8/2/2026 Taumeasina Island

Breakfast is served from 0630hours, and i had very good intentions of being sat there at 0630. However my body had other ideas and I didn't even wake up until 0830. The room is a bit bright  and I need to have a play around with the lights. There is a sensor light over the tea and coffee station which clicks on every time I turn over, however I have now discovered that there is a sliding door and  if I close it it doesn't do it. It's not a major problem but I was too tired to fiddle with it in the night so stuffed a pillow over my head instead, a simple yet effective solution.

I clearly wasn't paying attention yesterday when I was taken to my room as I got a bit lost going to the restaurant this morning. Each block of rooms has a little pathway off the main pathway, which has an overhang on it to keep you dry walking to and from the rooms. Helpful given it was raining this morning. I neglected to take the little pathways and came to a dead end and had to backtrack. Ugh. 

When I got to my room last night I read the bumf in the folder and it had a note about pool towels, and that the allocated token had to be exchanged for a towel at reception. The token or towel is to be returned at the end of the vacation or it's charged to your room. I duly took my token to reception only to find I was actually trying to exchange my door key for a towel and not the pool towel token at all. Twat. When I checked in last night there were no towel tokens left, so I'm not a complete twat after all. Which is nice to know.

With my little towel token tucked safely into my bag I went in for breakfast. I was only expecting a very simple buffet like I had had in Rarotonga. While it was definitely a buffet there was nothing simple about it I had the choice of;

Salad, (yes salad)

Selection of 6 different fruits, including fresh coconut chunks

Huge selection of cakes and pastries

5 different types of bread and fresh baked rolls

Sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, hash browns, boiled eggs, poached eggs, mushrooms and french toast.

Fruit juices water tea and coffee

Also outside were fresh made omelets. You just pick your filling from peppers, mushrooms, cheese, ham and onions…

Bloody good choice so I had salad and hard boiled eggs and  lots of coffee. I like being able to serve myself as I can put a small amount in, then if I want more I can go get some rather than pile the plate up and leave half of it. The coffee isn't quite as good as Rarotonga but it's coffee and it's hot so it will do! The staff are really nice, I guess they are paid to be, but they fetched me coffee and water refills so there are no complaints from me. 

Just off the restaurant are two swimming pools, and beyond them the ocean. The activity desk is by the pool and once I'd finished my breakfast I went and booked myself onto the island orientation tour. I am now a very different kind of tourist, (insert a very sad and dejected face here) but these things are now necessary.

The tour turned out to be a walk around the island with a young lad called Ufu. He pointed out where everything was, the gym, and oh how I laughed when he pointed that out to me, do I really look like someone who uses a gym. I look like someone who should use a gym, which is perhaps what he was trying to say…  hmmmm. Next to that is the spa which is much more my jam and the “private dining restaurant”. He helpfully said I should book it for a special meal with my love for Valentine's day. ( huge eyerolls). I just told him I was on my own but he had to push it, and ask why so I told him Si had died. He said he was sorry about that, and then asked if I didn't have any friends. Way to go buddy, how to make me feel like a real freak. It's becoming more and more apparent to me that I'm clearly a weirdo for travelling to these places on my own. I also noted at breakfast there are no other solo travellers here, it's all couples or families FFS. Shoot me now.

Taumesina Island is a man made Island and has a walking track right the way around it with outdoor training stations dotted at various intervals. Something Si would have appreciated and utilised, and this is where Ufu took me. As we walked he told me the legend of Taumesina. There was a beautiful young woman called Sina and she found an eel one day in the ocean. She took the eel back to her village with her and put it in fresh water where it grew bigger and bigger. It followed her when she was in the water and wrapped itself around her. Eventually Sima became scared of it and stopped going to the water. The eel possessed magical powers and for one day it could become human. It did so and declared his undying love to Sima and told her that he was only human for a day and that he would die. When he died, she had to chop off his head and bury it in front of her house. A magical tree would grow and its fruit would hold a magical sweet water, which every time she drank it she would feel the touch of his lips and his loving kiss.  The fruit of the tree would bear two eyes and a nose and resemble a face and according to the legend this is where the coconut tree came from. This legend was told to Ufu by his father. There is also another legend of samo and it's slightly more brutal, and you know me I’m here for all the brutally violent stuff! 

In the beginning of the 14th century, there was a Samoan Chief called Maleitoafaiga, ( I had to look that up because I couldn't remember what Ufu had said his name was) who was partial to a bit of cannibalism which he practiced daily. He ordered that a young man be wrapped in coconut leaves and roasted in the umu. Once cooked the young man was to be brought to him and he ate just the heart, leaving the rest for servants and attendants. He had a son and one day the son was walking along the beach, and found two brothers sobbing beneath a tree. He discovered that one of the brothers had been ordered to present himself to the chief the next morning as the daily offering, and he would then be cooked and eaten by the chief.  The son was horrified and detested his fathers habits and offered to take the boy's  place in an attempt to stop his fathers cannibalism.  The boys were naturally pretty chuffed about this turn of events but also had a few doubts he would carry out his promise. However the next morning the son arrived and they wrapped him up and he was taken to the chief and cooked. Before eating the king unwrapped the leaves and was horrified to see the head of his son and was so distraught at what he had done he never ate another person ever again. This is what was passed down to Ufu from his father who told him that Samoan should always be grateful to their sons because a son had saved the country.  

To be perfectly honest i think i prefer the first story, that one made me cry in a nice way. I'm also now going to plant a fruit tree, I think a peach tree on Si’s grave, because they're fluffy like Si, and every time I eat one I will have a special Si kiss.  Yes it will need to be a mature fruiting tree to get those kisses asap, and no I dont care how much it will be, it will be worth it just to have a kiss. Also we don't have any peach trees in the orchard. 

As we walked I asked him about his family and he has 11 brothers and sisters. He told me he still lives at home because his parents are still alive.  His family is everything and nothing is more important to him than them. He doesn't want a wife of his own because he loves his mother and father too much and wants to look after them until they die. At 24 I can see why perhaps he's not ready to settle down and have his own family, maybe that will change when he meets the right girl. But what a sweetheart.

He offered me a kayaking trip out to a little island, but it takes an hour just to get there so I think my feeble little arms and core will struggle significantly in that endeavour and told him so. He said that's ok we can paddle you out if you want to go. So I may take him up on that offer, it is dependent on the tides and the wind as there is a really strong rip close to the island and it's not an activity that can be undertaken alone. Not that I would anyway. Last year a Japanese tourist almost drowned because they did not follow his instructions on a trip to the island. They were all told they had to keep hold of a rope so if any of them got into difficulties it would be easy for the staff to help them out. He said it was always the Japanese who didn't listen, in this instance he got carried out into rough seas, and capsized. He was rescued but proceeded to blame the staff, threatening to sue Ufu personally for 10 million. Even though it was his own fault for not following instructions and letting go of the rope. Twat. Because of the threats the man was making towards Ufu, his boss told him he was sacked on the spot and that he had to leave the resort immediately which he did.  By the time he had got home his boss had rung him and explained he wasn’t sacked. He just had to say that because it was what the customer wanted to hear him say.  He had to stay at home for the duration of the man's stay and was only allowed back once they’d left .  Ufu was obviously tremendously relieved about that but I guess it must have been a really shitty time for him, poor kid.  

Our walk around the Island took me a great deal longer than it would have taken anyone else as I had to keep stopping for a rest on one of the many benches, but he was very patient and in no rush. He reiterated that we are on Island time and it's all easy. At one point he offered to go and get the chair for me, hurumph, thank you but no thank you. 

As we were coming back to where we started, he pointed out the wedding chapel, that overlooks the ocean and is out on a limb,  and he said that a lot of couples choose the resort to get married, and they blow the big shell horns, ( i really want one of those for my house, i know its “stuff” but they are so beautiful and i could learn to blow it, and teach Ella.) I will have a look in the Market for one I think. Fuck it why not?! Unfortunately he doesn't think there are any weddings here during my stay which is a shame, not that I'd gatecrash it or anything, but I think it would be wonderful to see how different they are. The day I arrived there was a wedding, but I had missed the ceremony part and they were already onto the party.

I think he was relieved to have got the tour over with I swear I could see the trauma etched all over his poor little face.  He said goodbye and thanked me for walking with him, which I was a little taken aback by, as I was the one who should be thanking him surely, but he said no it was his pleasure and privilege to tell me about the island and show me around.. 

I went and parked myself in a lounger overlooking the ocean and small beach and soaked up some vitamin D. There have been heavy rain showers on and off all day, it's the rainy season after all so I did expect it. However despite the rain the uv index was still 9 so I needed to keep an eye on myself to make sure I didn't burn. To be honest the frequent rain helped no end with that. 

As I was sat there, a couple and a photographer walked by and went to the wedding chapel and posed for photos, I can't decide if they were the bride and groom from yesterday having more photos taken or they are a couple posing for engagement photos, who knows, either way the dress was beautiful and they looked so happy when they walked by. 

A particularly heavy shower of rain had me packing up my stuff and preparing to make a dash for cover. As I was doing so a little blonde girl sprinted past and yelled, quick run, we're going to get soaked. The fact that just seconds earlier she had been in the ocean was totally lost on her. It didn't half make me laugh! Her dad and two little brothers followed behind and were distinctly less concerned about the rain. He apologised for his daughter and introduced himself as Sam and we walked up to the shelter of the resort together. I thought they were guests, but they actually have lived in Samoa for the last 5 months and have a house in town. The resort sells a membership which allows them to use the facilities whenever they like so they kick the arse out of it on the weekends as the beach is so safe and the pool is perfect.. We chatted for quite a while and the whole time his head was on a swivel trying to keep track of the three kids. Yeah good luck with that one bud. His wife is working in Thailand for a week so he's in charge, the two eldest kids are in school in Samoa and the youngest goes to nursery. They have two nannies who pick the kids up from school at 1300 and look after them until he and his wife finish work which suits them both perfectly. It was nice chatting to someone and the kids are really cute, you can always rely on a kid to give you a boost in the mood department!

The rain didn't last long and rather than go sit back down I hunted out the solitude of the swing I spotted on the walk this morning. I really need to get a swing put up by Si in the Orchard, they are so relaxing and therapeutic. Definitely good for the stress levels. This swing was one with seats opposite each other, and took a while to get going but once I was away I was happily on it for an hour, the sun on my face and the wind in my hair, un bloody beatable. There were loads of crabs scuttling over the rocks, they were fekin mahoosive so I gave them a wide berth!

The sun had come out and was burn your eye out hot so I decided to go and lie by the pool, in one of those round loungers with a hood on, comfortable and perfect for two people to snuggle up in. Although it's a bit warm for snuggling which is just as well really isn't it as my chief snuggler isn't around.  As it was so hot I had a dip in the pool and it was divine. However the sky was an inky black and I could see the rain blowing in again. I thought it might be a plan to get moving and back to my room before it started. I wanted to go via the footpath I had taken this morning as it is so beautiful, and also, just in front of the resort, is a weather board with a coconut hanging off it. It amused me greatly and I wanted a photo of it. 

With my photo of the weather coconut taken, I walked on around the path, stopping at the corner on the bench for rest. There are benches dotted around the Island which I am extremely grateful for! As I sat watching the storm blow in, the most stunning rainbow appeared over the wedding chapel, breathtaking, simply breathtaking.  They are so magical aren't they? And they make me feel close to Si, it feels as if he's at the other end of it that vanishes into the clouds. 

I was bloody shattered and a bit emotional, so was grateful to get back to the room, and took a long cold drink out onto my deck area. The sunset was really pretty tonight, and I am so lucky that I can just sit and watch the sun go down. It made me smile because that setting sun signifies the ending of another day bringing me another day closer to joining my boy . Then and only then will I be truly happy again.

There was a knock on the door and it was reception bringing me a copy of tomorrow's activities and tonight, instead of chocolates there were three packs of cheese flavoured snacks, Si would have been really happy with them,  I would probably have preferred chocolate again, not that I've eaten the others from last night, but I really like the little touches the resort add.

So that's my day on Taumesina Island, a combination of sunshine, showers, rainbows and tears.

Much Love

Mrs Leonard

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