk if I complained about the quality of the sunset that I’m lucky enough to experience in Samoa!)

And it felt like those clouds at the top of the picture were right above me. Like a couple hundred feet overhead. Weird! (maybe they were…)

Well, this was a great day. The bus ride was amazing, and this resort is beautiful!

See you tomorrow…