It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Part 3

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Part 3

Savaii

Savaii is the largest island in Samoa and it is the island that has stayed the closest to traditional Samoa. The young missionaries seem to all want to serve in Savaii. I guess they want that bygone era.

The Boat

Elder & Sister Foley made this trip with us. Elder & Sister Rees, Senior Couple serving on Savaii, were our hosts/tour guides.

We took a boat from Upolu to Savaii. The trip is a little bit longer than an hour. Today the water was a bit rough and the rolling was a bit much for me. I got seasick. Didn't know if I would make without upchucking. The trip ended just in time. 

When we disembarked from the ship, we entered a unbelievable site. Looked like 3rd world chaos. Buses, vehicles, and people everywhere. Crazy!

Above: A picture of  the inside of the boat. Sure do wish I would have gotten a picture of the boat itself.

Right: A hint of what the parking area was like.

Blowholes

In geology, a blowhole is formed as sea caves grow landwards and upwards into vertical shafts that show themselves with blasts of water from the top of the blowhole.

 It's hard to see, but if you look carefully you can see the water shooting into the air behind us. We loved the blowholes.

Waterfall

We had quite the walk to reach these waterfalls. Just in front of the falls is the ocean.

You can't see it but upriver there is a group of people that are slaughtering a cow. Ooooh! Those kids in the background had been playing in the water. Ooooh!!!

Hotel

We stayed in what looked like a quaint, little, cozy hotel. Having experienced it, I wouldn't use those words to describe it. The air conditioning did not include dehumidifying. So the sheets were damp - it's difficult sleeping on damp sheets. In the morning, as I stepped out of the shower, I felt something on my leg. Looked down to see a gecko crawling up my leg. Yuck!!!

The Outside

Just down the wooden walkway

The Room

Is this Gilligan's island?

Canopy Walk

Since I am afraid of heights, this was a bit of a challenge. We walked to a tower that we needed to climb, followed by a "bridge", then up some wooden stairs around a Banyan tree to reach the top. The view was worth it.

The Path to the Adventure
 Elder & Sister Foley, Elder & Sister Rees, Sister Anthon

That's a long ways up

The Bridge

Wooden Stairs

View to the Left - You can see the ocean

View to the Right - Beautiful, again with the ocean in the distance

The End of the Island

Last activity on Savaii was a trip to the end of the island. It reminded me so much of The Other Side of Heaven. 

Very Primitive - Notice the Fale (Hut)
Elder & Sister Foley, Elder Anthon, Elder Rees