Bye Samoa - Paradise at World’s End

After two weeks it was time to say goodbye to Samoa. A country that I didn't plan to visit in the first place turned out to be a great decision to visit. The friendliness of the people, the slow pace of life - especially on Savai'i-, its natural beauty and the colourfulness of its villages truly felt like paradise.

I vividly remember one day when I was driving the scooter through Savai’i and thought how far from home I really was - according to ChatGPT roughly 15,600km. But I was happy scootering through the country, mesmerised by its beauty and somewhat not believing that this is real, that this was my life at this stage. It shows that there is so much more to explore than just what is in front of your doorstep or what is familiar. No, it made me realise even more that there is a whole new world out there, ready for me to explore, to discover and to fall in love with.

Moreover, the accommodations were truly unique. While very basic in nature, the beach fales were an interesting and brilliant concept. Essentially, you sleep in your own hut (on a mattress on the floor or in a bed with a mosquito net) literally right on the beach with few or sometimes no walls. In other words, you don't even need to lift your head when you wake up, but just open your eyes and you can see the beach and the ocean. With breakfast and dinner included for £30 per night, this is truly an adventurous but fantastic option that I thoroughly enjoyed.

On a more serious note. As I have always tried to be honest in these post, there is something in my last few days in Samoa (mainly once I arrived in Upolu) that I really felt for the first time on my trip: travel fatigue. It wasn't as if I was homesick, no. But I felt exhausted after what was 8 months of constantly traveling. Of staying in a place for 2-4 days max most of the time. So I realised that in order to continue my travels, I needed to slow down. Since I always want to do everything in a place or in a country, and suffer a bit from FOMO (fear of missing out), I knew I had to change my pace/approach a little bit.

For that reason, I decided that after the US where I would stay for a week, I would not go straight to Colombia, but instead going to Antigua Guatemala for a few weeks, learn Spanish there instead of Medellin and just slow down. After all, Antigua is my favorite place in the world and I felt it was the right thing to do for me to recharge my batteries and then look forward to go backpacking through South America again! And, since this is my trip, I can do whatever I want, so yeah, I’ll be heading back to Guatemala soon!

Anyway, finishing up on Samoa. It is a fantastic place that I can only recommend visiting when someone is already in Australia or New Zealand. It's different, it's unique and esp my time on Savai’i - people call it the 'real' Samoa vs Upolu - was just living the island life in paradise. A truly different style of living and a destination that I will never forget.

So long Samoa. You were awesome to me. Fa’afetai and thank you very much!!Read more