We have had over a week in Samoa now but it feels like much longer to me with doing so much and seeing so many new places in that time.

Last Friday we headed up to the Robert Louis Stevenson museum as Connolly and Tyler had missed it last time and I also wanted to spend more time there. We got to do the interesting tour of his old house which is up on the hillside above Apia. Then we set off for the steep hike up through the tropical forest to the top of Mt Vaea where his tomb is. After the hot 45 minute hike up we enjoyed spending over an hour at the top on the little grassy peak in the shade of a tree and with great views from the valley round to Apia below and the Pacific ocean beyond.

Sea monkeys with RLS on the top of Mt Vaea:



After a quiet weekend (most places close for Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday is a rest day here) we all had a morning/day in town on Monday. Tuesday was time to get out around the island again. After being told many different stories of which bus was best for us to go on and when they might leave we finally found ourselves on our way to Falefa on a colourful local bus with a great sound system. The friendly locals showed us where to get off just before Falefa so we could visit the Piula cave pools.

The colourful local buses:




The pools are on the grounds of a theological college and just a few feet from the ocean but fed by fresh water springs so they are filled with cool and perfectly clear water with a few freshwater fish to swim around with you too. They continue back into deep caves in the rock underneath the chapel. If you swim back into the darkness it is possible to dive down and find a small opening underwater with light shinning through from the other cave pool. After I had found this all the Sea monkey crew made the fun dive through the underwater tunnel from one cave to the other.

Back at the marina now I plan to get on with some more boat work to begin getting ready so that we can maybe depart Samoa sometime next week if the weather forecast cooperates!

Phil