Windy Asau

It has been a windy week and we had planned to have left by now, but the wind was gusting to 38 knots in the bay today, so we will wait a little longer. We are anchored by a small resort and are within walking distance of 2 villages. The villages are traditional with open walled 'fales' (traditional homes), well kept but very basic. The ground seems to be composed of at least 50% volcanic rocks. Despite this, it is amazing how much grows here.

The first evening, Sunday, we went for a stroll along the road to hear a conch shell blow about 6.30pm and the street started to clear. It was the call for the daily village curfew, when all are expected to go indoors and pray for half an hour. Unfortunately, we did not fully understand what was happening until later, when chatting to a local at the resort!

One local industry here is the collection of Noni fruits, which are pressed and made into Noni juice, the large majority of which is exported to China. It is supposed to have nutritional and healing powers. The timber trade that was here has now closed down - the pass into the lagoon was originally blasted to allow small cargo vessels to enter to collect the timber. The large sturdy wharf now stands abandoned. Also the spit of land at the side of the entrance to the bay, which formed an airport runway, was washed away by the cyclones in the early 1990's.

Due to the weather, we have been the only boat here for the majority of the week, one stopped briefly overnight and another arrived yesterday from Kiribati seeking shelter. It had damage to sails. The anchorage, despite the winds, is very comfortable and magically the winds drop off overnight - they begin again early morning, as of a flick of a switch!

Two days ago, we shared the hire of a car with a couple of yachties who had left their boat in Apia and were staying at the resort for a couple of nights. We drove around the south side of the island. It was a great day spent meandering slowly through the many villages, stopping occasionally to buy the local produce from roadside stalls, and to admire some of the sights - streams, waterfalls and beaches. The most spectacular were the blowholes in the lava rocks on the shores of Alofaaga. A strong south east wind drove big breaking seas onto the shore and spray crossed the road. Water forced through underground caverns periodically shot out through blowholes high into the sky. A nimble, bent, old Samoan gentleman scampered across the lava rocks with a large bag of coconuts, which he deftly tossed one at a time down the vents at the right time for us to see them being cast 30 feet in the air with the water!! All for a small fee! Danger money!

We will keep checking the weather and hope to leave before long. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy this restful spot - a great place also for a swim and snorkel. We have seen many fish, including some very colourful ones and even saw a large turtle swim by the other day. We have enjoyed the hospitality of the resort, an occasional beer and meal there and an opportunity to mix with a variety of folk. The staff, like all Samoans, are very friendly.

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