Apia is similar to Pago Pago. Beautiful and friendly people, lovely scenery, not much infrastructure or things to see other than the natural paradise that caused Robert Louis Stevenson to make this island his home. ( I think that the Samoans are really beautiful. Their features are stunning. Another point of interest, they are a really large people. When in the stores clothing mostly starts at 1X for women and XXl for men. I felt tiny…I love that!!! BTW there are no 32A bras to be seen on the island just sizes that make my D cup look really, really small.)
Samoan people are family oriented. They live in family groups, meet in family pavilions to make decisions, act communally with resources and bury their dead in their front yards (which has an interesting impact on resale; families tend not to move). The number one economic activity for Samoa is “remittances.” Remittances are money sent home by family members working abroad. Our guide on this day told us that the unemployment rate here is only four per cent. Combining these two statistics would make one assume that a significant part of those in the work force are abroad. The number two economic impact on the island is tourism. but only “four or five” ships land her every month and the hotel industry is, from what we could see, under developed. But, these folks who have comparatively little seem to be pleased with their lot. Outsiders are interested in this place as the Chinese just built a hospital as a gift to the Samoan people, New Zealand is paying for elementary education for all children, the Japanese built something else, etc. 
Religion is a big part of Samoan life. Christian churches abound, our tour was commenced with a prayer and social activity ceased on Saturday afternoon so people could prepare for Sunday. (Didn’t see one synagogue) It rained or was overcast on this day and we spent most of our time in a coach riding on rough roads to see sights that were blurred by fog or low clouds.
However, the day was one of the best on this journey because we met Mark and Keith. Two of the most delightful people one could hope to know, they are Brits who keep a second home in Palm Springs. They bring laughter and joy to those they meet, a club G and I joined today. 
We had heard of these two from Gira, another Brit who sat next to us at lunch yesterday. She is writing a book while on board and, as we shared stories of our cruise, she remarked that “her boys” had taken her under their wing to make certain she was happy even though her husband and family were far away. Their success in that endeavor was painted for us by Gira’s smile and we were on the lookout for them from that moment.
As we arrived for our island tour of Apia, we spotted two likely subjects awaiting the signal to head for the busses and introduced ourselves. Sure enough, it was Mark and Keith. Genuinely curious about us, they asked enough questions to know more about Gloria and I and our families and our lives than anyone else we have encountered. It is a great compliment when others want to know about you in addition to simply wanting you to know about them. I hope that one day,, as you travel the world, you happen upon people such as these. It has happened to me on cruises before in the Arabian Sea and the Baltic Sea and is one of the gifts that only travel can give. My early thought is that cruises are the best form of travel for this phenomenon to occur.
We stopped at several waterfalls, one beautifully named Papapapaitai Falls. Pronounce it slowly, please. Robert Louis Stevenson lived and wrote here and his home has been transformed into a museum. Rains made the driveway a quagmire. Apia has recently been inundated with storms and the damage is evident everywhere. (the cyclone that hit in December is still obviously impacting the flora and fauna. Downed trees, ravaged areas , but even with that, the island is much cleaner and prettier than Pago Pago.