Travel log

It’s time to say good bye, Samoa

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:37:15 +0000

Why does it have to end so soon?

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 11:14:57 +0000

3 weeks of sleeping with the sound of the waves splashing ashore, or with a view from the bed of the moon in the starry sky can get addictive. Where and when will we get the next fix, we wonder.

The beauty of Samoa is its unspoilt laid-backness. There are very few resorts in the hands of foreigners and most of the fales and resorts are run by locals- employing quite a number of their big families in the villages with beach access. They are so friendly- Philip always getting carried from hand to hand- so we can eat, etc. We definitely will miss this.

We finally have to start thinking about shopping and weight reduction as the day of our flight back looms. Too soon is it coming to an end. It goes without saying that we are toying with the idea of giving Samoa an extra doctor… or an urban planner…

Aunty Pusi Pili Saaga Endemann

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:46:59 +0000

Some names come a long way…

Kirikiti- Samoa’s own

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:12:10 +0000

We stopped, we watched, we were impressed. In quite a number of countries world wide, especially in among the Commonwealth, cricket is played and even loved. But not in Samoa. Here, after rugby, Kirikiti is the favorite sport. It is not hard to guess that kirikiti is loosely based on cricket, but what a different dynamic it has. You can find a kirkikiti “field” in almost every village in Samoa. Mostly in the center of the village there is a long concrete block as the center of the field. Especially in Savai’i, where the villages are located along a small inhabitable space close to the ocean along the main road, it would be impossible to make a flat ground for as a playing field. So the game takes place in uneven terrain with all sorts of natural barriers: bush, lava rocks fales houses, the main road with cars passing and of course the ocean close by. Knowing where to position your players might give you quite some home court advantage. The ball is made out of rubber, so it does not sink if it hit the water (the lagoon is a confirmed six pointer). The club looks more like a three sided ancient battle weapon, making a cricket bat or baseball bat look like a child’s toy. People play in lava lavas and flip flops or barefoot. Usually close to the “field” is a raised fale where the eldest of the village are seated and keep track of the scores. There are as many people on the team as a village has players, and since everyone will be batting at some point it can take days till the other team takes its turn (some people think that cricket is a long game…). Serious contests have players (and their fans) spotting similar printed lava lavas and t-shirts.

The big art of kirikiti lies within the ability to play some kind of cricket and sing clap and dance

at the same time. The team leader gives the rhythm and song, which is sang to intimidate the opponent.

We passed several villages where a game was on, always approaching with care since you drive right through the field. Our interest in the game was appreciated and we were offered to join the game or were offered good seats in fales close by. Next time we will join the game.

Coral ears and more

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:54:13 +0000

With all this eating, the travellers’ bane was sure to catch up with us at some point, and it did- with all of us. We handled it pretty well, Philip included, after an especially hearty meal of chicken. All that was noticeable was the rapid disposal of quite a number of diapers.

But not the coral ears. This made us take a trip to the hospital with Jan in horrible pain, his ear swollen shut, a fever and a balance he struggled to have as he walked, as well as partial non-hearing. And of course, as all things go, it happened over a weekend. Took days of pumping him full of pain killers and antibiotics- kudos to Ibuprofen 800mg.

Despite this, we still stop to ‘smell the roses’, the moon strikingly showing herself off every night for the past many nights. Philip can spot her right away when asked to. He loves to watch her.

Fagamole

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:09:08 +0000

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Money makes the world go around

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:08:26 +0000

Driving around Savai’i you notice (besides the dogs, pigs, and churches) how neat and tidy everything is. Each compound is surrounded by colourful plant and flowers, the graves infront of the houses mostly having beautiful fresh flowers, the lawn is cut short and everything is clean. It is not influenced by the economic status, even basic Fales are found in a clean surrounding. Samoa seems to have an effective waste management with a regular rubbish pick up.

Circumnavigating the island we noticed that many of the “trash bins” as well as the road side fales were painted yellow and black, which are not Samoa’s national colors. We started to wonder about it, until we found out the answer which is surprisingly simple: The government of Samoa made a tidiest neatest village competition. The event was sponsored from the one company that makes a fortune from all Samoans- poor or rich – from the money transfers from diaspora Samoans: Western Union, whos company colours are….

Philip’s 9 month birthday

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:31:20 +0000

Philip is as usual moving, or should we say growing, tanning, biting, throwing or standing? He is 9 months old today. He spots quite a great tan. He loves to throw/ drop stuff down just to hear the sound. He just popped his fourth tooth, and the grin is getting more disarming:) People are ohhhing how much of a smiler he is, and he can’t resist flirting with the girls. And his crawling speed has like doubled. Glad to be at a place with a huge beautiful dining fale and that he can have a run around with the breeze wafting in. He loves to pull himself up and hold the poles of the fale. Apart from a heat rash that doesn’t seem to bother him over much, he is doing great, loving taking dips in the ocean. He got used to the taste of salt water, hums the whole time he is in there, bites down the sand castles Jan builds for him(!) and has so much fun. When he hears the call- Lets go to the woosh water, he jumps up for the sheer joy of it. He is gonna miss this, aren’t we all. His most used coherent 3 words are mama, papa, and banana:)

Food, food and food

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:51:32 +0000

Breakfast and dinner included is almost the norm. What is really great is that despite not being included, Sunday lunch is a cause for celebration and guests are invited to some serious traditional cooking and feast- no additional costs!

Traditional Umu cooking is the order of the day on Sunday where food is cooked in a stone oven. Stones are heated up with lots of firewood and dry coconut husks till they are red hot. Preparation includes collecting vegetables, banana leaves, breadfruit tree leaves, grating coconut and squeezing out the coconut milk and catching the piglet. Palu Sami, Taro (a species of yam) and the not to be forgotten piglet are then baked on this. Palu Sami is a delicious vegetable dish made from layers of taro leafs made into a receptacle for the coconut milk. This is wraped into an air tight ball, covered with bana leaves and finally with breadfruit tree leaves and baked together with the peeled taro for about 30 mins in the stone oven (placed on the stones and covered with many many layers of banana leaves, weighty, but also leaving no space for air. After 30 mins they are removed and the piglet roasted the same way for longer. The palu sami is removed from the banana, breadfruit leaves wraping and what a delicacy together with the taro.

Also gracing the lunch table is fish- huge snappers, etc, octopus cooked in coconut milk, and oka – raw fish marinated with onion, cucumbers, chili in coconut cream.

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Fia Fia Night

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:36:38 +0000

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