December 2018 - Nerelle

From To’aga Road to Asaga Strait | Ofu Photo Journal

Dec 31, 2018 | Lifestyle, Travel

After nearly falling over a bunch of times, I finally get the hang of bike riding again. Deb and Ben at Vaoto Lodge were super kind to let us borrow their beach cruisers, and Ian and I rode along the length of the stretch and walked our bikes up a couple of little hills until we got to the Asaga Strait where a bridge connects the islands of Ofu and Olosega.

Rick and Polly took the scenic stroll from the lodge and met us there. Ian checked out the bridge with his dad, and inspect the traffic cone marking the site that government cars accidentally powered through on two different occasions earlier this year and plummeted into the ocean. I can’t help but be distracted by the aqua hues all around and empty sandy beaches. We hung out for a little while and all take gulps from Ian’s flask (oops we all forgot our water bottles), and take a few pics on the bridge. Rick and Polly make their way back to To’aga and Ian and I continued on to Olosega village.

Bike Riding at To’aga + Sunu’itao Peak | Ofu Photo Journal

Dec 31, 2018 | Lifestyle, Travel

By far the best way to get around Ofu is by bike.
To’aga stretches only a couple of miles but riding around on a cruiser—
wind in your hair
pavement under your wheels
next to this hunk of a babe
at the best beach in the world
—surely this can’t be beat.

There’s this one stretch of road that is my favorite because as you come up to it, the lush greens on both sides of the path clear up to reveal the dramatic Sunu`itao Peak and to me, it’s just absolutely iconic. I am awestruck again and again.

PS… I’m a horrific bike rider, as in I’m not good at it. And my excuse is that I’m short, making virtually all adult bikes too big for me. So yeah, me saying all this means bike riding in Ofu is legit legit.

Visit with a Kingfisher | Ofu Photo Journal

Dec 30, 2018 | Lifestyle, Travel

Just a few minutes after landing at Ofu, we meet Jamie and Holly from the Institute of Bird Populations (IBP). They’re surveying bird populations on Ofu and just so happened to be at the lodge to pick up a parcel that our neighbor asked us to bring over from Tutuila. They invited us over to check out a kingfisher with an eye injury that they were rehabilitating back to health. The little airplane that carried us to Ofu had already flown away, and we drove down the sandy road beside the airstrip to Ofu village where the girls were living for the past few months. I snapped admiringly at the the view of Ofu from the backseat of the truck. The kingfisher was in their care for just the last 24 hours and it was making steady improvements but after taking him outside, it was decided he needed more TLC and wasn’t ready to take off back into the wild just yet.

Thanks Jamie and Holly for showing us your awesome work!

Snorkeling at To’aga Beach | Ofu Photo Journal

Dec 30, 2018 | Lifestyle, Travel

Talofa from Ofu island!

We arrived on Thursday, December 27th on the only flight of the week. I’m with Ian and his parents, Rick and Polly. It’s their first time here, and Ian and I have been here before. We’re all elated to be here. We walk off the airstrip directly to the front door of Vaoto Lodge to check in with owner Deborah Malae, and were greeted by familiar faces – our neighbors from Tutuila, Mark and Alice, are also here for the week; and Jamie and Hallie from the Institute of Bird Populations (IBP) invite us over on their truck to Ofu village to check out a kingfisher that they were rehabbing.

Then we head off straight towards To’aga beach, about a 15-minute walk from the Lodge. We lather up in our favorite reef-safe sunscreen, and have a snack on the beach. Ian is the first in the water, as always; and I can tell just by looking at him that the water is perfect. I set up the Canon G7X and underwater housing that my friend Mareike was super kind to let me borrow, and follow behind Rick and Polly and sigh a happy sigh. How lucky am I?!

We snorkel towards an area that science folks refer to as “Pools 300” and that’s where we are met by mounds and mounds of beautiful and healthy porites coral heads and schools of manini (convict tangs) and needlefish, and so much life. My snorkel mask has a constant fogging problem, but Ian uses his magic spit to help clear it up and I hand him the camera to take photos too. I am grateful to be here, feeling alive in Ofu, underwater, and seeing this beauty. Thanks babe!

My first real Christmas tree DIY

Dec 26, 2018 | Create

This post’s a little late but I wanted to share because I got my first real Christmas tree!

American Samoa is a tropical little island that doesn’t have a lot of pine trees, and certainly not any of your typical Christmas-tree looking ones. So every year, the local Rotary Club and Tool Shop collaborate to bring in a shipping container filled with nothing but Christmas trees. It’s not a lot a lot, but plenty enough for those of us on island who are pining for that holiday pine scent.

Growing up, my parents always had an artificial tree which was at the time way more economical and of course cost effective. Now, living in a small apartment with my boyfriend, we don’t have a lot of space to store a fake tree in the off-season. You might remember my little DIY Christmas tree last year – check it out here.

This year, since we’ve cut down on more of our material possessions and because Ian’s parents were visiting us for the holidays (and will meet my parents for the first time!!), I decided it would be fun and memorable to get a real Christmas tree!

We set the six foot noble fir in our living room and wrapped an old tapestry around the base to make it look cozy. I didn’t have a plan on how to decorate it but I knew I wanted it to be a little different and I wanted to use what I had.

I spent several hours one arvo cutting pieces of mis-matched fabric scraps I had leftover from other projects and sewed together a long string of colorful bunting to use as a garland for the tree. Ian and I put on some holiday music and hung up the upcycled bunting and string lights we had used for years. Our only actual ornament was a little stuffed knit snowman that Ian received in a care package his parents sent for his first Christmas in American Samoa almost five years ago. Other than that one which we’ve kept over the years, I don’t want to collect ornaments. So instead, I picked out my favorite instax film photos taken of friends and family over the last seven years and hung it up with colorful binder clips. I also made a few (like, literally three) other ornaments from air dry clay, and picked up a random few things around the house like rattan coasters and strung it up too.

It’s such a simple but meaningful Christmas tree to me!