Day 331, Year 1: Justin and Lynn Arrive in Apia
Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Weather: Beautiful Morning; Rainy, Rainy Afternoon
Location: Apia Harbor, Upolu Island, Samoa
Well, we set the alarm for 5:30 AM this morning, but evidently we no longer have the touch. The alarm did not go off, but we did wake up and got ourselves into Aggie Grey’s by 6:30 to meet Justin and Lynn. They were not there and no one at Aggie’s seemed to know when the bus from the airport might arrive. We waited until about 8:00 and still no Justin and Lynn, so Mark headed to the nearest internet cafe to see if there was a message. Sure enough, Lynn had her friend Gina e-mail us to let us know that the flight left Los Angeles late, so we still didn’t panic. But when the buses from the airport did arrive, and still no Lynn and Justin, we started brainstorming what might have happened. Mark had seen an add in Aggie’s talking about another Aggie’s resort out near the airport. We thought that maybe Lynn and Justin had gone there. We had them paged with no result, but just about that time, another bus arrived and they were onboard. They had gone to the other Aggie’s, but quickly realized it was not the right one and found their way into town.
We had a great day. We brought luggage to the boat, got settled in, and then went back to shore and walked to the Palolo Marine Reserve to snorkel. Lynn had assured us that she had a good snorkeling mask, so we didn’t bring an extra. When I saw her put on the “mask” it was simply eye goggles and a snorkel. When I asked how she was going to keep from breathing in salt water, she started laughing. She thought she was saving space by bringing only the goggles and not the full mask, but she had the sudden realization that she was wrong.. It was a Kodak moment, but unfortunately I didn’t have the camera out. Once we stopped laughing about this, we concentrated on finding ways to get out into the Reserve to see the giant clams and tropical fish. It was my first time in the water since breaking my leg, so I decided to wear only one fin on my good foot. It worked fine, but I think that the next time I will be able to wear both fins and more completely explore the Reserve.
We left the Reserve and headed for lunch, but then the rain started. We went to the restaurant close to the dock for a great lunch and actually took a taxi into town before returning to the boat. During all of this, Mark went to a meeting at the Harbor Master’s Office and found that we (and everyone else in the anchorage) needs to report in at 9 AM in the morning to have pictures taken for an ID. We’re not sure why we have to do this, but we’ll let you know more as soon as we do.
This evening we went to Aggie Grey’s for Fiafia Night and had a wonderful time. We saw traditional singing and dancing, and some point they asked if anyone had a birthday. I immediately responded that we were celebrating Justin’s 29th birthday, and he become the center of attention. It was great fun. And after the singing and dancing, we had a wonderful buffet dinner. All in all it was a great evening.
Not sure what we will do tomorrow, but tomorrow after dinner we will be going to Quantum Leap for an evening of music making. Kathleen on Quantum Leap plays the guitar and ukulele, Justin plays the guitar and will play his ukulele which was his birthday present, Lynn plays the ukulele, and Mark and a couple of other cruisers play the harmonica. Sounds like the makings of a great evening.
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| 060913 Day 331a Samoa–Justin and Lynn Arrive |
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| 060913 Day 331b Samoa–Fiafia at Aggie Grey's |
