i spent my rent money on an impromptu plane ticket to samoa. eleven of my travelling companions and i stayed in “fales,” which are open huts with thatched roofs and blinds made out of coconut leaves.

we slept under mosquito nets (note to anyone who travels to a south pacific island: do not sleep with your arm outside the mosquito net. you will wake up with thirty bug bites. on your elbow.) we were literally just a few steps from the most beautiful beach.

samoa, although it looks like the perfect paradise, had a lot of unexpected imminent dangers. not only was our sweet flesh a feast for mosquitoes and the sun’s oven, but we had to beware of what tree we sat under because of the impending doom of falling coconuts. this was quite difficult to get used to!

but as much danger as coconuts had to offer, they also produced the sweetest milk.

the samoans try to live an ecologically friendly life. at night there are very few lights, and the resort was lit by lanterns instead. that makes for beautiful sunsets, and even more incredible stars.

another way that samoa has “gone green” (before it was popular) is that they collect rainwater for their showers and faucets. every day i bathed in an outdoor shower which is just about the most incredible thing ever.

there was even a sweet waterfall not too far of a drive from the resort.

and quite possibly the most gorgeous water-flowers ever.

the resort provided free island breakfasts which usually consisted of some sort of egg, coconuts, starfruit, tangerine, bread, and an exotic bean or rice or banana porridge. since i was broke having spent all my money to find paradise, i seldom ate, that is to say, i very much appreciated the complimentary breakfast. what i also loved was dinnertime, not because i filled my stomach, but because of the island boys i made friends with that sang and played guitar. they put a samoan spin on contemporary songs that are popular in the states and their creative energy reminded me of being back home in new paltz.

my favorite night in samoa was my last one – spent on the beach with the island boys pictured above and all my fellow world traveling friends.  we placed candles in the sand, played guitars, drums, sang, and my friend bea from spain and i even presented the group with a song we had written together about our week’s vacation. i even got to do a little bit of spoken word poetry for the cypher of ecstatic friends.

we were free in samoa. it will always be skinny dip and moonlight in my heart.