Apia, Samoa

Today we were in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Apia has about 36,000 inhabitants and is quite busy. The harbor has a large container terminal and there is quite a bit of traffic. However, the same can be found on much smaller islands.

The weather is quite laundry-like, meaning hot and humid, sometimes alternating between scorching sun and rain and clouds. The camera is having quite a hard time with that. Even on the other islands, neither the camera nor the iPhone 16 handled the harsh shadows well. Here, the lenses also fog up, both on the phone and the camera.

Today we took a hike from the museum to the grave of Robert Louis Stevenson. He is the author of many books, including Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The grave is located on a mountain that can be reached through a rainforest. The climb is somewhat strenuous given the heat and humidity. Depending on the perspective, the locals say they have either none or two seasons. Part of the year is referred to as the cooler dry season and the other as the hotter wet season. Even in the dry season, it warms up to only around 27°C, and in the wet season, it exceeds 30°C.

The island seems well-kept. There is little litter around, and all houses and streets are lined with flowers and other beautiful plants. Every house, even the shabbiest, has at least one equally large outbuilding. This has a roof supported by columns, no outer walls, only roll-up shutters, and is used for family or other gatherings. If there are five houses in one place, four of them are also churches.

There are public buses that are very colorfully painted and have no windows. The public buildings are quite stately. In general, they have been funded by the major powers seeking to strengthen their influence.

Samoa is very religious. On Sundays, no work is done, and nothing else happens except going to church. They write Bible verses on cars, at the roadside, and on other items, people dress from neck to knee, men are forbidden to wear beards in many villages, and there is an 'immaculate' café. They are religiously tolerant, with many different Christian churches, and even Muslims (less than 1%), but no Buddhists, Hindus, or Jews.