Palolo Rising

This is a story of how the Samoan People fish for a certain coral based worm that rises from the sea bed twice a year, 7 days after the full moon in October and November in fact. We were on the island of Savaii and all geared up to help the people go and fish for the sea based worm called Palolo (Pah-lo-lo). In order to catch the worm we needed to wake up at 4 AM and wade out into the lagoon (shallow water in between fringe reef and beach) and scoop them up with a skimmer and place in bucket. The lagoon was filled that morning with heaps of Samoans marking their territory for their chance to obtain this worm, the caviar of the Pacific. It looked as though it was a National Geographic film with all of the sillouttes of people wading in the waist deep water in the twighlight of the Pacific morning...at least that is what I am told.

We never made it up that morning because we met a Canadian couple that were from Toronto. As with any conversation with Canadians overseas it quickly led to a dispute about hockey. So we stayed up and drank rum and I continuely berated this couple for cheering for the lousy franchise located in Toronto. Needless to say, I slept through the wake up call of crashing buckets and outrigger canoe launches. But I did manage to wake up to a hangover, and a good one at that.

To make matters worse the next day was a travel day back to the main island. This was inclusive of leg one; a 45 minute van ride down windy roads along the coast spotted with random speed bumps. We machositically choose the back seats. Upon arrival at our destination we embarked on leg two; a 1.5 hour ride across a bumpy sea on a ferry loaded with large trucks. the boat lurched and listed, as did our stomaches. And to top it all off it rained...HARD! We were soaked, as was all of our luggage. Upon arrival, we needed to catch another taxi for yet another 30 minute ride. The taxi was a pickup with no topper for our luggage. Because it was the last taxi available we had no choice but to take it. Our luggage did a wonderful impression of a sponge and soaked up all the available water it could. The day was a memorable one.

The moral of the Palolo fish... When met with a one in a lifetime chance to experiance a significant cultural experiance, always make sure the hockey fans in Toronto know that they are just plain wrong!