Western Samoa-One More Time (this is it I promise)

If you are keeping up on my blogs you might recall my last trip to Western Samoa (which was literally supposed to be my LAST trip). Weeeellll....have I mentioned how much I love Western Samoa and the fact that I didn't get any market shopping done last time and that, combined, with a three day weekend (thanks Dr. King!), and Markus being back on island, all added up in my mind to another trip to Western.

I got this awesome shot of Apia from the plane when we were leaving. Yup that's it. The grand metropolis of Apia. That's exactly what it feels like for us, too.

Aerial shot of part of the hillside in Upolu.

We stayed again at Manumea in Apia. I highly recommend this place. We got to watch some really bad tv to remind us not to miss TV. The highlight of which is the following expert from what appeared to be a lip sink music video.

We had our usual amazing pizza at Giordanos pizza, where Markus had to sit with his back to this painting as it creeps him out.

The next two nights we stayed at Seabreeze. I've blogged about this place before, but I can't say enough good things about this place. The food was great again in their wonderful cliff hugging restaurant.

The little fales have giant hammocks in them for lazing, as below.

Driving on Upolu is one of my favorite things in the world. The roads are awesome (esp compaired to American Samoa), the views are incredible, there are no cops (I'll leave this to your imagination what this implies), and there are NO cars on the road, esp on Sundays. American Samoa is literally overrun with cars and the citizens are not better off for it.

Here are a few shots from the roadside:

Awesome fale with Samoan tatau designs.

Horses grazing under palm trees.

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.