THE JEWELS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC108 | June• 2019S
amoa’s most famous former res-
ident was author and poet Rob-
ert Louis Stevenson, best-known
for the children’s classicTreasure Is-
land. He died in Samoa in 1894 and
is buried on Mount Vaea, just out-
side the capital of Apia. Stevenson’s
grave offers sweeping views over the
city and is reached by walking along
a well-maintained – though stren-
uous – uphill path. Stevenson’s for-
mer house is now a major attractionincorporating a well-tended museum.
Samoa, with a population of
196,000, has several large resorts
and is popular among tourists who
split their time between swimming,
snorkelling, diving and fishing or
shopping in local markets.
Samoa is a multi-party democra-
cy with Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Neioti
Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi the current
elected Prime Minister. The main is-
lands are Upolu and Sava’ai.Samoa
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