Ma-no-no’s

"Sunsets over the beaches from now on
Each day looking for new ways to go on

Maybe I should drop by maybe I should have called
Maybe I should have followed you and beat down your door
Maybe it's gonna be breaking you every time you fall
But to shower you with pity will do you no good at all"- "Sunsets" Powderfinger

My weekend was spent with more volunteers than you could poke a poorly-educated-underclass at, after accepting an invitation to join 5 other VSA kiwi’s to go stay in fale’s on Manono Island for 2 nights.

Manono is one of 2 moderately sized islands between Upolo and Savaii. (The other is Apolima- an exciting looking crescent shaped remnant of volcanic cone, which if I’m right, should be resident to a giant ape.)

Manono is only a kilometer or so off shore from the Western end of Upolu and a pleasant 25 minute boat ride on a funky 5m aluminium fishing cat' takes us to the far side of the island and Sunset View Fales. Inclement weather for the weekend resists the obligation of the title to provide a sunset on either day…but it’s probably spectacular when it’s not raining...

There are (famously) no dogs or horses or cars allowed on peaceful Manono…apart from the dog I saw- but she didn’t look like a barker. There are however, many exuberant roosters living there, and it’s somewhat akin to falling asleep in a thin foam mattress at a  struggling cockroach farm, unfortunately located next door to a clock store where the cock-shaped alarm clocks have all been set variously between 3 and 7 am. It is a very quiet place for the remainder of the day however- so afternoon naps are encouraged by a lack of other daytime options.

Some other guests appear while we’re there…a Dutch pair of tourists, 8 Aussie volunteers, 2 more Pommy volunteers and a retired, used to be volunteer, couple from Port Douglas who have the unfortunate and no doubt disappointment inspiring habit of comparing every South Pacific hideaway to the extravagantly luxuriant Yasawa Islands in Fiji. http://www.yasawa.com/

Sunset Fales isn't luxurious- but it’s clean and quiet and relaxing…(the roaches I referred to in the rooms are resident, and not indicative of the cleaning- but of the jungle nearby). It’s also a microcosm of how resident overseas volunteers appear to be contributing rather unequally to propping up a flagging Samoan tourism industry. (Buy me a beer one day and I’ll regale you with why…actually, better make it a 6 pack).

You can walk around Manono in under 2 hours…which that leaves you roughly a day and a half to contemplate whether you’ll walk back the other way, or read a book or go for a swim. It’s not a choice for the most active of holiday makers. There are a couple of historical sites- an ancient “star” mound of volcanic stones which predates modern history, and some selected graves. The tour guide unfortunately isn’t au fait with the stories, or English language and so a garbled account of each is given to questioning audiences. There are important stories attached to each. A later discussion among  volunteers contemplates researching and compiling and editing a collection of relatively “definitive” short versions of the stories modern and old, to be circulated via the tourism authority and  incorporated into future training…the kind of ridiculously simple stuff that needs to be done if Samoa ever hopes to compete for global tourist trade. 

So after 2 days of not much- I returned home relaxed and bored stiff with a research project…