On the
summit of Vaea Hill, surrounded by dense forest, is the tomb of Robert Louis
Stevenson. The world famous lines of the Requiem written by Stevenson are on
the bronze plate on the coffin: —
Next emerged people treading purposefully along the side of
the road, mostly solo pedestrians. Off to work, to who knows where. Obviously
no public transport this time of day and not a lot of vehicles to be seen at
all. Little pigs foraged on the grass verge and next came a herd of chooks
crossing the road. Why? I don’t know.
As the sun rose the gardens became bright shiny, coloured displays
with luscious green, borders of fat leaves waving in the breeze. The walking
workers waved and I was getting a feel for the place. Not love yet, but my
heart did miss a beat as we turned off the road to drive into Coconuts Beach
Club, Resort and Spa. I could see the beach, the white sand the waves . . . and
knew I was exactly where the universe had planned for me.
There are six over-water fales here and we
had the first off the pier walk. A great spacious, light and air filled habitat
that sighed and coaxed us to ‘chill out and wind down to Samoa time’. There’s a
glass panel in the living room to watch the fish swim near the pylons and
there’s even one in the toilet – excellent viewing too.
That’s when the first sleep occurred.
Later, we walked up for a late breakfast and then off for a
bit of tiki-touring round the island. We drove past small nuĂș (villages) and
the local architecture has a separate structure from the family fale (house).
There’s the meeting house for friends and relatives for family affairs and
local discussions and that’s the fale tele. The gardens continue to impress and
there’s not a lawn that’s out of control.
We head to a wonderful nature reserve where the incredibly
photogenic To Sua Trench is. To Sue means a Giant Swimming Hole, and it is. A
ladder is installed at the top of the hole for access to and fro into this
delightful 30m deep seawater pool. Surrounded by manicured gardens, the site is
for swimming, nature photography and for finding a shady tree to picnic under.
From the cliff at the gardens you overlook the ocean and the beach called
Fagaoneone (meaning white sand). I think I got the hang of the language just by
looking at things! Opposite from where we stand is a lava field with a blow
hole, tide pools and walking paths along the rocks near the edge of the ocean.
Back to Coconuts using the last of our energy to wave at a
line of giggling kids walking by the road – and then it was the start of the
Samoan Holiday Tradition (SHT) lunch, sleep at 2.30pm, and swim at 4.30pm.
Next day: Saturday is a busy time on the island as Sunday –
the island shuts down to observe the Sabbath.
You can’t be in the region or town without paying a visit to
Vailima, the former residence of Robert Louis Stevenson. And what a charming
experience this is – the airy rooms still have the lingering presence of a
relaxed colonial family’s life here. The caretaker gave me an enormous hug when
I arrived and a longer one as I departed – very friendly.
The museum has many artefacts, personal possessions and
mementos of Stevenson’s life and literary history. Scotland’s son found peace
here to temper the effects of tuberculosis and also his restless spirit was
quelled once he arrived in Samoa – like me, and thousands of others, he fell in
love with the place.
Robert Louis Stevenson was buried on top of Mont Vaea behind
the homestead – where he longed to be laid to rest. His coffin was carried to
the top of the mountain by his Samoan friends. If anyone tells you that it is
not a hard climb – don’t believe them.
Back to Coconut beach for SHT.
That evening with international guests at dinner with us, we
were entertained at a Fiafia night – with singing, dancing and the kava
ceremony for all to taste. I let the cup near my lips but that’s as close as
kava got to me. It’s just not my cup of tea!
To check out before dawn to get an early flight was not only
difficult but quite sad. Once you’ve fallen in love, you want it to pan out for
longer than three days . . . but then again, Samoa is in my heart until the
next visit.