We relaxed at the resort, enjoyed more delicious seafood dishes and sinful tiramu dessert dishes. We shared our huge wedding cake with the staff to show our appreciation for all their hard work and kindness.
We were given a honeymoon package in our room, which consisted of a free cocktail for both of us at the bar, Samoan skirts/clothing, and a fresh fruit bowl. :)
We went swimming in the ocean and also in the pool and played tennis in the courts they had there. We also indulged in one more special massage. It was actually my favorite! It was called a couples' massage. We were in the same spa room, except that Keith was lying on a table outside and I was inside. In both areas you could hear the ocean so it was a very relaxing atmosphere. It was the only nighttime massage they had and after the massage when it was dark you get to sit at a table covered by beautiful floating flowers in a pool with a fountain, surrounded by lit candles with a whole bottle of wine. How romantic! It was seriously amazing how they set it up!
A few days after the wedding, we were taken by one of the resort staff members, Susanna, (who had been our server at dinner the night of our wedding)to her hometown. This was only about 5 minutes down the street into the next little town over. We went with one other New Zealand couple and were brought to an open building...there were no walls. Many of the buildings or houses are built like this. We were so confused at first because we were told we were going to a market, and there were about 20 or so Samoan adults and children all sitting inside the building on one side, and then there was us awkwardly sitting in a few chairs across from them. Immediately we were given a small meal...it was a Taro dish, which is like a potato dish with some type of gravy dressing all put together in a vine/plant bowl. It was delicious and we were also given a coconut with coconut juice inside as a drink! There were colorful home-made Samoan shirts and skirts (which the men and women all wear) with many different unique beachy prints and artwork. There were also pillow cases made with the same material.
After we were done eating, a few of the elders who were sitting in the center of the line of people began giving little speeches in Samoan and then drinking out of their cup. When it got to be our turns, we all randomly said thank you for having us here and for sharing their beautiful island with us. When it was Keith's turn, he gave about a 10 minute speech praising the amazing and kind-hearted people that live on this gorgeous island and blessing them for allowing us to get married here and start a wonderful life together! lol It was very touching!
Afterward, we spoke more with Susanna and learned that we could now look around and buy some of the clothing if we'd like. This was a type of Samoan ceremony presented by her church and all the money from selling the clothing would be given to the Children's Organization and the Widow's Organization. The speakers before had actually been giving us blessings for coming and being part of the event. The Samoans are all so kind and very religious and we were more than happy to help the island out and also bring some of their beautiful hand-made clothing home to share their culture.
After buying some of the skirts and a shirt for Keith, we both started talking to the many little children who looked very interested in us and kept smiling our way. There was Samoan music playing so I started asking some of the girls if they liked to dance. At first they were very shy, but then eventually I started dancing with one of the girls (maybe around 9 years old?) and this turned into a HUGE dance party that Keith and I started. We danced with all the kids, and then the kids would bring in some of the adults or elders! Everyone was laughing because I would be swirling the little kids around and around until they go dizzy, or they would be laughing because a man would come dance with me and maybe he was usually shy or someone important. Also, everyone was going nuts when Keith started doing some of his crazy dance moves with the older women and grandmas! They all loved it! It was a good time and we all felt more connected after this dance party. Before leaving, we took a few group shots and said thank you again and goodbye. What a great morning and what an amazing experience!
Other fun things we did on our honeymoon:
We wrote on our names in the sand. We first wrote Keith and I and right when we did this a cute little dog came and lied down on the sand next to our names to be in our photo! It was hilarious! He then got up and after we pet him, he ran around again. But, sure enough, after Keith wrote The Wojewniks in the sand, he came again for the picture. He did this after we wrote Just Married, and then for our last photo when we both lied down next to Wojewniks....he was there right in between us! It was like he was our new dog and part of the family! Although his family was watching the whole thing and laughing pretty hard. Check out the photos!! It was so cute!
We admired our wedding boat which still was in the water.
We gathered with everyone at the resort in the movie room one night and watched the New Zealand Blacks rugby team play against Australia. It was a big game and since most people at the resort were from New Zealand, there were a lot of people watching. NZ won so there was a lot of cheering and celebrating that night!
We also spent the last day watching part of an Indian/New Zealand wedding ceremony. It was interesting to see the different traditions they have, such as the bride and groom walking in circles after each family member gave a short speech.
On the last day we made an extra effort to say thank-you and goodbye to all the wonderful staff members at the resort. We even took photos with all of them! Check out the photo where all the staff was jumping high in the air! There you can see the fun personality they all had!
It was an amazing trip and we both were so happy with our choice of staying at Sinalei Reef and Spa resort! Samoa is a paradise island filled with wonderful, kind-hearted people! I hope to return one day for a honeymoon! Until then, I have hundreds of pictures and some videos to look back on and remember the great memories!
No comments:
Post a Comment