Virgin Cove

For two nights we stayed at the highly recommended Virgin Cove. Many people have said the place was really romantic and affordable.






















We stayed in a Secluded Fale the first night, and because it was booked the following night we had to move to a standard fale.






















Secluded Fale:


































































































Nice Beach at the Secluded Fale























Standard Fale:
























































Outdoor shared toilets























Shower














Sinks




























There were a few disappointments at Virgin Cove. Friends who had stayed here previously had said that dinner and breakfast were included in the fale price. Not so when we got there. Breakfast only. And the dinner was not that great and definitely not worth what they were charging. We spent the next night eating pizza in Apia-of course Virgin Cove tried to charge me for dinner the night we were gone.

I really liked the secluded fale with it's own piece of beach heaven. The standard fales weren't that great and no beach. I think it's worth the money for the nicer place.

The road to Virgin Cove is a spine breaker and the thought of going back and forth on it not too appealing. It's quite a drive from the main road so once you get to Virgin Cove you should be ready to stay there. And you can swim and relax, but we do that so much it didn't have the appeal it might have to stressed out mainlanders.

I thought it was a beautiful place but I wasn't blown away.

The moon was almost full the night we were there and as the sunset and the moon rose I floated in the calm water. This interesting celestial phenomenon happened with a shadow shooting up into the sky. If anyone knows the scientific explanation for this let me know. I can't figure it out.

Aggie Grey Bungalow

Our last night was spent at Aggie Grey's again. We opted for a Fale Bungalow in the courtyard of the hotel. Last time we had a Harbor View. As we get a harbor view every day at home we opted for something different.









These fales have been around since the early years of the hotel and have names of famous people that stayed in them. We got the Nixon Fale. I think this might explain why Markus got bedbug bites while he was laying on the kids bed watching Alien vs. Predator (for some reason I opted out of this tv treat).








I love the way Aggies looks and decorates their nice rooms. They are always liberal with the hibiscus flower decorating. They put them everywhere!











We hung out watching tv, soaking in the pool drinking potent fruity beverages and then went to Upolu deep for some snorkeling. It's shocking to realize that we are grown up enough to stay at nice places like this (well, minus the bed bugs and horrible front desk inefficiency=they wanted to take an imprint of my credit card three times, charged me for room service we did not have and could NOT get us checked out!-I left without officially checking out-hey they have three imprints of my credit card!)

Western Samoa Roadside Images

One of my favorite things about being in Western Samoa is driving around and seeing the way of life in there and comparing it to Am Sam. Since the roads aren't hairpin curves as in American Samoa you can go faster than 20 mph. There aren't many cars out, esp outside Apia-and certainly not SUVs and giant $40,000 trucks as in American Samoa.






There are more people walking on the road than driving. Sunday is a fun day to drive, because most people stay home and go to church. Many church goers (esp Catholic) wear white to church. People seem to be healthier from all the walking.









Outside of Apia, most Western Samoans still live in the traditional open Fales. They are kept in much better condition than the open fales in Am Sam. It's fun to drive around at night and see TV's glowing inside the fales.









This man was hand carving an outrigger canoe with his grandchildren watching.

This is a bathing pool in a family's compound.













They also have many, many horses and apparently they double as low impact lawnmowers.

Black Sand Beach

I won't write a lot about Black Sand Beach as a picture is worth a thousand words. I love this beach. And this time the surf was mild so we got to snorkel.



















































































































Fresh fruit from the market in Apia!







































Shells from Coconuts-a great place for drinks and a walk on the beach.

Seabreeze

We started our trip with real espresso coffee drinks and fabulous grilled wraps at Sydney Side Cafe, a wonderful (though pricey) true cafe, with fresh and non-deep fried ingredients (difficult to find in American Samoa), in downtown Apia.

We spent some time at the markets afterwards. I am convinced that the Samoan handicrafts at the produce market are of higher quality and are cheaper than the flea market.

Then we headed to our lovely lodgings at Seabreeze Resort. A "mid-sized" resort ($150 US/night for the queen ocean view) owned by a New Zealand couple on the South side of the island.

The craftsmanship of the place, the beauty and privacy of the beach and small grounds, and the fabulous cliff hugging restaurant with tasty and well-priced meals make the price worth it.

The surf was a bit rough the day we were there, but we snorkeled anyway and there were some interesting things to see. Apparently, there are nice beaches very close that you can kayak (for an hourly fee) to that have even better snorkeling.