Samoa sites and sounds...

The iconic Clock tower in Apia

We always enjoy our times in Samoa, especially during the holiday week/s when we can refresh, catch up with our beloved families in the motherland, inhale the Samoan lifestyle and for some (like me) it's a great excuse to exhale and detox from work-life stress or other hindrances that help us to forget to relax and enjoy life.

These holidays we went to visit my parents and their/our new family home and also to celebrate a significant birthday with my beloved's mother in Samoa.

I think the celebrations in Samoa are always funnier, entertaining and just so 'Samoan' with lots of laughter, fun and smiles all around.

The food is always refreshing and tastes so much more flavoursome with fresh ingredients not usually from a can (although there are a lot of canned goods to choose from).

We loved our 'oka' (raw fish in coconut cream), taro, breadfruit (especially smoked), pawpaw, fish, seafood delicacies like limu (tiny balled clusters of seaweed) and pork (often plentiful at celebrations) with so much fresh fruit produce a tropical chefs delight.

And watching the South Pacific games (on TV) there was entertaining too especially listening to some of the Samoan commentaries i.e. the boxing competition commentary was especially entertaining. Not to mention watching the highly anticipated 100m, 200m track and the final 4 x 100-metre relay that brought Samoa so many silver medals.

A highly recommended holiday break and recharge for families or just the intrepid journeyer. Although I must say that Samoa must have so many cars per capita as whenever we go there there's always road works happening with peak hour traffic - never a dull moment...