Years have passed since my last foray into the tropics. Upon stepping out into the seductive fine sand beaches of Samoa I asked myself like I always do.. why it has taken so long to make it so? Caught up in the ever busy void of a world major city metropolis has a subtle yet un-escapable way of keeping you down with western ways. Work, traffic, meetings and a never ending cycle of bills and events to attend. Thank god for our beautiful beaches, but is the same ole city life continuity really necessary?
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If you like your job, your friends, your foxtel and your creature comforts then the answer will probably dog you well into your nineties in the same way it haunts me. But far-out its great to get away from it all once in awhile to a place where the palm trees are dripping paradise into the crystal clear azure seas.
Samoa as we have recently discovered is just one of those ideal places where for the most part the hordes have not yet truly descended. Largely untainted by the ugly issues that plague most developing countries it is an isolated tropical hideaway of lush volcanic islands ringed by healthy coral reefs and vibrant seas. Soak up the waterfalls, lava fields, jungle dense mountains, fruit plantations and of course the epic surf while strolling the swaths of deserted white sand beaches. The people are warm and welcoming and even the roads are litter free.
In these Islands organic food is plentiful and crime is minimal. There is no malaria, no drugs no pirates and you can still surf the net and watch the rest of the world on tv. Yet life here definitely moves to a different beat, the rhythm of 'Fa'a Samoa' or 'Island way of life, Island time' and its one that at first seems at odds with what we are used to until I realise the issue with time is just me.
Now.. go plan a getaway.
Tofa.
JP
