I was sad and excited. Sad to be leaving Wallis, especially after such a beautiful Sunday Mass and Lagoon Paradise. Excited because it would take me the next two days to get to American Samoa via Fiji and independent Samoa. You see the only way in and out of Wallis is Fiji and the only way in and out of American Samoa is Samoa. This post covers my journey from Wallis to American Samoa and features the best shots of Wallis Island and Samoa from the aircraft.
Mon 23JUL began at 630am with a quick coffee with Pascale – the French Captain who flew me to Futuna. By 730am I was at Hihifo Airport and the Aircalin A320neo parked there the night before looked huge in comparison to the small airport building. Our flight left on time at 925am and I got the best shots of Wallis Island to date, which I share with you in this post. It was a very smooth 75min to Nadi. Nadi was bathed in sunshine, nudging 30C but not as humid as Wallis. I caught a taxi to my overnight hotel, which looked like it had been built in the 1970’s and forgotten. Nearly all the taxi drivers are now of Indian origin and living in Fiji many years. The driver told me that the average wage was $4FJD per hour with fuel at over $3FJD/litre. Life is expensive for an average worker in Fiji. I stayed in Wailoaloa Bay right next to the airport which is very well known to me since I used it as a base for my Amnesia 2019 trip to Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Samoa. I checked out the local store but it was bare so I opted to come back for takeaway stir-fried from the big restaurant above. I rested and blogged at the hotel until the tide came in enough for a waist deep swim. The water was very murky and I could not see anything due to wind and incoming tide. So much so that I bushed up against a rock and badly scratched my left thigh. I did not stop. I was half way through and figured that the salt water would stop the bleeding. I managed my 2.1km and have a souvenir to prove it. The bleeding did stop but it was very sore and stung like hell. Got back to the hotel, showered and splashed plenty of Betadine on it to stop infection and let it dry out. The food that night was good – Pad Thai – Fiji style !!!
The next day Wed 24JUL would be repeated twice !!! Once in Fiji and Samoa and a second time in American Samoa thanks to the International Dateline. Taxi picked me up on time at 10am but my Fiji Airways 737 Max 8 flight to Apia Samoa was delayed 30min leaving 1pm. The aircraft was packed with school sporting teams. Flying into Samoa brought back terrific memories of AMNESIA 2019. Samoa was as lush as ever and the surrounding water to die for. The rest of the day was just transit. I stayed at the TRANSIT MOTEL just a 5min drive from Faleolo International Airport serving the capital Apia. The motel deal is good. A van transfer is included in the room rate but no internet, which defies belief. Anyway it was the first time I had nothing to do but eat and watch a movie so given my scratched leg, I was glad and relaxed. Arrived at the motel at 530pm and ordered a great teriyaki chicken dinner from their in-house restaurant. Watched a movie and hit the sack at 930pm ahead of American Samoa the next day.
Please enjoy aircraft shots of Wallis, Fiji and Samoa…
WALLIS ISLAND
FIJI ISLANDS:
SAMOA (UPOLU ISLAND):
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WALLIS ISLAND:
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