Sunday, January 18 – Si’umu

Not a lot to report today. It was basically a day of relaxation – swimming (pool & ocean, reading, laying around, being lazy). Kind of boring. Sorry!

Breakfast, 1st course. Also had some muesli with a Lady Finger (small) banana and milk.

Travel Note: There aren’t a huge amount of guests here, and they are nothing like the ones I encountered on Wayasewa Island. There is no interest in interacting with others. Kind of too bad. I suppose it’s a reflection of the disparity between the two accommodations – one rustic with family style seating at meals, and the other more upscale with small dining tables.

(Although, at breakfast I did have a nice, but brief, conversation with a high school age boy from Auckland.)

I had a fun encounter with one of the resort staff today. It turns out he was the man seated at the front of the bus yesterday who confirmed I was, in fact, on the correct bus. He got off the bus before me, so I didn’t have a chance to properly thank him. And then we ran into each other today. Very nice! And he passed on a story that further adds to the Samoan’s legacy of kindness: Apparently the bus was about to leave the Apia depot without me yesterday (not knowing I was nearby waiting), but one of the staff radioed the driver, telling him to wait for another passenger to get onboard (me!). Amazing…

Samoa Facts for Travelers

• Vehicles operate on the left side of the road (like in the UK)
• Samoan is the main language spoken, but every local I interacted with also spoke English
• Electrical outlets are the same as Australia
• I’ve been told the tap water is drinkable, but haven’t tried (risked) it

There were actually 8 of us at afternoon tea today! (it was raining on and off, so maybe that’s why) No interaction though, just silos. (I know, I could have broken the ice, so I shouldn’t complain!) Today’s snack is a type of fried sweet bread, not sure what it’s called…not bad!

Sadly, it was rainy a sunset; no pictures to pass along today.

Monday, January 19 – transit from Si’umu to Apia

I’m returning to the Tauese Seaview Hotel for one night before flying back to Fiji tomorrow.

It’s amazingly quiet here today; hardly anybody at breakfast. The low season in Samoa…

I was hoping to catch the resort’s shuttle into Apia this morning. However, it only runs when they need to make a grocery run, which isn’t today (I’m guessing the lack of guests here has something to do with that). So, instead of paying 40 Tala (15 USD) for the shuttle, it’ll be 70 for a taxi. (Errrg!)

I know what you’re thinking…Why not take the bus back to Apia? Well, it’s a little more problematic making the return trip. There’s only one bus that makes the loop north and south, and the schedule is rather random. Waiting it out at the bus depot in Apia wouldn’t be too bad, because it has places to sit (with shade), and food & beverage stands. For the return, I’d just be standing out in the sun at the entrance to the resort, waiting for the bus to come by.

Check out here at the resort is 11am. Check in at the Tauese Seaview isn’t until 2pm. The taxi to Apia takes about 30 minutes. Soooo….

I decided to hang out at the resort until 1:30pm and get a little travel-related work done. Not a bad office!

Travel Note: I’ve been using my credit card a bit in Fiji and Samoa, and pretty much all of the merchants have added a 3-4% surcharge to the cost. I’m not bothered by that. Fortunately the credit card I use does not charge a foreign transaction fee, so that helps.

After settling in at my hotel, I ended up watching the 4th quarter and overtime of the Bears-Rams playoff game via the Peacock app on my iPad (thanks to the strong WiFi at the hotel!). A rare occasion when I’m happy that a major sporting event is being broadcast via a streaming network!

Tuesday, January 20 – transit from Samoa to Fiji

My flight back to Nadi wasn’t until 4pm. With the one hour ride to the airport, I booked a hotel shuttle for 12:30pm (Cost: 60 Tala). And they provided me with a late checkout, which was nice. The woman at reception told me it was “On the House”, which I thought was pretty funny – a very American phrase coming from a Samoan!

I did just a little walking around in the morning…

This is the interior of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, which is next door to my hotel. (I posted an exterior photo in an earlier Journal Entry)

Time to say goodbye to Samoa…

When I checked my bag here in the departures area, the Fiji Airways agent did ask me if I had ticket to depart Fiji (since today I was on the return leg of a round trip). Not unexpected…

The two hour flight back to Nadi on the 737 was about 2/3 full. And I had a full row to myself. Nice! We were served a tasty grilled chicken salad, and I had a glass of wine (with a refill!). A little better than what we’d get on a two hour flight from a U.S. airline! (Of course, I need to remind myself that my round trip airfare was 400+ USD!)

Here are few pictures of the pretty views from the flight…

I’m back at the Hibiscus Suites for three nights, so that means my transport there from the airport will once again be via a city bus. Excellent!

And as a bonus, I had zero wait – a bus was at the stop as I walked out of the airport! Plus, it wasn’t very crowded.

The view from my seat on the bus. And…

… a self-portrait in the rear view mirror!