More underwater living treasures photographed while snorkeling in the shallows of To’aga lagoon during low tide.
I’ll do my best to ID what I can at some point, but comment below if you see any you know!
Ichthyologists, please chime in!
Photos from January 7, 2019.
Thanks to Mareike S. for letting me borrow your Canon G7X and housing, and Rick M. for shooting with me!
View more Ofu underwater pics here.
Yet another insanely beautiful day in Ofu.
I was supposed to be heading back to Tutuila on this day, but I waved my plane goodbye and decided to take a chance at another flight out of Ta’ū next week. Then we spent the rest of our morning and afternoon at the beach.
The day was still young, and the sun shone bright on the heavenly sand at To’aga. Ian hung his hammock between coconut trees, and I walked down the stretch and found the perfect nook to set my camera down on timer and attempt classic jump photos (and failed). Sorry not sorry, I can’t help it – To’aga lagoon, Sunuitao peak and Piumafua mountain are absolute icons in my opinion.
Rick stopped by and I had to get a father/son photo. And then we just lazed the rest of the day!
I love feeling like I have all the time in the world on vacations.
Reading is one of those things that I love to do but can be difficult to make time for in between a full day at work, social life, and (let’s be honest) eating and pooping. In fact, I used to do a lot of reading whilst sitting on that throne hahaha – but I digress.
I’m a slow reader so it took me all of 2 weeks to read “Coming of Age in Samoa” by Margaret Mead. I love it for its account of Samoan daily life in Manu’a, American Samoa back in the 1920s. She paints a vivid picture that I (having grown up in American Samoa in the 90s) can actually sort of relate to. Here we are lounging and reading in hammocks at To’aga beach on New Years Day.
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.
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.
