Samoa Day 2: Flea markets, Snorkelling at Palolo Deep Marine Reserve, Aggie Greys

After breakfast we headed into Apia to the visitor information centre and got a few more ideas of things to do while in Samoa. Amusingly one staff member recommended us one village and Fales to go to and the other then made a remark that there are other Fales you can go to that aren’t all owned by the same family. We got the feeling he was recommending his relatives accommodation to stay at.

Jane then bought a sarong at a nearby store and we then wandered through the flea market which was essentially many stores of which there weren’t many variants. Sarongs, T-shirts, Earrings and Wooden items were the predominant items for sale.

After a photo with a local cop, we went into a significantly bigger supermarket than yesterday and bought more water. With 34 degrees heat we are going through lots of water.

Once stocked up with water we grabbed a taxi (for Tala$5 of course) to the Palolo Deep Marine Reserve. This is located a few minutes drive from the centre of Apia and is known as a good place to go snorkelling. After paying the Tala$4 entry we put on our snorkels, masks, and flippers (which we had been carrying around through Apia), put on sunscreen and snorkelled out about 60 metres to a coral reef. It is worth noting that you can hire gear at the reserve.

There was a lot of sea life to see and lots of beautiful coral. We stayed out here in the luke warm water in slightly rough sea conditions for a while before retiring to the shade of one of the many trees on the coral-lined beach. I unfortunately got a bit too close to some coral and got scratched; we should really have come here at high tide.

Aggie Grey’s (the one in Apia) was our lunch destination. This hotel has a very large restaurant next to the pool. We started with some lovely cocktails. Jane & I both had the tuna and it was significantly overcooked and lacking anything special. I finished with a coconut to drink and then eat which was good. Our waiter also showed us how to scoop out the coconut using your thumb which worked remarkably well. We won’t be rushing back here for the food.

For dinner our hotel had an island buffet where we had a variety of dishes. I particularly liked the Oka and marinated chicken and Chris loved the Poke (tuna marinated in chilli and soy).

X Club was our drinking and clubbing location for the evening. After a Tala$15 cover charge we got a jug of Pina Colada (Tala$25) and enjoyed it outside near the ocean. After seeing numerous other tables have towers of beer we decided that we had to get one too (Tala$45). This only came with one beer option; the local beer Vailima. We then danced the night away inside with lots of locals until the bar closed at midnight. A great night out.