O le taeao ina ua uma le sauniga o le kava

Samoa extreme

I have spent the past few days in a dreamy and remote resort with a beautiful beach. At first, it was poorly visited with only three guests, but by the end of the week, it became crowded. A fun and nice group of six friends, consisting of three Germans, one Australian, and one Brit, appeared.

Since I also wanted to visit Savaii, Samoa's second island, I made my way there. The Australian recommended a family that rents out Beach Fales. In the end, they were the only ones I could find on the internet. As soon as I arrived in Savaii, I quickly noticed that many things were not as developed as on Samoa's main island, Upolulu. The residents spoke English much worse, and the houses looked poorer. When I arrived at my resort, I initially thought it was closed, but a woman quickly came out of a house opposite and took me to a Fale. I was the only guest. A buffet dinner was quickly prepared for me, consisting of chicken, freshly caught white snapper, and lobster, which could have easily served an entire family. Then the head of the family came to have dinner with me and told me about his family and the facility in broken English. He also tried to explain the plan for the next day, but I couldn't understand it no matter how hard I tried. At around 7:30 pm, I was in my bed, and all the lights around me went out. Completely alone, no other person in the resort. The next morning, I was awakened by an equally abundant breakfast buffet, mainly consisting of local fruit and toast. Then the head of the family showed me the fruit and vegetable garden, the fish caught the day before, and his nephews who had to make coconut cream from the previous night's party. He, on the other hand, wanted to go to church with me. It was not easy for me to avoid it, so I explained that I still needed to go to the ATM to pay for my nights. In the evening, an Australian couple joined us who had gotten married the day before and shared their wedding cake with me.

The next day, I returned to my personal paradise, where I was enthusiastically greeted by the staff. This was celebrated with a rich kava ceremony and local beer. I was completely surprised that I had managed to get back to my Fale in one piece and write these lines the next morning. However, there were some losses. My neighbor injured his foot during the ceremony, but I was able to provide good care thanks to my first aid kit (thanks, dear aunt!). And I lost my toothbrush, which is still missing despite a large-scale search. I would love to tell you more about Samoa, but besides taking afternoon naps in my hammock, I don't experience much here. 

On Saturday, I will continue to chilly Auckland. Maybe. The airport is currently struggling with a shortage of kerosene, and several flights have been canceled. But there are definitely worse places to wait.