For the 3 day labor day weekend, Ethan and I finally decided to enjoy ourselves a little. On Saturday Ethan woke up at the crack of dawn to go hiking with a group of the WT Volunteers. They headed to Vatia to hike up the trail to Mt Alava and then down to the Fagasa Pass. I decided to sit this one out since I had some work to do, just got over being sick, and can’t shake the connection between intense hikes and dengue fever. Ugh. I was domestic and did about 1400 loads of loads or laundry and dishes before working on a work presentation. As expected, the hike was killer, and Ethan fell asleep right away when he returned home at 4 pm.
On Sunday we decided to go out to Tisa’s Barefoot Bar on the east side. We picked up Drew, Bret, and Veronica (WT volunteers) on our way. Another group was supposed to meet us there, but their ride didn’t pull through. We were bummed out since it was raining and cloudy when we arrived but kept our fingers crossed for a change in the weather. As we waited for the skies to clear, we drank pina coladas, chatted, and ate a delicious meal. The Candy Man (who run’s the joint with Tisa) whipped up delicious meals with chicken (or swordfish), rice, local salad, and cooked orange bananas! Yum! Jason, Tisa’s son, is quite the talker and gave Ethan and I lots of advice on how to deal with the island’s ghosts. Before we knew it, he filled a bag of sea salt and told us to spread it around our doors and windows to keep away the spirits.....It’s still sitting on my dresser :) The sun finally came out so we could swim for a while. The tide was high, the water a bit choppy, and the current was strong, so we didn’t go too far out, but the swim was well worth the wait!
Tisa's Barefoot Bar
Flags from around the world...
Yes, that is a Texas A&M flag hanging in the background.
I plan to replace it with a UT one soon :)
Ethan & I at Tisa's
After the beach we joined up with a few other friends and all 7 of us crammed into the little car (just like old times) and went to the theater to see Salt. A large popcorn became our dinner.....when in Samoa, eat like Samoans :)
On Monday, some work had to be done at the office to prepare for the next day’s workshop, but we thought we would enjoy Sliding Rock first. We were just 5 or 10 minutes behind the WT volunteers and reached the big swimming hole just after the “incident.” We were up on the drop off of the rock’s edge trying to plot the best course to climb down when Rosa rushed over and exclaimed, “It’s too dangerous! We’re leaving! Don’t come down.” She preceded to turn around and show us her shoulder that was bright red with blood. The week before I had warned the group that Sliding Rock can be a dangerous place where rogue waves are known to make their mark, and they got to experience that first hand. Apparently a few minutes before we made it over the rocks, a big wave completely knocked 3 of them down and plunged them into the rocks. Luckily they weren’t seriously injured and managed to scramble to safety. As they were trying to cross back over the waterhole, a wave caused another spill. By the time the group made it to where Ethan and I were waiting, most of them had fallen at least once and they were comparing their injuries. The 3 most injured we ready to get home, so I offered to drive them.... I don’t think a bus ride would have been run with blood dripping down from their wounds.... Ethan and the “non injured” stayed to hang out for a while. After dropping them off, I headed to the office for a day of fun-filled work! (can you sense the sarcasm? :)
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