The world is my oyster / Svet na dlani - Samoa pt. 3

Day three. A day before I ended up in a bar with a huge group of Samoan men. I was invited to play pool with them, only to realize later I was the only woman around. But my anthropological self couldn't refuse. So in the end of the day I got many proposals for a date and actually two ride offers to Apia.

A quick note to the side. Samoan men are extremely good-looking. I mean really. Yum! The problem is they only look really amazing when they're 17-23. Which is from my perspective underage. Afterwards they start to get chubbier and chubbier and turn from dark-skinned, dark-eyed, symmetrical-faced, muscular and slim boys into big bellied, round faced Santas. And only like Santa, you don't date one.

Unfortunately junk food and overall wrong diet is a big issue in Samoa. Globalisation turned a diet based on sea food and fruits into a high-carb, high sugar diet, which pushed the population into heart disease, diabetes and a whole bunch of other NCD (non-communicable diseases). Yes, there is actually a special term for this.

So I decided to wait with my choosing of a Samoan husband. As a fair-skinned lady I have only too many offers, but a sportier type might just be a more suitable choice for me.

Anyhow, the third day of my adventure starts with an early hike towards the south of the island. Problem is that there are no buses going from Lalomanu via the southern road to Apia, so I walk. And hitchhike. Luckily a nice family gives me a lift all the way to To Sua. They are taking their fresh vegetables to all the local resorts, because buses don't run on Saturdays (normally buses are in charge of transporting local produce to resorts, which means locals put their things on the bus and the driver diligently delivers the goods).

To Sua is basically the main attraction of Samoa and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It is a natural cave-hole-trench that hold sea water, is surrounded by lush scenery and is suitable for swimming. What else could you want? The entrance fee is 20 tala, but you can stay there all day and the reserve holds several attractions other than the trench. Make it at least a three-hour stay.

My second goal for the day is to catch a bus back to Apia. Which proves to be nearly impossible. It is Saturday thus buses don't run. I hitchhike. I get a ride to the next village where the buses ''should run''. I wait. Local children make fun of me and ask me for money. I wait. Just when I'm about to give up on my life in general a lovely Fijian lady picks me up and gives me a ride all the way to the capital. Seriously, some big karma points for her!

I finally manage to get a taxi ride back to the lodge and spend the rest of the day soaking in a pool overlooking the forest. Chillizzle.

To Sua

To Sua Reserve

View from my swimming pool.

Tretji dan. En dan prej sem obtičala z veliko skupino Samoancev. Povabili so me k partiji biljarda in šele kasneje sem ugotovila, da sem edina ženska naokrog. Ampak moj antropološki jaz preprosto ni mogel reči ne. Tako sem konec dneva dobila ogromno povabil na zmenek in dejansko dve ponudbi za prevoz do Apie.

Kratka opomba. Samoanci so izredno čedni ljudje. Mislim, resnično. Njam! Edini problem je, da izgledajo resnično osupljivo samo med 17 in 23 letom. Kar je z mojega vidika premlado. Kasneje postajajo namreč vedno bolj okrogli in se preobrazijo iz temnopoltih, črnookih, mišičastih, vitkih fantov s pravilnimi obraznimi potezami v trebušaste, zaobljene Božičke. In Božička imaš samo rad, ne greš pa z njim na zmenek.

Na žalost so hitra hrana in splošno slabe prehranjevalne navade velik problem na Samoi. Globalizacija je spremenila lokalne ribje-sadne prehranjevalne navade v reden vnos velikih količnih ogljikovih hidratov in sladkorjev. To pa pomeni jasno porast srčnih bolezni, diabetesa in celo kopico drugih ''neprenosljivih (nedednih?) bolezni'' (NCD). Ja, za to obstaja še celo poseben izraz.

Zato sem sklenila, da še malce počakam z iskanjem samoanskega moža. Bledolična gospodična, kakeršna sem, ne bi imela ravno težav s snubi, ampak mogoče je zame vseeno bolj primeren kakšen bolj športen tip.

Kakorkoli, tretji dan moje pustolovščine začnem z zgodnjih štopom na jug otoka. Problem je, da avtobusi ne vozijo iz Lalomanuja preko južne ceste do Apie. Zato hodim in štopam. Na srečo me prijazna družina pobere in zapelje vse do To Sue. Namenjeni so namreč do lokalnih letovišč, kamor vozijo svojo svežo zelenjavo. In to zato, ker avtobusi pač ne vozijo v soboto. Sicer pa ob delavnikih kar avtobus odpelje hrano do raznih destinacij, kar pomeni, da pridelovalci zaupajo svoje pridelke šoferju in ta jih razvozi naokrog).

To Sua je praktično glavna atrakcija na Samoi in definitivno bi jo priporočila vsakomur. Gre za naravno jamo-luknjo-jašek, ki je napolnjen z morsko vodo, obkrožen s sočnim zelenjem in primeren za plavanje. Česa bi si človek še lahko želel? Vstopnina stane 20 tal, ampak tam lahko ostaneš cel dan. Poleg tega rezervat ponuja še nekaj drugih zanimivosti, zato si privoščite vsaj tri ure za obisk.

Drugi cilj dneva je doseči Apio. Kar se izkaže za SKORAJ nemogoče. Ker je sobota, avtobusi ne vozijo. Štopam. Dobim prevoz do naslendje vasi, kjer naj bi avtobusi 'zagovoto vozili'. Čakam. Vaški otroci se delajo norca iz mene in me prosjačijo za denar. Čakam. Ko že skoraj obupam, mi ustavi prijazna Fidžijka, ki me zapelje vse do prestolnice. Resno, dobila je cel kup karma točk!

Končno mi uspe dobiti taxi do mojega gorskega zavetišča in preostanek dneva preživim v bazenu z razgledom na gozd. Čiliram.