Western Samoa

We managed to skip Oct 3rd altogether as we crossed the international date line in between our visits to the Samoan ports of call.  However we were more prepared for our on shore adventure this time and haggled with a couple of taxi drivers (waiting at the port in a bit of a mob) to take us to an attraction called Sliding Rocks.  Now is the time I mention that in the south pacific there aren't many seat belts (sorry mom!)  We had a little ride through town and out into the countryside.  Gazebo style houses (few walls and fewer windows), many banana trees, coconut and mango trees.  Dogs and chickens roaming free.  It was misty and raining, but no one bothered to take their clothes off of the line - they would get dry when they got dry. 

Down the rainforested hillside we walked on a path and staircase to the river.  There were 3 different waterfall "sliding rocks" to choose from, with deepish pools beneath.  The boys (yes, all 3 of them!) did #1 & #2.  I didn't let them anywhere near #3 (you'll see why in the later photos). 

Here's the view from the bottom of the staircase we climbed down through the rainforest (yes, it was in fact raining!) of the #2 slide.  We figure it's a 15-20 foot drop.  And yes, you have to climb back up on the far side of the river on wet, slippery rocks . . . and we were not the only people crazy enough to try it! 

 Here's the *baby* slide.  It was clever of us to have brought their life jackets as this is a "use at your own risk" activity and while you pay an admission fee to the landowner, it's completely unsupervised. 

After enjoying the warm up of the small slide (I say "warm up" loosely as the water was quite CHILLY!) Jackson graduated to the larger slide #2.  The next photo is him sitting in the same spot as above, but from a different camera angle.  This the 15-20 feet slide. 

 And he's done it!  Over and over again!  Xavier slid at least 3 times down the pair of rocks as well as Daddy.  And yes, on the 3rd time down, Dave managed to remember to give his tailbone a nice bruise.  It was raining too hard by then to get out the camera, so you'll have to take my word for it.  There was a little "ramp" in the rock here that launched you into a 5 foot free fall to the pool like Jack's showing off (he must have managed about 7 or 8 turns).


So, this is the 3rd sliding rock below . . .   It's hard to tell from the photo, but there is a deep pool at the bottom of the waterfall after quite a tall vertical plunge.  A couple of brave kiwi blokes tried it.  We watched in awe! 

Just outside the cruise ship the local port authorities were participating in a fundraising campaign to provide themselves with official uniforms (so far they have only vests) by selling fresh mangos, young coconuts etc.   Here's Jack & Xavier tasting a juicy mango . . . Daddy drank some more coconut juice!  

Yep.  Another sunset.  Just doesn't get old, does it?