Hi all
We (my husband and I) have just returned from completing our Open Water certification in Samoa, and I thought I'd post this here because there doesn't seem to be a lot of info available on the web with regard to diving in Samoa. You can take a look at AquaSamoa's website too for more info - http://www.aquasamoa.com.
Our instructor, AquaSamoa's Stev'ae, took us from floundering novices (bar a couple of 'discovery dives' in Rarotonga) to confident divers. He has over 27 years as an MDST and is also a marine biologist, so our dives with Stev'ae were made even more interesting as he was able to answer our questions regarding the different fish, habitats etc. Completing the certification wasn't a doddle - Stev'ae is very persistent (and extremely patient!) and worked us through every task over again where necessary until we got it right - but we're happy we've had thorough training with an emphasis on safety.
After we'd completed the OW we took our first dive as certified divers (guided by instructor Steve, AquaSamoa). Some of the things we saw during our dive trips were a ray, a couple of turtles swim by the boat, flying fish, various brightly coloured tropical fish, huge clams, amazing corals - and the underwater landscape was more interesting than we'd seen in Rarotonga.
We're thoroughly hooked and next year we're going back to Samoa on a turtle-seek dive. Can't wait!
Cheers
Chrissie
New Zealand