Samoa is a group of islands located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. There are two main islands, Tutuila and Opolu, as well as eight small islets. So today's port of call is Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) on the island of Tutuila. The city sits within a beautiful harbor with a backdrop of forested mountainsides. This island and surrounding islets boasts the only US National Park in the Southern Hemisphere. All of American Samoa combined equals 76 square miles Ninety percent of the islands are covered in untouched rainforest, as well as historical sites, beaches, and villages. Did you know that today Samoans are regarded as the largest full blooded Polynesian race left in the Pacific? Never knew that.
Shore Excursions offered three tours, one of which featured an Ava ceremony, where the drink of kava is made in a communal wooden bowl. During this ceremony, the drink is offered to all, using the same bowl. Reluctant to try this at one of these affairs, we tried to stay in the back of the group, attempting to blend in with the wallpaper. Wouldn't you know it….. the "Chief" came right to us with the kava, a really odd-looking drink that resembled muddy water, which we had to pretend to drink to be polite. It literally numbs your lips as well as all the way down. An acquired taste perhaps, but a sacred thing here. We did see many tour groups go off stuffed in the local open-air mini buses. We have done them all.
The ship docked by 8am, but it took a while to get cleared by the authorities. People must have begun congregating outside the stairs to Deck A, but were warned to relax. And by no means, were you allowed to bring any food off the ship, and only bottles of water were OK. This had to be announced twice.
As for us, we went to the dining room for breakfast first, then left about the same time the cleaning crew began washing balconies again. The separating panels were opened between the rooms, and two fellows came through with the hoses. Everything gets sprayed including the lounges and foot stools. We don't believe the room stewards are required to maintain the verandas like they used to.
Right on the pier is the marketplace under a series of tents. Every Samoan treasure you might expect can be found here from island clothing, wood carvings, coconut and shell jewelry, and beach items. We found them to be a bit pricy, but tomorrow's port might have a lot more bargains as we recalled. One important tool was right at our fingertips as we passed the local information table. One very large native fellow handed us a map of the island and everything we needed to know for our visit.
Once out of the port, we turned right, and began our long hike all the way around the harbor. Well almost….it really is a long deep bay. Did we mention it was hot and humid? With a strong breeze blowing and the many clouds that came over, it was tolerable. At one point, it did begin to rain, but stopped as fast as it began. Felt so good. We passed the main part of town which included shops, coffee houses, a few grocery and hardware stores, a post office, and even a McDonalds. An interesting stop was at their produce market which featured pineapples, coconuts, bananas, plantains, and taro root.
There were no beaches up this end, but if you had taken a $5 bus ride, they would take you to one. Sue and Leon happened to go past us in one of these shuttles, and they had the driver stop and ask if we wanted to go to a beach. Passing on the idea (no swimsuits on), we really needed to walk, so off they went. Will ask them tomorrow at breakfast where they ended up.
Up this end is their largest soccer field, some churches, bed and breakfast inns, and the Ronald Reagan Shipyard. The furthest we got was the Starkist Tuna Processors, one of the biggest employers in town. We could smell the oily aroma of tuna a mile away. This was a good point to turn back, where we took what should have been a shortcut, but wasn't. So we ended up hiking all the way around the soccer field, because it has now been fenced off completely. Our only concern was that we were running out of water, and needed to rest in some shade for a couple of minutes.
So we ducked into one complex where we located a soda machine with ice cold drinks for 75 cents. We drank our first strawberry Fanta, not the orange flavor we knew as kids. Sure was good. Taking our sweet time, we made our way back to the ship by 1pm. Cooling off in our room with more to drink, we headed off again to find a place for lunch. This time we turned left, following the main road past the working cargo area of the bay. Commercial fishing boats were docked here, and the nets were being worked on. Always interesting to watch the fellows mend nets or add floaters to the ropes.
Right where the road turns, are a group of trees that are home to fruit bats. We could hear them before we saw them. During the heat of the day, they like to hang upside down in the highest limbs, and fan their wings to keep cool. A few strays will take flight, but for the most part, they are lazy, spending their time sleeping.
Sadie's by the Sea, a hotel, is located around the bend. Next to that is Goat Island Café, where in the past, we have enjoyed a nice lunch there. So today, we did the same, taking a table out on their covered patio. Local draft beers were served, then we shared a cheeseburger, and a very expensive slice of passionfruit cheesecake with vanilla ice cream. Something to remember is when dessert is not listed, it is always wise to ask how much. After the fact, we felt $11.50 was a bit steep, as it was almost as much for our entrée. At least we shared and did not order two. And it was really good.
A little further up the road, we noticed the kids were getting out of school. At all levels, the kids wear uniforms. Island-style, the girls are in sarongs and the boys in a lava-lava, a sarong made for guys. Even the little kids wear them over shorts. All of them wore a white shirt or blouse.
Across the road is a public beach with domed patios, where locals have meeting places. Some are large enough for a small concert. The shallow waters here have signs posted that the water is checked weekly for bacteria. If it is not safe to swim, they let you know.
Back at the pier, we checked out the stalls of treasures. Inquiring about a sarong, one vendor said it was $20, reduced to $16, then again to $12. That told me….come back at 5pm, and it would cost $5, what it was really worth. Truthfully, we did not see a whole lot of folks buying here.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent on the veranda, as well as working on the photos. The Amsterdam left right after 5:30pm, with a lot of horn blowing as we exited the harbor. We now have a short distance to travel to the next Samoan port of Apia.
Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill, where we had halibut and one gigantic grilled pork chop. First time to try this entrée, the pork chop was enough to feed two very hungry guests. We did save a little space for a scoop of ice cream and the tiny cheesecake lollipops…..so cute.
And finally, we will be crossing the International Dateline tonight. So our clocks have to move forward one hour tonight, as well as skipping Friday the 15th. It will not exist, as we will wake up on Saturday, November 16th. We will get this "lost" day back in about 10 days from now. At that time, we will have two days in a row with the same date. Funny, huh?
Bill & Mary Ann
