The world is my oyster / Svet na dlani - Samoa pt. 5

The final day of my adventure was dedicated to Savai'i island. And here I went all out.
I woke up at 4am. Took a bus to the wharf. Early morning ride to the Big Island as the locals call it.
Rented a car. Drove an automatic. On the left. I didn't suck. Hell yeah!
The day was.... wonderful. Sunny, bright, hot. I only had half a day of rain for the entire 6-day trip. Great success!

Savai'i is slightly different than Upolu. Where on Upolu you get the mixture of the urban vibe of Apia and pristine beauty of rural areas, on Savai'i you have a sense of relaxed holiday area for nature-lovers and beach worshipers alike.

I had a few stops on my way around the island, first one of them being the Afa Aau waterfall. I parked my car at the beginning of the road, where I paid a 5 tala entrance fee and walked along the river up to the waterfall. The landscape was simply wonderful and the day was getting really warm. Perfect! Afa Aau definitely recommended.

Next sight were the obligatory Alofaaga blowholes. Rugged lava-made beach, palm trees going on for miles and the natural wonder of blowholes (holes that water carved out into the lava field and where the sea is bursting out every now and then) really make this a fantastic stopover.

My last sight for the day was the Canopy walkway in North-West part of the island. Falealupo peninsula is supposed to be famous for the world's most beautiful sunset, but I had to catch the early morning ferry back to Apia, so I decided to continue my way around the island.

Every corner offered new fantastic sandy beaches. It's really like heaven there.

I end up finally in Lalo, where I was staying in one of the beach fales. Unfortunately I arrived there just in time for a tropic storm, which meant everything was damp, windy and quite useless for a day at the beach.

In the morning I had to catch the early morning ferry back to Upolu. I had run out of tala, so I needed to withdraw. Neither of my three cards worked. Of course. I panicked. I went to the ferry terminal, perhaps I could pay by credit card. I couldn't. Of course. I panicked even more.

But Samoa wouldn't be Samoa if miracles didn't happen here. A gentleman approached and gave me the the remaining 7 tala for my ticket. He said: "Just give this money onwards to someone who needs it." Wow. I boarded the ferry and soon I was on the other side. I decided to walk to the airport to withdraw my money. But Samoa wouldn't be Samoa if a nice Australian guy didn't offer me a ride into town. So I ended up in Apia more by chance than by strategic planning.

I offered the Australian guy a drink for his kindness and I finally managed to try the local beer. Meh. Nothing special. I used the rest of the day for shopping (souvenirs, doh) and walking around the city.

Then the friendly lady I'm staying at drove me back home to pick up my things and then gave me a ride to the airport. I gave the remaining money to the local church. After all, I had to follow the instructions from the gentleman that paid for my ferry ticket. :)

Can't say if it's luck or I was just destined to meet the nicest people possible. Anyhow, I'm extremely happy. My Samoan trip proved to be a wonderful experience, full of delicious food, incredible sights, breathtaking beaches and, most importantly, genuinely nice people. Can't wait to go back.

Afa Aau waterfall

Alofaaga blowholes

just another stunning beach

Canopy walkway

more stunning beaches

my last night in fale

Zadnji dan svoje avanture posvetim otoku Savai'i. In tukaj sem se res izprsila.
Zbudila sem se ob 4h zjutraj. Šla na avtobus do pristanišča. Jutranja vožnja s trajektom na Veliki otok, kot ga kličejo domačini.
Najela avto. Vozim avtomatika. Po levi. In nisem bila zanič. To!
Dan je bil... čudovit. Sončno, svetlo, vroče. Na splošno sem imela le pol dneva dežja na mojem 6-dnevnem potovanju. Velik uspeh!

Savai'i je nekoliko drugačen od Upoluja. Medtem ko na Upoluju dobiš mešanico urbanega ritma Apie in čiste lepote ruralnih območij, dobiš na Savai'iju občutek sproščenega počitniškega rezorta tako za ljubitelje narave kot za oboževalce peščenih plaž.

Na pot okrog otoka sem imela nekaj postankov in prvi izmed teh je bil slap Afa Aau. Avto sem pustila na začetku poti, kjer sem plačala 5 tal za vstopnino in se sprehodila navzgor po reki do slapu. Pokrajina je bila preprosto čudovita in dan je postaja zares vroč. Popolno! Afa Aau definitivno lahko priporočim.

Naslednji ogled so obvezne Alofaaga bruhajoče luknje. Razbrazdana lavina plaža, palme do koder sega oko in naravni fenomen bruhajočih lukenj so resnično vredni postanka (bruhajoče luknje so luknje, ki jih je v lavo izklesala voda in na vsake toliko iz njih bruhne morje).

Zadnja postaja za ta dan je bila pot Canopy walkway na severozahodu otoka. Polotok Falealupo ima bojda najslavnejši zahod na svetu, ampak jaz moram ujeti jutranjo ladjo nazaj v Apio, zato nadaljujem pot po otoku.

Vsak ovinek ponuja nove fantastične peščene plaže. Tukaj je resnično kot v raju.

Pot končam v Laloju, kjer bom noč preživela v enem of falejev na plaži. Na žalost prispem ravno v času tropske nevihte, kar pomeni, da je vlažno, vetrovno in predvsem nepraktično za dan na plaži.

Zjutraj moram ujeti trajekt nazaj na Upolu. Nimam več lokalne valute, zato moram dvigniti denar. Nobena od mojih treh kartic ne dela. Jasno. Zapaničarim. Grem do terminala za trajekt, mogoče lahko plačam s kreditno kartico. Ne morem. Jasno. Še bolj zapaničarim.

Ampak Samoa ne bi bila Samoa, če se tu ne bi dogajali čudeži. Gospod se mi približa in mi da preostalih 7 tal za mojo vozovnico. Reče: "Daj denar naslednjemu, ki ga potrebuje." Uau. Grem na trajekt in kmalu sem na drugi strani. Odločim se, da bom šla peš do letališča in tam dvignila denar. Ampak Samoa ne bi bila Samoa, če mi ne bi prijazni Avstralec ponudil prevoza v center. Tako bolj po sreči kot po premišljenem načrtu končam v Apii.

Avstralcu ponudim pijačo v zahvalo za prevoz in končno poskusim lokalno pivo. Meh. Nič posebnega. Preostanek dneva posvetim nakupom (spominki, jasno) in sprehodu po mestu.

Nato me prijazna gospa, pri kateri stanujem, odpelje domov po stvari in nato na letališče. Ves denar, ki mi preostane, podarim lokalni cerkvi. Navsezadnje sem morala upoštevati navodila gospoda, ki mi je kupil karto za trajekt. :)

Ne vem, če je bila to zgolj sreča ali pa mi je bilo usojeno spoznati neverjetno prijazne ljudi. Kakorkoli, zelo sem srečna. Moje potovanje na Samoo se je izkazalo za čudovito izkušnjo, polno dobre hrane, neverjetnih ogledov, dih jemajočih plaž in, najpomembneje, resnično prijaznih ljudi. Na Samoo bi se vrnila v sekundi.