12/2/2026 Upolo to Savai’i Samoa

This morning pick up was 0600hrs from reception and because of it I caught a beautiful sunrise from the resort. When I woke up it was still quite dark but when I opened the curtains the rising sun had highlighted the clouds and they were almost glowing in the dark. 

By the time I’d taken my photos and got to reception I still had 15 minutes to spare and the receptionist told me there were pastries and toast out if I wanted to make a sandwich to go with me. If I just wanted coffee then go and top up before I was picked up. It’s like they know me!! I followed his advice and also grabbed a handful of pastries and made a double stacked Vegemite sandwich because it was going to be a long day. The serviette’s are huge and really strong so the snacks were well wrapped.  

Our pick up arrived bang on time, I say our, there was only me and Si getting on the bus. It was Luca’s mum and little brother today driving. Mum was driving, not Jeremiah the little brother, he was only 4 years old. We stopped at the Aggie Greys Sheraton hotel, and picked up an Aussie named Scott who was chatty enough.  I asked him about the hotel, because I almost stayed there he said it was ok, But very old and tired and very very noisy. I am so glad I didn’t stay! It’s right opposite the Port and early this morning a Cruise Ship had come in. I’m glad we're going off island as Apia would have been heaving. Ugh people, not my thing.  

From Aggie Greys we went to the Samoan outrigger to pick up Sumi and we were on our way. The poor thing is now covered head to toe in bites and now on her face there isn’t a place she doesn’t have any and they are itching like mad. I brought some ‘soov’ with me for her as she’s only travelling with hand luggage so no room for unecessary toiletries. Not even sunscreen.  Because she’s in a fale in the garden I’m guessing that’s why she’s getting eaten alive. Or it could be fleas off the mattress on the floor!  Either way she’s getting bitten.  

Before we picked them up, I had a good chat with Lua’s mum, Mena, the former police officer who now works for the Probation service. We discussed the Crime levels and what was most prevalent, and in Samoa, it’s DV and rape. I explained I’d been introduced to the SVSG and she was really complimentary of them saying they did fantastic work for women and children and that she was involved with them too due to her job but there was still a long way to go to protect and support women. She said a lot of the problem was cultural and the men had seen their fathers do it so they did it. It’s the same old story the world over. She was quick to point out it wasn’t all men, just some. Like I said, it isn't the same the world over.  

When she went in to the ticket booth to get our ferry tickets, she left Jeremiah in the car with us and he started to sob, the biggest fattest tears dribbled down his little cheeks, I was thinking he was upset about her leaving him with three complete strangers, which I’m sure was part of it, but the main problem was he was desperate to get to school and by taking us to the ferry he was worried he was missing out on something.  Man I’ve never seen so many tears from a kid because they wanted to go to school. Because they didn’t want to go, oh yes, more times than I can remember with Morg.  I can relate. I cried because I had to go to school too. 

Mena came back with our tickets and handed them out, she then gave an envelope of cash to Sumi to give to the  driver on the Suavi'i side to pay for us to get into the sites we were going to.  We walked on to the ferry which was pretty basic, and full of cars, trucks and people.  I was a bit intimidated by the number of steps to get up onto the deck when I was tapped on the shoulder by a staff member and taken to a lift. It’s the smallest lift I’ve ever seen, or been in in all my days but did the job. 

Upstairs we went and sat down in the aircon cabin for the hour journey to Suavi’i. The colour of the water at the port was that beautiful turquoise blue which amazed me because you don’t expect clear water in the port. Well I don’t! 

The boat rocked alarmingly the whole way across, and the reason I prefer to  avoid boats came flooding back. All the curtains were kept drawn for the duration of the journey, I'm guessing to help keep the cabin cool, it was a shame though because it would have been nice to see out.

We docked at Suavi’i just after 0900 because we were on the “big” ferry which takes just over an hour. Our driver was waiting for us with a piece of paper bearing mine and Sumi names.  We were expecting a comfortable car like yesterday's comfy people carrier, but it was a normal sized car taxi. Sumi and I sat in the back on the most uncomfortable seat I've sat on in quite some time.  Scott sat in the front as he’s a big guy and there is no way he would have fitted in the back although he did offer to so I could sit in the front. 

It was a slightly different set up from yesterday, we had no guide with us and the driver wasn't as talkative about the island although he did point things out as we passed them.  

Suavi’i is the largest Samoan Island at 43 miles long and 28 miles wide and has just one town where the ferry terminal is called Salelologa. There is one road and a local bus service which serves the island, and to drive right around it takes about 3 and half hours and a bus takes about 5 hours. Ideally a few days is best to make the most of it, but I only had a day there so I only managed to cover parts of the south of the island.   Because the Island is larger than Upolo, the villages are more spread out and it feels more open when we were driving along.

We'd already paid for the entry within the trip cost but it was only 5 Tala each anyway, there are also Fales there that you can hire for an extra cost and parking for private cars is also extra. Our taxi was free to park as we weren't stopping all day. 

Lava flows have created a series of tubes that connect a flat clifftop of lava rock with the ocean below. The waves break against the lower end of the lava tubes, sending water at high pressure shooting up through the tubes, creating fountains that spray every few seconds. 

The blowholes area is completely unfenced; there are absolutely no safety restrictions apart from a sign painted on the floor in red paint just saying STOP and a wonky red line. The lava rocks are wet and pretty slippery close to the blow holes, with small rock pools. The one large one had fish in it. I can’t decide if the fish got flung out of the blowholes or the tide comes in so high that they get stranded.

We did ask the driver if the tide came in over the lava rocks but I don’t think he understood the question really because he said yes (which I have noticed happens a lot if they don't understand the question). I think we were at high tide already because the blow holes were on full display, so who knows how the fish got there or when high tide is.   Falling into one of the blowholes wouldn’t be the greatest of ideas because you’re not likely to survive it. I gave them a wide berth, don't worry, because knowing my luck I’d end up like one of those Tom and Jerry cartoons, bobbing on top of the wave explosion. There was a beautiful little rainbow on the lava rocks thanks to the vast amounts of spray thrown up from the blowholes. So pretty and utterly perfect.

Over 80% of Samoa’s land is held under what’s known as customary ownership. Protected by the Constitution, customary land is traditionally held by matai (chiefs) who have authority over its distribution and use. Every Samoan has the right to access land for their livelihood and supporting their families. Customary land cannot be handed over  or mortgaged, a chief can approve a lease to a person or corporation, and  the government can  take customary land for public purposes under the Taking of Land Act. Such land is then registered as public land.

All of the places we went to are under customary ownership, which means the money earned goes back to the communities. 

From the blowholes we went to Afu Aau waterfalls which were stunning freshwater waterfalls consisting of three distinct levels that you can  swim in to cool off from the tropical heat and humidity. The top waterfall is spring-fed and 15-20m high that drops into a wide swimming hole that is utterly perfect.

After paying  5 Tala (about 1.50)  per person, we were driven up the short 250-300m track that took in all the waterfalls. The locals have thoughtfully provided toilets with exceptionally thick toilet rolls that are of far better quality than that in my hotel, and a changing room. It was lovely and cool in the shade of the trees and the water although cool was beautifully refreshing and crystal clear. I found it hard work getting down the steps but it was worth every bit of discomfort getting in and out. I forgot to take my underwater camera case with me which annoyed me no end as I would have liked to photograph the waterfall from underneath it as well as from on the bank. As well as the toilets and changing rooms, they have built shelters alongside the waterfalls and put benches in them, so I imagine the locals can enjoy the falls to the full on the weekends. An incredibly restful and beautiful place .

Nicely refreshed and my skin still tingling from the cold water, we all changed and got back in the taxi. I was finding it a little more difficult because I was in absolute bits and the seat was killing my back hips and pelvis. 

A short drive down the road we came to our next stop, a  Siapo Demonstration in Palauli. Siapo is also known as tapa cloth, and  is a traditional Samoan textile made from the bark of the Paper mulberry tree. When we arrived the wonderful lady was in her stunning garden, with a big old knife cutting the mulberry wood ready to use for our demonstration.

We were invited into her home. The Fale had no walls which I've now come to realise is normal. There was a cooker at the back, and in two of the corners were two altars with all sorts of religious things on. Around the bottom of the roof was beautiful colored fabric, and on the floor an easy clean surface that looked a bit like oilcloth. At the entrance were 3 mats to wipe your feet, but its polite and customary to remove your shoes before entering a Fale.  We went in and there were three plastic chairs set up in front of her, and we were invited to sit down. Over top of the oilcloth flooring, were several woven mats, which i wrongly assumed were just woven mats, however they were Samoan sleeping mats, the difference in them from house mats i learned was the weave on them .i felt a bit bad having my feet all over their sleeping mats. I was expecting it to be stuffy inside the Fale ,but it was beautiful, a wonderful cool breeze flowed through it, and I wasn't missing the air con at all. I wish I had got the name of the lady who was doing the demonstration but the energy coming off her was just lovely.   The process of creating Siapo involves several intricate steps, including stripping the bark, soaking it, and then beating it into thin sheets.

Siapo, is also known as tapa, and is one of the oldest Samoan cultural art forms. For centuries Siapo has been passed from generation to generation, the lady who  was demonstrating for us told us she had been taught the craft by her mother in law, and she was now in the process of teaching her own daughter to keep the tradition alive. It has become a nearly extinct art form. Siapo is not only a decorative art, it is a symbol of Samoan culture. It's used for clothing, burial shrouds, bed covers, ceremonial garments and much much more. 

The paper mulberry tree stalk is harvested when it is about ten to fourteen months old or approximately one to two inches in diameter. The bark is then stripped and separated with a sharp knife, however, before knives and blades were introduced to Samoa by the white man, it was worked with bamboo, our lady thanked us for bringing them knives which made me chuckle.

Once all the outer bark is removed, the inner part is placed in a kava bowl of fresh clean water to keep it moist. The next step is scraping, which removes the remaining bits of bark and green growth from the bast and softens and spreads the fibers. Shells of different degrees of coarseness are used to scrape and spread the fibres out on a wooden board. It looked to be a real arm workout and the shells were pushed upwards, I asked why up and not down and she didn't know, it was just how she had been taught. The shells also push the excess water out of the fibre.

Once the excess water is removed wooden beaters known as i'e  are used to beat  and stretch out the fibre. The i'e has two smooth sides and two grooved sides and are quite heavy.

These tools help to widen the u’a while it is beaten over a wooden anvil known as tutua. The tutua is basically a solid log cut about three feet long with slightly rounded edges.

Once the stretching process is complete, the u'a was laid out to dry on the floor and weighted down with rocks to stretch it out. It is left to dry for a day before it can be used in the next part of the process .

The dyes used in Samoan Siapo also come from nature, no nasties used in this process thank you very much. The brown color comes from (i think she said) the mulberry leaf, and the black colour comes from the burned wood of the mulberry wood that she had stripped the bark from which forms charcoal. So every part of the wood is used in the making of the Tapa 

Siapo 'Elei uses a design board known as an Upeti. It has repeating designs carved into wood, and the ones used by the lady have been handed down through the generations. The one she used for our demo was a large floral design.

Using the carved Upeti as a plate, an imprint of the design was made by first rubbing a natural glue paste over the board, then placing the u'a down and rubbing the u'a with the brown mulberry dye to bring out the design underneath.

There are small holes in the u'a which come from where the shoots and buds of the branch are forming on the initial piece of mulberry, these were then patched using bits of u'a. A second layer of u'a is then placed over the top and the process is repeated.

'Ele or red earth clay was then scraped off using a shell to highlight and darken the design.

Once completed, the piece is lifted from the board.  After that part was finished, it was put out to dry, and again weighted down with stones to stop it shrinking.

Obviously she couldn't use the piece she'd just worked on to show us the next part of it so in true Blue Peter fashion she came out with a piece she had made earlier. 

The pieces of U’a she bought out were much bigger than what she’d just demonstrated, i”m sure that was due to time constraints, but it was incredible. To enhance the designs that were already rubbed in , the dried mulberry dye and charcoal powders  were put into coconut halves, and had a small amount of water added to make a deep colored paint. 

The brush used was actually a seed pod from Pandanus fruit. The fruit is traditionally used to make Lei that symbolize honour and are only worn by Samoan men, usually chiefs during cultural ceremonies.

It was such a therapeutic and mindful experience painting on the dye to the U’a and I could have stayed there for hours doing it. Unfortunately the piece I was working on also had to dry out so I couldn't bring it back with me. However she had pieces that she had made before, good old blue peter fashion again, that she was selling. Having seen the amount of work that goes into making these pieces, and the fact I love them, I bought a piece to bring back with me. It's truly beautiful and maybe I appreciate it more having made things by hand myself and knowing how difficult it is to get the true value for it. It cost 30 Tala, £8 and for the welcome she gave us, and the knowledge she shared, it was worth every penny.

I was considering buying more, only because I felt bad that I was the only one buying off her, but there are only so many of the things you can actually display, and considering the majority of my wall space is taken up pictures of Si, I'm not exactly flush for space. 

Back in the car we headed back towards the port for our lunch stop at The Harbourside Cafe and Pizza bar. The menu was good and we all decided on the Salelolga Burger, a double patty with cheese and salad served with  fries. To drink I had the fresh Nua as I was feeling a bit dehydrated, actually I had two because I was really thirsty. Our driver sat down at the other end of the table and didn't interact with us at all really. He ordered his food and we all tucked in when it came, it was really good and I was surprised how hungry I was. The meal came to 30 Tala and was again included on what we had paid for the tour, and we’d all been given the 30 tala by Mena before we got on the ferry. The drinks were extra but the coconut was only 5 tala anyway so hardly broke the bank! 

In the corner was a beautiful table and chairs all hand carved that I know Si would have loved, weirdly when I mentioned it to the others, they all thought it was awful .

We all went up to pay for our food and the driver went and got the taxi outside of the door gor us. Sumi and Scott had paid for theirs and I was the last to pay. I had a surprise when the lady read out the final bill and it appeared the driver hadn’t paid for his food. In the end I decided I would pay for it and sort it out with the driver back in the car. It then occurred to me, I would embarrass him by asking him for the money, even though he had eaten the meal. Minimum wage is 4.8 tala an hour so that meal would have been the equivalent of a week's wages for him. I fully intended on tipping him 50 tala however I was a bit pissed off that he’d ordered food and then appeared to expect us to pay. It was unfortunate that I was the last to pay but I felt a bit obliged to sort it out and at the end of the day it was hardly going to break the bank. 

A trip to the market was on the itinerary but for whatever reason we didn't have time to get there before having to catch the ferry back. Also it had ended at 12 so we wouldn't have had time to get there unless we'd gone as soon as we got off the ferry. disappointing but not the end of the world. Ultimately we were dropped at the ferry terminal and the driver went and got our tickets for us, once we had them we boarded the ferry and found a seat. 

The trip back was a lot rougher than the journey coming out and the boat was swaying from side to side. I was glad the curtains were drawn. They even had the tv on going back, home and away of all things but it passed the time of day.

Glad to get off the ferry we went out through the arrivals hall and Lua was there to meet us with her brother. The brilliant sunshine just enhanced the colour of the ocean and even in a drive by photo it looked spectacular

They had been touring the island with people from the cruise ship and were keen to know how our day had been. We said it was good and we’d enjoyed it but I asked if we were supposed to have paid for the driver's lunch. Lua was quite taken aback and said absolutely not we never eat with our tours she continued to ask us questions. Shortly after she received a phone call from her dad , she had obviously messaged him about the driver. He wanted to speak to me and find out what had happened so I told him, and he said he had immediately rang the driver who had told him that he'd been invited by us to join us for food, which absolutely didn't happen. Lua’s dad told me that he would refund me for the meal. 

We were all dropped off at our respective resorts and I was quite pleased to be back at the resort. The really long day on top of yesterday was more than a bit tiring and my pain levels are off the scale. Stupidly there is another very busy full day out tomorrow. I do not learn, pacing myself is vital and I've neglected to do it. Si would be really cross with me, but it's his fault for leaving me!!   

To end the day I was blessed with another beautiful sunset and I’m grateful to it because of what it signifies to me. Another day closer to Si

Much Love

Mrs Leonard

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