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Upolu Travel Guide
A long white-sand beach throbbing with active marine life serves as a string that connects the tiny, verdant islands of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island and the base of the capital, Apia. From the country's largest craters to the tiniest of spiders, Upolu offers extremes. In Polynesian mythology, Upolu is the name of the island's first woman. During 18th and 19th centuries, the island acquired the names Ojalava or Ojolava in the native Samoan lingo. In the late 19th century, Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson owned a four-hectare estate in Upolu and called it Vailima, which, upon Stevenson's death in 1894, became the residence of both Samoan and foreign officials until it got converted into a museum that contains the writer's possessions.
Although there are a few who still go to the Tipapata temple to follow the traditional Baha'i faith, majority of Samoans are Christians. This makes the people pursue strict codes of conduct, but not so much in Upolu, which is called "modern" because of its relaxed approach to traditions like villages being ruled by matais (chiefs).
Although friendly and welcoming, Upoluans still consider nude bathing a taboo. They recommend wearing lavalava (sarong) when swimming in beaches, and when guests comply to these, they are welcome for a nap at the natives' open-air fales (thatched houses) or for a sample of palusami, or coco cream-stuffed taro leaves. The reason for such hospitality is that, for Samoans, everything is communal and should be shared. An indirect result is that valuables should be guarded because Samoans do not consider stealing a sin.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, spiders the size of a dot live in Upolu. Natural spectacles also come in the guise of pristine beaches such as Palolo Deep Marine Reserve and Lalomanu, which are famous for surfing and snorkeling trips through multicolored fish and anemones. Torch lights are needed in trekking the Pe'ape'a Cave, which leads to the forest-decked Ofa Waterfall. Manono Island, perhaps the only dog-less destination in the land, is often visited by canoe-paddlers and those interested in digging up some star mounds.
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