Adventures in Savai'i

A little dark, but a cool picture from Halloween

Casa de Maka: Papa Sataua, Savai'i
Halloween at Apia Central
Yeah, group 77! Moli, the girl in the white actually went as me for Halloween.. what an honor.
Nothingness of things.
Giving new meaning to Beach Corps.
Koli, Kevini, and Kilisi.
Discussing school matters in Savai'i
Hitch-hiking, a great way to get around in Savai'i.

This week I discovered a brand new passion in life; a passion that follows suit on many other board-related passions from my previous endeavors. This is of course surfing. I spent the last few days in a village called Asau, which is located on the far northwest corner of Savai’i, the larger of the two main islands. Asau is a friendly village where a volunteer from group 73, Kevin, makes his residence with the vice principal of the secondary school. Life on Savai’i is much different than life on Upolu. Things are slower and much more of the natural volcanic beauty of the island can be experienced. For example, a beach we traveled to outside of Asau was laden with black lava rock that remains in ripples from it’s cooling only a matter of a few hundred years ago. Because of the recent volcanic activity, the island has many enjoyable natural phenomena, like massive blowholes and underground caves. At certain points of the beach there are enormous cliffs and arches formed by lava that is eroded from underneath causing a wonderful inlet where water splashes really high.

Surfing was difficult and I’m told that the location I was surfing at was by no means an easy spot for beginners, but after a few bruises and banged knees, I managed to catch a few waves. The feeling is incredible. When you first swim out you feel like the ocean is displeased with you and trying its best to get rid of you. There is much to be said about the timing of a surfer. You lie on your stomach and paddle out to the far reaches of the beach where the waves begin to break. This is where you battle waves and wait for the perfect chance to sneak out past the waves where you can rest and wait for a wave to ride back on. Waves attack in sets of about ten before they offer this chance to pass through. There is however something like a 7/100 chance of a rouge wave that is much bigger than regular waves and much less forgiving. These rouge waves come out of nowhere and from what I’ve been able to experience first hand, they can be very devastating. A proficient surfer knows how to use these waves to his or her advantage, however I was tossed around like a rag doll and forced to spend an unfortunate amount of time underwater while being dashed against the rocks. What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger. After all is said and done and you have made it out passed the waves you are left sitting in deep water with a very peaceful view of the island very far away. This is something like a moment of Zen and the feeling has sparked an immediate addiction inside my head. I’m not very good at it yet, but I am destined to become a surfer; and I never give up on anything I am passionate about.

A hard day of surfing calls for a relaxing night of ‘ava. Torn apart from the waves and rocks I found myself sitting on a large stone surface underneath the moonlight with Kevin and a couple of the locals. We sat around and did what guys do: talk about girls, show off scars, and get stupid together. I was asked by a villager named Sami if I was Bob Marley’s brother. On one of the days in Savai’i, me and Kevin embarked on an eight mile bike ride uphill to the neighboring village of Papa Sataua. The best part about riding eight miles uphill is the ride back where you can fly eight miles down hill! In Papa Sataua we met up with Mark, a volunteer from Village Based Development and got to check out his wonderful garden. We walked a total of about miles to and from the beach and hung out in a beach fale and really just kicked it for a while. The ocean is as incredible as ever and I feel wonderful every time I am around it. After seeing Savai’i, I really got the sense that I am on an island in the middle of the ocean. The stars are magnificent at night and the sounds of the waves crashing onto the beach are irreplaceable. This will be my last entry for a while because I will be staying in Ma’asina for a grand total of fourteen days. I am looking very forward to returning to my village and telling them all about my adventures in Savai’i. I have spear fishing and taro plantations to look forward to as well as a great deal of music making with other volunteers and the villagers. Things are well in Samoa. This place is magical and I urge visitors to come experience it for themselves. I understand that it is hard to get up and fly to the other side of the planet but Air New Zealand is a good place to start looking for plane tickets. A ticket from LA can be found as a low as 900-1000 dollars and all will be covered when you get out here. I wont be around for a while, but I have plenty of time to integrate further into this amazing culture. Until then, cheers to all and much love from the pearl of the Pacific!

p.s. Kevin Pieters, I cannot thank you enough for intoducing me to the surf board. If you ever read this, I hope you know how much this last few days meant to me. Cheers, friend.