JULY IN PARADISE I see that it has been 6 months now since our last issue of the Coco News Nuts. Have you missed receiving your junk mail from the South Pacific? The weather is beautiful this time of the year. It's our winter, which means beautiful, warm, sunny days and cool (one blanket) nights. Sieni and I have just returned from one week in Los Angeles. It was my first trip away from Samoa in almost 3 years. I must say that in the short space of 3 years, things seem to have changed in the "real world" - and not necessarily for the better. To say that I experienced culture shock would be an understatement. I am happy to report that things have not changed too much here in Paradise. But, I do have some sad news to relate. I have been told (I haven't seen it first hand) that we now have our first traffic light in "downtown" Apia. You can probably imagine the impact this is having on drivers who have never seen a traffic light before and who have no idea of the difference between "green", "yellow" or "red" lights, not to mention the poor pedestrians who think they are in a shooting gallery.

COCO NUTS IN THE NEWS The really big news in this department is that Mika (our beloved, eccentric, "over the hill", food and beverage manager) married Julia (our beautiful, young, dancer and gift shop manager) last February and March. Yes, twice - why you ask? For the same reason that this is either his 5th or 6th marriage (but whose counting?). . . Mika says that you really can't have too much of a good thing. . . .

COCOCNUTS "GETS FAMOUS" Depending upon your point of view, you will either be very happy, or very sad, to learn that Coconuts has been discovered. We are now receiving more requests for reservations than we can presently accommodate. On top of that, we understand that the prestigious USA travel magazine, CONDE NAST TRAVELER will publish an article about us in their AUGUST issue! Simon Winchester, the writer for Conde Nast was here late last year, and the photographers were here in April. So, look for the article, and maybe you will see some familiar faces and scenes!

HOTEL NEWS Not surprisingly, we are expanding and presently building (opening in September) our "standard" accommodations - Coco Village Fales. Once again, Robert Ross, our talented designer and dear friend from Los Angeles visited us, and created a small number of individual, Samoan style "fales" (Samoan for house), to compliment our deluxe, Coco Tree House rooms. After that, we start on our long awaited, super-deluxe, Coco Beachfront Fales. By the end of the year, we will have 20 guest rooms and fales.

WATERFRONT NEWS In one of those rare moments when everything falls into place, a couple of months ago, an American by the name of Roger Christman sat down next to me at Sieni's Three-Stool-Bar and said that he was traveling through the South Pacific, looking for Paradise, to set up a SCUBA diving and water sports operation. Within an hour we had a handshake and a new Water Sports Center for Coconuts. The grand opening is scheduled for next month and we will have deep sea fishing, scuba diving, paddle boats, ocean kayaks, sail boards, jungle river cruises and much more - including full SCUBA instruction by certified instructors.

GETTING TO PARADISE has now become easier than ever before. Polynesian Airlines (the airline of Western Samoa) is now offering twice weekly, non-stop service directly to Coconuts from Los Angeles and Honolulu. This excellent service is already operating with a beautiful, new, Air Canada 767 that we took on our recent trip to Los Angeles. We had a wonderful flight with Cap't. Murray Brown and his great crew. What's more, Polynesian has come up with some really attractive, introductory rates. So, getting to Paradise has never been easier or more affordable!

RESTAURANT NEWS When Robert Ross was here to plan our new Coco Village Fales, he also managed to find time to design our new (still to be named) dining room. For those of you who remember the "Sand Pit" next to the 3-Stool-Bar, I want you to know that it is now only a fond memory, since that is the site of our new dining room. We now have a very spacious, all weather environment that is very traditional with an array of coconut tree stumps throughout the room. The food remains superb and Mika's newly created Keke Pa'a (crab cakes) is quickly becoming as popular as his famous Cajun Sashimi.

TOFA SOIFUA Well, it's time for me to join Sieni, Mika and Julia! Today we are having our lunch (cold lobster salad, crispy taro chips, and a bottle of California Chardonnay) "island style." We are taking a canoe (and our lunch), and going for a cruise up the jungle river next to COCONUTS, where I have been told that a large, clear lake has been discovered. So, it promises to be another wonderful day in Paradise, and the only thing that could possibly make it better is if you were here to share it with us. Maybe sometime soon? Love from all of us here at Coconuts to all of you Coco Nuts and would-be Coco Nuts!