# The Pool... Samoa.



## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

The pool lay beneath the Togigogiga Falls, on the south side of Upolu Island, in Samoa. The water cascading down the falls from higher ground, splashed into one, then another crystal-clear pool of water. It was quite a walk from the car-parking area to the falls themselves, especially hemmed in by the cliffs and overhanging forest of trees... and the heat and humidity were overpowering.
Hearing the laughter and shouting of people playing in the water, we knew we were getting near, and the noise had a hollow, echoie sound to it like it was from inside a cave. And then before us, spread out in a vista a hundred feet or so below, were a dozen or more people playing in the pool of water at the bottom of the gorge.
Several of their children were jumping off the overhanging cliffs into the swiftly running water below, while mothers with their babies... and several elderly couples... sat in the shallow enjoying the show. It didn't take long for all of our contingent to climb down to the single bank in the middle of the pool from the cliff edge, strip off their outer clothing and get into the water. By now, the number of people enjoying themselves in the cool stream had doubled, and the noise even more-so. As I looked on in amazement, they all seemed intent on having as much fun as possible.
I sat on a seat under a metal-roofed area and watched the carry-on taking place in front of me. After a while... of watching their displays in front of me... I decided to walk to the top of the falls, and wade out through the rushing stream to a pleasant seating position where I could observe all that was taking place. It was really pleasant under the shade of some overhanging trees, and the cool air rising up from the cascade beneath me was quite cooling. I just sat for a while, enjoying the spectacle before me, and sipped on my cold bottle of Taula beer.
Needless to say, some of our children got bored with the peaceful scene taking place on the valley floor below me, and wanted some more excitement. They watched some other youngsters jumping off the cliff edge, into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. This was too much for them at first, so Mariana's son, David... from her second marriage... and Zyanya climbed up onto the cliff edge and walked to the side of the pool at the bottom of the first cascade.
First, they took turns climbing down onto the lower ledge, about six feet below the top of the cliffs, then tentatively jumped one after the other into the clear water. This excited them both even more, so the next time... after they'd climbed back up the cliffs... they jumped from the cliff edge itself into the water below. Before long, both Viggo and Junior had come along to join in the fun with them.
I hoped they weren't pushing their luck too much, as I could see that it wasn't very deep, and when they stood up after their jumps, the water was only up to their chests. But they didn't care, anyway, and were soon jumping all the way from the cliff edge to the second pool at the bottom of the falls.
By the time that we returned to Mariana's house at Vaitele-Sou, on the outskirts of Apia, it was cooking and eating our last meal together that was our main concern. Zyanya and Dave, along with Kieran, Robbie and Vikki, and Debut were all flying back to England in the early hours of the next morning. With some assorted portions of umu, brought back from Lotofaga-Safata with us, and other assorted leftovers in the refrigerator, the meal was quickly prepared and consumed. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks .


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

I can smell it, Dick - you're making me hungry! (Eat)

Cheers,

Taff


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For tsell.*

G'day, Taff, good to get your reply. My favourite part of the umu after the baked suckling pig was the palasami. What a gorgeous taste! I might yet get another feed of it this year, if Mariana gets her act together. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

Ota ika, raw fish marinated in lemon juice with chopped spring onions and tomato and coconut milk and otai for desert, melon juice with milk from grated coconut. Often have them on Sunday lunch, your palasami is our pulu masima. Malo mo tofa Capt Dick mo Taff.!


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

Hi Dick, Kauvaka, such a simple meal, yet so flavoursome - one of my favourites, together with raw fish.(Thumb)

Cheers,

Taff


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## Cpt Dick Brooks (May 13, 2013)

*For Kauvaka.*

G'day, Kauvaka, it's good to hear from you again, all the way from Tonga. Thank you for your own island's name for these Samoan food items. What island are you from in Tonga? I have some pleasant memories of the time that I spent in Niafu, in the Vavau Group of islands. 
Following a devastating cyclone in 1982, which blew most of the buildings out to sea like wastepaper down an empty street, we were contracted by Carter Johnson to carry 265 tons of cyclone relief on board my last ship, Debut, from Pago Pago, as well as towing a hundred foot barge to sink as the foundation for a dock by his hotel in Niafu.
If you would like to read about this adventure, which culminated with Debut being put on notice by the British consul in Apia to be requisitioned to fight in the Falkland War, then go to the Books Forum and access the Kindle code for my book, 'The Black Ship's Odyssey : Book Two.' That's why my ship became to be known as the Black Ship. Knowing that I'd have to steam right down into the ice during an Antarctic winter to stand any chance of rounding Cape Horn without being spotted by an Argentine fighter-bomber, I painted her hull black and her top-hamper storm grey. All the best to you, Cpt Dick Brooks .


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

Cheers Capt Dick. We live in Nuku'alofa on the main island of Tongatapu. We've just had TC GITA give us a hammering a couple of weeks ago. Major damage but fortunately no fatalities, Power is now restored to pockets of the island and we are still cleaning up fallen trees and vegetation. Have been to Vava'u, what a beautiful harbour, Port o' Prince, but Tonga's best kept secret is the Ha'apai Group halfway between Tongatapu and Vava'u. Only yachties have discovered it so far. Tofa!


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

kauvaka said:


> Cheers Capt Dick. We live in Nuku'alofa on the main island of Tongatapu. We've just had TC GITA give us a hammering a couple of weeks ago. Major damage but fortunately no fatalities, Power is now restored to pockets of the island and we are still cleaning up fallen trees and vegetation. Have been to Vava'u, what a beautiful harbour, Port o' Prince, but Tonga's best kept secret is the Ha'apai Group halfway between Tongatapu and Vava'u. Only yachties have discovered it so far. Tofa!


Kia ora, Kauvaka, too late, mate! You owe me an hour spent on this piece of heaven - half of it snorkelling on the wreck off Ha'afeva Island!! How come I missed it in my youthful travels? Google's the best I can do these days...
Pleased to hear you all survived GITA. I followed her progress at the time, it's no fun to experience a TC.

All the best,

Taff


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

Malo Taff. Yep Ha'afeva the sort of place most of the world miss but to those few who do manage to visit - never forgotten. Very basic yet everything you need is there. Similarly with Capt Dick and his visits to the caves on the outlying islands in the Vava'u Group. Gita was a big one, I've spent everyday since in the garden chopping fallen trees into managable lengths. Sad to see convoys of trucks going past with what were peoples' homes and contents on the back, on the way to the rubbish tip.


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

kauvaka said:


> Malo Taff. Yep Ha'afeva the sort of place most of the world miss but to those few who do manage to visit - never forgotten. Very basic yet everything you need is there. Similarly with Capt Dick and his visits to the caves on the outlying islands in the Vava'u Group. Gita was a big one, I've spent everyday since in the garden chopping fallen trees into managable lengths. Sad to see convoys of trucks going past with what were peoples' homes and contents on the back, on the way to the rubbish tip.


We've not had a cyclone on the Gold Coast for some time, just the tail ends, but North Queensland cops them regularly. A couple of years ago, there were two in one year. Winds on one occasion were over 300kph. People rebuilding were hit a second time.

You probably have this weather tracker, in real time, but if not it's here:

https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=166.44,-15.02,1306

All the best,

Taff


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## Peter Goerman (8 mo ago)

Cpt Dick Brooks said:


> The pool lay beneath the Togigogiga Falls, on the south side of Upolu Island, in Samoa. The water cascading down the falls from higher ground, splashed into one, then another crystal-clear pool of water. It was quite a walk from the car-parking area to the falls themselves, especially hemmed in by the cliffs and overhanging forest of trees... and the heat and humidity were overpowering.
> Hearing the laughter and shouting of people playing in the water, we knew we were getting near, and the noise had a hollow, echoie sound to it like it was from inside a cave. And then before us, spread out in a vista a hundred feet or so below, were a dozen or more people playing in the pool of water at the bottom of the gorge.
> Several of their children were jumping off the overhanging cliffs into the swiftly running water below, while mothers with their babies... and several elderly couples... sat in the shallow enjoying the show. It didn't take long for all of our contingent to climb down to the single bank in the middle of the pool from the cliff edge, strip off their outer clothing and get into the water. By now, the number of people enjoying themselves in the cool stream had doubled, and the noise even more-so. As I looked on in amazement, they all seemed intent on having as much fun as possible.
> I sat on a seat under a metal-roofed area and watched the carry-on taking place in front of me. After a while... of watching their displays in front of me... I decided to walk to the top of the falls, and wade out through the rushing stream to a pleasant seating position where I could observe all that was taking place. It was really pleasant under the shade of some overhanging trees, and the cool air rising up from the cascade beneath me was quite cooling. I just sat for a while, enjoying the spectacle before me, and sipped on my cold bottle of Taula beer.
> ...


it's also a well-known short story by Somerset Maugham:








The Pool by William Somerset Maugham - Review


The story 'The Pool" written by famous British writer William Somerset Maugham is about love. The main character, Scottish mam Mr. Lawson...




item1000.blogspot.com




We lived nearby when I was helping to set up the Pacific Forum Line in Apia in 1978.


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