The opera finishes just before Christmas. The surgery is closed so right after the last Ring cycle opera I hustle back to our hotel and jump into a cab straight to the airport for a “red eye” flight to Samoa via Fiji. We are met at the airport and have a 1 hour drive to the Seabreeze resort on the other side of the main Samoan Island, Upolu. We have the Honeymoon suite perched upon cliffs over our own private palm fringed beach in this idyllic piece of paradise.
Coming here a step back in time. Samoa is a typical Pacific destination but seemingly a step back in time. Everything closes midday Saturday and similarly after the weekend on Christmas and Boxing day which means that we have to be agile and creative with our itinerary. This is a deeply Christian and conservative society where family comes first and then the village.
The capitol Apia is a typically sleepy little town but has enough to see for a pleasant stroll. It was also the home and resting place of famous author Robert Louis Stevenson. Diagnosed with TB he was advised to move to a warmer climate as part of his treatment so he left his native Scotland for Samoa. He lived the last few of his life onn the outskirts of Apia and became a loved and respected spokesman for Samoa. His house is now a museum (which was closed on the Saturday morning we were there). He was buried a steep walk up a hill from the museum which I planned to come back to but sadly never made it
Parliament
