Boomerang Beach

Boomerang Beach Bungalows was our home for most of our time in Samoa. This spot is a "resort" on the south coast of Upolu. Here we enjoyed a family run fiafia, which included meal followed by traditional dancing, fire dances, and concluded with a hermit crab race for all the guests.

As the storm brewed far off over the ocean, the tide came in higher and higher (hours after the hermit crabs had raced to our bungalow for shelter). Rain came, and some creeks swelled, but our shelter had only minor leaks through the thatch roof during the night. The mosquito net didn't keep out all the bugs, unfortunately. We opted to put up the net and burn mosquito coils instead, which was much cooler and afforded us less bites, surprisingly.

We visited a local church. The two options were Catholic or LMS, we chose the latter and hitched a ride with some other guests with a rental car. The whole service was in Samoan except twice the pastor spoke in English directly to us to welcome us and ask for our introductions. Everyone in Samoa wears white, head to toe, to church. There were few exceptions. The men mostly wear lavalavas, which are wrap-around skirts, when in the villages, church, or anywhere really. The adult women wear fancy white hats to church. I had not brought a hat, but had prepared to wear white and had required BearHunter to buy a white shirt before we left the USA. So we didn't stick out too much, except for our skin color, and my skirt length was shorter than theirs. I don't think we were offensive, though. A group of 5 Americans from Boomerang Beach. One fellow with us was a retired dentist returning some years after doing a volunteer dental trip to Samoa. He happened to sit next to a man that he recognized from his previous trip! It's a small world. And a small country.