Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Daring feats

Day 2 of our Upolu Island (Samoa) tour for our group of sailors, we picked up a guide to direct us to a long extinct volcano to view the crater where flying fox bats make their home. It would have been very difficult to find the entrance to the trail without a guide.

Our guide, Lafo (call him Max he said), explained the bats were all unfortunately across on the far side of the crater due to frequent visitors. We could see a lot of small, black, flying objects flitting among the trees but they were so far away. Click on following photo to enlarge.

Cute face of flying fox bat circled in red

Upon our return from the steep crater walk, Max shimmied up a coconut tree, tossed down several, and then removed the husks with a tree twig that he whittled to a sharp point - passing them around for us to quench our thirst with the delectable liquid.

Our guide Max with first taste

We saw 3 different waterfalls yesterday and went to 1 more today - Fuipisia Waterfall, 55 metres of cascading water in the jungle. We could see the falls as they crashed into the vast gorge...


...and then we walked the short trail for a closer look. Jordan and I sat at the edge and peered way down below.


One person got a little too close, losing a thong, but no one was brave enough to grab it as it tumbled over the edge!

Heading back towards Apia and everyone's sailboats, our next experience was the Papase'ea Sliding Rocks. Here, you walk down about 150 stairs to where the sliding rocks are. Then you sit at the top of the rocks where water cascades over them and you slide down 5 metres or so into a deep freshwater pool. If you dare.

I was scared-stupid and it took me awhile before I worked up the nerve to propel myself down. Jordan was down below in the water with the video camera, trying to encourage me. When I finally did it, it was a riot!


Nearby was another slide where you would fly off the end of the rocks and land in the water below. Here is Jordan landing in the water after soaring off the rock edge...


Good idea to get safety advice from the regulars if you plan to come here.

To finish off the day, we all met at an ice cream shop across from the marina and watched an excellent performance of local Fire and Sword Dancers, both experienced and new trainees.

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