Week in Savaii - Sun, Sea and Hospitalling!

Talofa after over a week!
Got back yesterday from a week on the other island of Western Samoa called Savaii. It is more rural there then here in Upolu so not much internet access. They only had dial-up which was slightly slow. Had a great week on Savaii though.
We went with two Australian medical students who are staying at the same place as us in Apia, Upolu. We decided to hire a car as everyone had said that it was the best way to get around. It was very simple hiring a car. We went into Budget and they asked when we wanted to pick it up and that was basically it! We got a Rav4 which wasnt a 4WD but think it was a 2WD. We then drove to the ferry port which is about an hour away. We thought that we had a car ticket for the ferry to Savaii but it turns out it wasnt a guaranteed ticket. When it came to loading the ferry, they told us to wait in the standby cue. Then followed a nervous 20minutes when car after car drove onto the ferry...and we were thinking that we wouldnt get on and would have to wait another 2 hrs, to be standby again...and never get to Savaii! Apparently there was a big funeral on Savaii that weekend and that was why we had been unable to get a confirmed ticket for the ferry over. In the end we were the penultimate car allowed on. They squish the cars on like sardines. It was slightly nerve-wracking as there was a Chrysler parked just to the right of us, so we had to slither out the car to avoid putting a scratch on the Chrysler..as that would have cost a lot of tala!
By the time we got up to the ferry deck..it was packed..so we sat on the floor for the 1hr15min ride over. It was suprisingly bumpy for what i thought was a big boat called Lady Samoa II. Everyone in Samoa seems to sleep the whole time...so people around us just started taking off their lava lavas (sarongs) putting them over their heads..and lying on the floor..to have a nap during the boat ride. Which left us sitting cross legged on the floor..trying not to whack them everytime the boat went up and down!
Oh dear..internet time is running out....and havent even started telling you about the blowholes....waterfalls, lava fields etc
ill have to leave you on the cliffhanger!
in the 5 min i have left..
the day before we went to Savaii...we went with a group of med students from UCL to an island called Manono. It was about a 20min boat ride, on a little boat. You can just turn up at the port and ask someone to take you across. The boat driver then took us for the walk around the island. We walked around the whole island in 2 hrs which shows how small the island is. We met a family there who offered to cook us lunch for a small price. So after our walk we headed back there. I never thought id get spaghetti hoops here...but the lunch was rice, chicken, fish and spaghetti hoops. So i had rice with spaghetti hoops as my sauce for the rice. They were a lovely family. We had one of the longest goodbyes ever. We all said goodbye and got on the boat..and they continued waving......our boat drove off..and we get waving..getting armache..then one of the guys we were with..took his shirt off to twirl above his head to say goodbye...and the mother of the family..to our shock..took her shirt off and twirled it above her head as well..was v.funny..and was just extra odd..due to the fact that none of the Samoan ladies were swimsuits or bikinis due to modesty so bathe fully clothed..but here in the distance we could see this large Samoan lady waving her tshirt above her head!
to be continued tomorrow/Mon. hope everyone is good
best wishes ande missing you all
xxxx