#64 NOW July 12, 2005 1000 Zone Time UTC -11 hours (Western Samoa) Asau Bay, Temperature 88, Wind Light and variable, very humid----- HOT!!! Hello from Savaii, Western Samoa has turned out to be a real joy to explore. We finally completed all paperwork and headed out to explore the town. Religion has really taken over here and there are churches everywhere. Most are magnificent structures that seem out of place in this rather poor country. The capitol city of Apia is the largest city between Tahiti and Fiji. Its most imposing structure is the government building overlooking the harbor. It was here that we obtained a permit to travel to Savaii, (Samoa’s most western island) from the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We had to agree to certain restriction and protocol to visit this island. There is very little American business influence in Western Samoa. However, we did find a McDonalds. Most business ties are with New Zealand. In the afternoon, we took a taxi up to Vailima, Robert Louis Stevenson’s colonial mansion, and last home. The mansion is now a wonderful museum, depicting his life and the many books he authored. I am sure all three of my children remember the many times I read poems to them form “A Child’s Garden of Verses.” The Samoans called Mr. Stevenson, “Tusitala” which means “Teller of Tales” in Samoan. On December 3, 1894, he passed away at the early age of 44. He is buried on a hilltop overlooking his home and the beautiful blue Pacific. Early Saturday morning we piled into a small mini-van run by Green Turtle Tours. The all day tour took the coast route completely around the island. This turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to get a great view of not only the landscape, but also the everyday lives of these warm friendly people. We made numerous stops to see such things as how coconut oil is produced, spectacular waterfalls, fresh water springs that we could take a cool swim in, and of course some pristine beaches. For lunch, we stopped a typical Samoan home. Lunch consisted of taro, fish, and a spinach dip for the taro, papaya, and coconut, served on a banana leaf on the floor. For a drink, we were given a cocoa like drink served in a half coconut shell. Other than the fear of catching some exotic tropical disease, the meal was actually fun and quite tasty. Sunday morning we pulled up anchor and headed for Savaii. This nine-hour run was uneventful with following seas and 10-15 knot trade winds. We anchored in Matautu Bay. Once again, I found the charts to be grossly in error by as much as one mile. Of course, the chart makes no bones about it by proclaim that the datum and soundings are of unknown origin. It then has a further disclaimer by saying, “Not to be used for Navigation.” So, with a little luck and some fancy radar work we found the unmarked channel between the reefs that let us into the Bay. It worked! We left Matautu Bay around noon for the 4-hour run down to Asau Bay. This is the main port on the North coast. It use to have a nice airport until a cyclone destroyed it and made the entrance to the Bay around the reef a bit of a challenge. I will have to save the details of this delightful place until next time. Life is a Cruise, Larry and Carol -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/ Email: donedream@pacbell.net Related sites: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ws.html http://www.merriewood.com/pacific/wsamoa1.html