The Samoan way of life
05 October 2007 | 13deg 28W, 173deg 28S
Ronel
SEPTEMBER 2007
13deg 28W
173deg 28S
After spending a relaxing time in Suvarrow and our slow, windless trip to Samoa, we arrived late afternoon at the biggest island in Polynesia, Upolu - SAMOA. The two biggest islands in the group are not as high as the majestic peaks of Tahiti, but more gentle and with woody slopes. The entrance to the harbour was easy and wide and the smell of the island welcomed us closer and closer.
We were one of the first boats in their new marina, which was nice except that they first built this fancy new marina and then afterwards want to dredge it .....with us being in the marina on our boats ....not so cool and what was not so cool as well, was the weather - we had 31 degrees or more every day, with no wind!
OK you say, you live in your bikinis all day anyway and you can just cool down when you want .....aha- we were in Samoa - the MOST conservative place we have ever been to ...not Muslims , no no no - Christians - all sorts: Protestants, Catholics, Methodist ...it is not allowed to expose your shoulders or legs above your knees, so we suffered in the heat trying to respect their customs! The men of Samoa wear skirts or shorts with shirts and the women wear longish skirts/lavalava with blouses, no strappy tops, tight jeans or bare tummies!
But it was worth it to visit Samoa. The people are very friendly, crazy about rugby and loved us because they love the springboks (when they are not playing against them). They are very proud of their customs, culture - FA'A SAMOA and we're honoured to explain things to us.
With our rental jeep we explored the island, choosing to go on a weekday as Sundays are for religious ceremonies and rest and visitors are not appreciated in their villages.
We drove through hundreds of small villages, the guide book says 362! The people live in FALES which are open houses, round or oval and have no privacy whatsoever. The roof is supported by poles, no walls and inside the house you can see the big TV and trunks or dressers, only a few had beds because the traditional way is to sleep on a woven mat on the floor. It is very open, I guess very cool, but the lack of privacy to me was a mayor disadvantage, bearing in mind that the houses are close together as they all live together in family groups on family land, sharing family gardens, family animals....
If there are 362 villages there must be 362 x 4 = 1448 churches in Western Samoa! Every few hundred meters is a church, mostly Protestant but also Mormons, Catholics, Methodist - the Samoans have embraced the rituals of Christianity and are proud of these buildings which is also a sign of a village's affluence.
The Samoan approach to life is almost directly opposite to ours; property, wealth, success, status are thought of in communal or family terms, rather than individual terms - it is pure socialism and the influence of the village/family is very strong.
Outsiders pay a fee to swim at the local beach, water hole, waterfall and all surfing spots have a fee - so I guess, being a tourist does not give you a right to enjoy their land and facilities free of charge.
Claude and Ben, from "CLEAR", had a few waves on the southern side of the island and although the surfing on that day was not that great, Claude was just very happy to be out there on his board.
Have to tell you a story about our animals - the arrival procedures are quite strict and formal upon arrival. Apia Port Control has to be informed of the yacht's arrival as soon as you get in radio contact, anchor is then dropped in the harbour before the port authorities allow you to enter the marina. All the officials then visit the boat and clearing-in formalities are done on board ...like 4 to 6 big Samoans at a time and their latest proud and joy - a sniffer dog! I was just watching our back steps sinking lower and lower in the water!
So, Amigo and the cat were not allowed off the boat, but all could see that it would not be possible to bring a sniffer dog on the boat with Amigo guarding the back step. Claude then lifted Amigo off the boat and held in his arms whilst the dog started to sniff around for ...well, he found the cat's food (ate it just for in case), he then proceeded down the boat, trying to locate the cat ...who by now was not happy with this unknown canine on the boat. The sniffer dogs' tail had my fridge magnets flying, his long tail nearly wiped the computer off the low table in the saloon and for good measure it took a leak against our saloon couch ....ouch! The dog found the cat, nothing else, and was taken off the boat by it's handler.
The customs and police department are very proud of the sniffer dog, especially as the dog caught a yachtsman with narcotics just a few days before our arrival, so I guess the sniffer dog will now be a permanent part of the clearing-in entourage!
The Samoa group of islands lies at the edge of the South Pacific tropical cyclone area, so the islands are affected by cyclones. We are now on our way to Wallis, lying 250 miles away in company with the Australian boat "CLEAR" and "JOVIAL TIBURON", our French friends on their pink boat which has now done the 4th circumnavigation (different owners) all keeping the boat pink and not having an engine and just using their dinghy outboard engine as a standby emergency!
We are now truly in cruising mode, the girls are happy as they have made new friends, are getting into the routine of boat schooling again and every passage we make after our long stay in Tahiti, seems to be getting easier and easier. We are now looking forward to our visit to Wallis where the new king will be crowned during our visit there. More news about that later.
Ronel, Claude, Mariska, Rochelle
PRRRFECTION