Yes there was a lot of activity: Boat work, provisioning, helping each other out…but we always find time to have some fun…here is a snap shot : )
Sunday fun day
The gang all rented a van for the frist week to get our most important stuff together and to get a feel for the towns here. Most of our errands were spread out along the little towns along the south coast of the island. But on Sunday, while everything is closed…we decided to take a van tour to a national “park” lookout.The look outUnfortunately we couldn’t read the sign but that’s ok…we got the jest of it : )
Food – Chinese and Pho and local eats!!!
PHO!!!!!!! We met the owner here…he looked like a vietnamese gangster with a gold chain and everything ; ) AND they were open on Sunday’s!SV Me Too and us eating Pho and bubble teas and bud lite!We had a pretty decent chinese food place close to the dinghy dock. We all got together and had family style dinner…just needed the lazy susan. (SV All Day, SV Terrapin, SV Me Too, and us)There is a local outdoor market near the dighy dock. Briley and I happened to walk through and found they were setting up food…we hadn’t eaten yet so we called out over the radio to let everyone know. Here is Trevor deciding on which meat dish to getThey had some desserts that didn’t look familiar to us..we tried it anyways…it was like a mochi…not flavorful but a little sweet.This is just behind the food tables at the indoor market. Lots of vendors selling clothes, watches, shoes, phone accessories, and fruits and veggies.Ok all you Hawaiian folk…my first Loco Moco: rice with a beef patty, egg and gravy on top)…bonus…a slice of spam!!! We had breakfast at a local restaurant called DDW (aka “Don’t Drink the Water”)…it’s never too early to have a local beer eitherAnother favorite restaurant was Goat ISland Cafe near Sadie’s resort. I had, the equivalent to Hawaiian poke or Mexican ceviche, Samoan Oka. It’s raw fish “cooked with citrus and coconut milk served with taro chips (yummm)“All by myself…..”
Dance party on SF and the Night Club
Well, somehow SV Slow Flight turned into a dance club ourselves : ) Music pumping, beers flowing, and lots of dancing…How you say did we get 11 people dancing on a 45 ft sailboat? I’ll let you figure that one out. Here is Vlad from SV All Day….that may give you an idea of the answer ; )Briley (SV Me Too) signing to her jams..I think she made the playlist herself….Great job Briley!Phil and Aimee (SV Terrapin) dancing awaySo the adults decided to go to a local “night club” that was not too far away. We were the only table there for hours. Bucket of beer and some dancing. We met Ronnie (far right) and he works on the tuna ships here but he is from Vanuatu. After a little bit chatting and finding each other on Facebook, Ronnie explained some of the “black” magic that happens on his island. Pretty crazy tp hear about…next year we will find out : )
Tisa’s- An amazing and unique restaurant on the beach that cooks a traditional Samoan Umi: underground pit where they cook the food. We had to make reservations..all 13 of us! The night we had dinner at Tisa’s, there were lots of official and dressed up folks there. It turns out that Tisa’s husband responded to a situation where a local military guy ended up drowning. It was a sad story to hear but the officials and military men were there to honor him and Tisa’s husband who tried to save his life. The funeral was the next day.
Tisa’s sign outsideWalk down some stairs and are met with flags, nautical “stuff”, looking out to the beautiful view of the ocean.The view…here we were making reservations for the next day…but stopped to have a beer and a glass of wine to say think for letting us in to check it out.The barWe put on our “best” and headed out for the Umi dinner. Here SV All Day (Vlad and Nicole) and I are having their famous pina coladas.Umi: The pit coveredUmi: The pit uncoveredUmi: The plate of pork, octopus, bread fruit, shrimp, something like a yam, fish stew,
Brunch on Slow Flight – SV All Day wanted to host a bloody mary brunch…unfortunately it was raining and their cockpit would get wet so we had it on Slow Flight.
Nicole (SV All Day) brought all the ingredients to make bloody marys, including stir sticks, garnish and what?! Bacon too!!!!!! We were so spoiledYummm….The finished product.“Can we eat now?”…say Emma and Jessica (SV Terrapin). We had quiche, english muffin bread and jam, sausage, cinnamon buns-frosted, bacon, cheese, coffee, baileys and kahlua.
Matt and Brittney – Another long story short…SV Terrapin had been in contact with Matt and Brittney via another cruiser. They had never met each other but Matt and Brittney, ex-cruisers, helped Terrapin (and other cruisers) out by picking up mail and packages for them. We all invited to their place on the island to have our own Umi dinner!
Matt and Brittany – Matt works for the AM.Samoa Power Authority as a water source guy..some of his stories were a bit eye opening. Brittany is a teacher at a private school on the island. I can’t remember what grade….Matt picked us up at the Cost U Less and we all hopped into the back of his truck to their place. Let’s just say the ride back to the dinghy dock was wet and cold (lol)Matt and Brittany’s house on the inside…super colorful! I think they said rent was $500 a monthThe outdoor hangout and this is where the Umi pit was. I loved the outdoor sink!They have fruit trees on their acre property…..We all helped out to get the Umi ready. Here is Trevor using a machete to cut banana leaves.Emma helping with the bread fruitBriley helping with the coconut so we can have fresh coconut milk!Aimee and Brittany made a pork filled taro leaf bundle…..the marinade itself smelled AMAZING! It would be wrapped in tinfoil and placed in the Umi oven and then to eat it, you just open the tinfoil and eat the whole thing!The Umi oven with the goodies on the right ready to placed on the fire.Cooking dinnerDinner! There were white styrofoam cups with coconut milk and something else…you would dip the cooked breadfruit into the cup and pop it into your mouth….I could not get enough of it it was so good!Then the music kicked up…clean up done….and the singing and dancing commenceThe group photo…Matt and Brittany invited their best friends…of course I forgot their names. However, she lived on Hawaii, she knew the valley I lived in, it was great to talk/connect with her about my time in Hawaii. He works with Matt. Dave and his son were also invited (Dave is a commercial diver and his son is about 14-15 years old and could play a mean ukulele). The rest of us you should know by now ; )This is the end of the party…..
Water fall – We were told of this water fall, only a 10-15 minute hike and a 15 minute van ride. One of the boats in the fleet would go everyday to rinse off and enjoy the cool water.
SV Terrapan getting ready to go in the waterfall…it was raining that day so that means shower time..compelte with soap : )“I’m over here!”
Next up we are headed to Tonga, the Vava’u group. Opps….Kimi’s birthday was lost in time due to crossing the date line : )
Ears were burning… now there pealing. Were in the yard doing boat maintenance and i was to focused on the tasks and my list. Sun happens… Fiji is great
OH NO!!! Happy Unbirthday Kimi. We ill toast you on Your Day. Carri-Ann and I were talking about you guys today. Hope your ears were burning. Love Ya
Ears were burning… now there pealing. Were in the yard doing boat maintenance and i was to focused on the tasks and my list. Sun happens… Fiji is great