Post from Tim:
"Need sleep" I think, stumbling through Samoan customs at 7 a.m. The night flight was not kind to me; I fought hard to fall asleep and lost.
But outside the airport, the bright light of morning wakes me up. The sky is unusual. Pillar-like clouds build the horizon into a puffy cityscape. It is winter here in the South Pacific and the low sun produces long shadows and casts a warm golden color to the landscape.
We hop a bus and ramble down the coast to our budget guesthouse in the capital of Apia.
Passing through several communities along the way, I'm impressed by how clean everything is. Neatly trimmed hedges, colorful flowers, and painted rocks surround lawns tidy enough to impress any homeowner in middle suburbia. The architecture of countryside homes opens a small window into the Samoan community. Traditionally, families live in thatched roof shelters without walls called fales. Several families' fales surround a large communal fale and make a village. We pass by the newer style fales, some with tin roofs and some with private walled areas. Once in the town of Apia, nearly all the homes we pass are western-style with four walls and regular windows.
We arrive at the guesthouse, stow our bags, and head out for a walk. Samoa seems about as laid back as any place can get. We walk slowly. Men and women pass by us wearing light sandals and colorful lavalavas (wrap-around skirts). Most of them say hello and smile. In the center of town, we walk through the maketi fou market area. It's a busy place. Samoan vendors sell taro root, bananas, baked goods, koko (cocoa Samoa), crafts, and many vegetables that I can't identify. Over in one corner of the market, a large group of men alternatively laugh and moan over an excited game of dominoes.
We buy bread and walk home to nap.
But outside the airport, the bright light of morning wakes me up. The sky is unusual. Pillar-like clouds build the horizon into a puffy cityscape. It is winter here in the South Pacific and the low sun produces long shadows and casts a warm golden color to the landscape.
We hop a bus and ramble down the coast to our budget guesthouse in the capital of Apia.
Passing through several communities along the way, I'm impressed by how clean everything is. Neatly trimmed hedges, colorful flowers, and painted rocks surround lawns tidy enough to impress any homeowner in middle suburbia. The architecture of countryside homes opens a small window into the Samoan community. Traditionally, families live in thatched roof shelters without walls called fales. Several families' fales surround a large communal fale and make a village. We pass by the newer style fales, some with tin roofs and some with private walled areas. Once in the town of Apia, nearly all the homes we pass are western-style with four walls and regular windows.
We arrive at the guesthouse, stow our bags, and head out for a walk. Samoa seems about as laid back as any place can get. We walk slowly. Men and women pass by us wearing light sandals and colorful lavalavas (wrap-around skirts). Most of them say hello and smile. In the center of town, we walk through the maketi fou market area. It's a busy place. Samoan vendors sell taro root, bananas, baked goods, koko (cocoa Samoa), crafts, and many vegetables that I can't identify. Over in one corner of the market, a large group of men alternatively laugh and moan over an excited game of dominoes.
We buy bread and walk home to nap.
Related
- Other stories from Independent Samoa
- Other stories from Month 2