Today we decided to venture a little further afield, since we'd spent last week exploring and enjoying Apia. So, after breakfast we took a taxi to the bus terminus and hopped on a local bus. Our destination - The Museum of Villa Vailima - Robert Louis Stevensons' Home.
Born in 1850, the Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevensons, famous for books like Treasure Island, Ship Wrecked and Dr Jackal and Mr Hyde, lived out the latter years of his life here on Opolu Island, Samoa until his unexpected death from a brain haemorrhage in December 1894. He also holds a special place in the hearts of the Samoan people as he was instrumental in ensuring the release of all the chiefs from prison and returning the political landscape and governance to its former state and one that still exists today. This affection was shown when two hundred Samoan men cleared a trail up Mount Vaea while carry his coffin to his burial site.
When touring the beautiful island plantation house, one has a sense of it being a welcoming home. Seeing his manuscripts on his desk and first editions of his books in the library certainly highlights his achievements. The house itself, boasting five bedrooms, a smoking room, a library, a sick room, and the great room as well as the outdoor kitchen, with marvelous views from the spacious verandas which overlook the gardens and ocean, is tastefully restored to reflect the grandeur of past eras after being destroyed in a cyclone.
A surprising, although very touching event of our tour, was the tour guide singing a poem, written by Robert Louis Stevensons eighteen years before his death and inscribed on his tomb:
"Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie
Glad did I live and gladly die
And I laid me down with a will
This to be the verse you grave for me
Here he lies where he longed to be
Home is the sailor home from the sea
And the hunter home from the hill."
After our tour we hiked the 3.4 km, along the same trail cleared all those years ago, to visit his tomb which overlooks the city of Apia.
It was a very informative and interesting outing which has inspired us to re-read some of his books, but first, an afternoon nap was definitely required after that hike!
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