A'oloau Bay

Saturday, Ned and I planned a hike to Massacre Bay on the north side of the island. We drove up, past the great views, to the top of the mountains:

We found the trailhead and starting hiking down the steep trail through the jungle. Luckily, I had my trusty machete:

What I didn't have was a map. Had I, we might have realized we weren't hiking to Massacre Bay but to A'oloau Bay. Not that it mattered as we eventually came upon this:

Aoloau Bay:

Aoloau Bay:

The steep hike back up was exhausting. Fortunately, at the top we ran into some Samoans rolling a log up a hill (really). They stopped their project and opened some fresh coconuts for us to drink, providing me with refreshment and an excellent new coconut-opening technique. Basking in my post-coconut glory: