The former West Samoa is today’s “Samoa” and has nothing to do with American Samoa. Samoa is located in the heart of the South Seas and is only a few hours flight from New Zealand. Tonga and Fiji are also easily accessible by plane. We toured Samoa on our South Sea trip.

The inhabitants of the island live in open houses where the outer walls are made of tree trunks. In the evening or in the rain, braided blinds made of brushwood or bamboo are lowered between these tree trunks. These form, so to speak, the wall replacement. The platform of the houses is usually elevated slightly from the ground to be reasonably secure against pests and small animals. The roof is made of palm fronds, sometimes of corrugated iron.

The larger house (bottom left) is a community center, where people meet for special events and celebrations. It has been built very comfortably with a concrete foundation. The Samoans live in these open houses completely uncomplicated. Anyone passing by can participate in daily life. Here is visible cooked for all, slept and lived. Tables, furniture and all household items are open on the base plate. The open design replaces the otherwise so necessary air conditioning. On the picture below you can see the walls hung and raised under the corrugated iron roof.

The open buildings are built for all community tasks. Next door meet in a small forest the free and without any fencing running around domestic pigs with their wild neighbors, the wild boars.

Free-living domestic pigs in Samoa have no respect for the tourists, and in unobserved moments they sniff out the bags for possible utilizable delicacies. Such moments seem to be particularly suitable when the travelers refresh themselves in the 23 degree cold sea.

Often the only means of transport are the colorful and on all sides open buses, which are also operated by private drivers. Mostly they are filled to the last seat.