Relaxing and exploring. That is what 42-year-old Jo Birdsall, of Auckland New Zealand, is in Samoa to do.

The Dear Tourist caught up with her making her way to the Marina at Matautu yesterday. She arrived on Wednesday and is staying at the Tanoa Tusitala.

“I heard about Samoa through a friend that I work with back home,” she told Dear Tourist.

“She’s Samoan so she keeps coming home to visit her family and she always tells me that I have to come and visit her country.”

“She came here before me but I got the dates mixed up so I actually arrived yesterday and that’s the day she flies back to New Zealand. And now I’m here by myself, but that’s alright I’ll be fine.”

It’s Ms. Bridsall first time in Samoa. An Events Manager back home, she is looking forward to six days of being pampered and relaxing.

“All I want to do on this holiday is to relax and explore,” she said.

“I like it already. I have been to Fiji and Rarotonga and I like Samoa better because it’s not too touristy, I mean it’s a little bit but it’s still Samoa.”

“For this trip I want to see everything. I don’t want to just stay in resorts I want to go out in the other villages and explore.”

“I want to see how Samoa is different from other Pacific islands, I mean I have already met the people and they are just lovely.”

“They have time to stop and say hello and ask if you are okay and if you need anything, whether you are enjoying yourself or not.”

“I mean that kind of attitude you don’t get from back home because everyone is just so busy with their work and their personal life.”

“However, here it’s different and you actually feel welcomed in a strange country especially if this is your first time here.”

“You just get in the plane and come not knowing what to expect and what the people are like so it’s actually beautiful already.”

“I was just on my way to town looking around and I am actually making my way down to Marina to have a taste of your local beer and taste your raw fish.”

“I would also like to have a taste of your local food especially palusami that my friend recommended to me so I want to do that.”

For the rest of her holiday she wants to check out the other side of the island.

“I want to go to the other side of the island and check it out,” she said.

“Then maybe spend the two nights in the fales as I want to see the view and feel the breeze so I am looking forward to do a lot more in this trip.”

“If all goes well I will definitely come back and I will recommend Samoa to all my other friends and families who haven’t had the chance to come and visit.”