Jamie and Carolyn Take Samoa!: Apia

We decided to take a little vacation to Apia (Western Samoa) for Flag Day! Flag day is a big holiday here in Samoa. It's when Samoa celebrates their relationship with America by raising the American Flag as well as the Samoan flag. There's traditional singing, dancing, food, and boat races! Flag day= 5 day weekend for everyone on island! :) I haven't left this island in nearly 5 months! I was anxious to get off and explore Western Samoa. We booked the tickets along with 13 other of our close friends. The plane ride was really sketch. The airplane was a propeller plane, the seats were SO SMALL! I kept looking at all the Samoan's in the waiting room wondering how the heck we are all going to fit on that thing. haha! Luckily, we were front and center! I was right behind the pilot! If you don't like airplanes, this isn't the flight for you. It was really scary and loud! Luckily, we had an easy landing. The heat immediately greeted me when I got off the plane. Something I'm already used to. Other than that, I couldn't believe how different Western was! I felt like I was in an alternate universe! So many differences!!
1.) They drive on the other side of the road.
2.) All the Samoans have british/new zealand influenced accents!
3.) There are wild pigs, horses, and cows roaming in the most amazing greenery you've ever seen!
4.) The Samoans are a lot physically smaller than American Samoa.
5.) Although it is only 30 mins away by plane, Western Samoa is across the international dateline so I left on Thursday in American Samoa, 30 mins later in Apia, it was FRIDAY!!

The boys wanted to surf so we stayed in Upolu. The boys found this rad surfing camp called, Maninoa. They stayed in these awesome beach fale's with a mattress and a mosquito net, thats it! No bathroom or shower in the fale, you have to go out back for that. We decided to camp up right next door at a spot called, Lupe's. It was literally beach front. The most remarkable scenery ever! My Samoan phone didn't work in Western so I was absolutely phoneless. I had no idea what time it was EVER. Lol or Day for that matter. We lounged around all day drinking Vailima, playing cards, going swimming in the pool, drinking mojitos, you name it!

For Easter Sunday, we all decided to go swimming at the To Sua Trench. This place is HANDS DOWN, the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It didn't even look real. The trench looked like a GIANT hole covered in lush green plants with a single ladder leading you down. The ladder had to have been 50-60 feet high. It was SO SCARY! If you fell, you would seriously injure yourself or die. There wasn't any lifeguard on duty or anything! I told myself if I didn't do it, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I sucked it up and shook off the fear. I ended going for it. Best decision ever. I'm so proud of myself for taking these small leaps of faith. I'm really learning to push myself out of my comfort zone. Something about that is so exhilarating. I feel so free and full! The best part about this amazing chapter of my life, a chapter dedicating to exploring myself and my limits, is that I get to do it with Jameson by my side. It makes my life that much brighter. :)

Our incredibly SMALL plane!