The Volendam arrived to American Samoa early this morning under heavy clouds and slightly rough seas. It was still warm and muggy, but not as oppressive as it has been the last two or three days. There was a large group of locals waiting on the commercial dock to greet us. They were dressed in native clothing of lavalavas or sarongs for the fellows, and white shirts and red pants for the ladies. They performed Samoan singing and dancing for at least an hour. Sure is nice to see such a welcome, as these greetings do not happen often anymore.
Here are a few fast facts about American Samoa. There are five volcanic islands and two atolls that make up American Samoa. The total land area is 76 square miles, but adding the marine waters, it is the size of Oregon or the country of New Zealand. Now that is impressive. Temperatures average in the 80's and the water temps are about the same. It is tropical, so expect a lot of rain, like today for instance. There is a reason it is a rain forest. The national park here is the only US park in the South Pacific. The people here are regarded as the largest full-blooded Polynesian race left in the Pacific.
We stayed onboard until the majority of folks had left the ship. Some of the tours included myths and legends for 3 hours and $110. An ava (kava) ceremony for 3 hours was $120. A taste of Samoa was $140 for 3 hours, while an east side and beach tour was $90 for 3 hours. Probably not the best day for the beach, but that is something you never know before you book these tours. The weather can be unpredictable in this part of the woods.
There was a crew drill on the ship at 9:30am, but it was done by 10am. We thought that by then the passing showers might clear away, and it might be nice. However, the showers became heavier and finally turned to driving rain. It came in spurts, but really never let up for long. From here on out, we will bring our umbrellas like we did today. Sure helped having them.
The Volendam shared the commercial port with containers being moved and dispersed all day. It was quite noisy sitting on the veranda. The only plus was that the rain never got the balcony wet except on the starboard side. All of the souvenir stands have been removed from inside the port gate to elsewhere along the shoreline. Guess it is a security rule.
We left the ship around 10:30am and headed towards downtown. The first big stop was at the produce market and the souvenir shops inside the building. We did a quick stroll through the market where we did not need anything. Continuing down the street, we noticed many new buildings going up. Mostly government buildings it appeared. Tax dollars at work – USA tax dollars to be exact. We are sure this island was affected by Covid with no tourists coming here. Hopefully, the ships are back and the people are getting back on their feet.
Passing many shops and businesses, we stopped briefly to sit under a traditional fale or palapa. It was raining steadily now and appeared it was not going to let up. Many buses passed by, but not the traditional kind. These are small colorful shuttles that hold maybe 20 people with no windows. They are island-style air-conditioned. These old vehicles are what they use for the tours. There were a number of taxi drivers who beeped at us, offering rides. No one walks in the rain here…..except some of us.
Anyway, we continued around the end of the harbor, and headed towards the tuna factory. In fact there are two well-known ones located here – Starkist and Chicken of the Sea. We think they employ many of the locals and between the fishing vessels and the factories, there must be many jobs. Some trees along this side of the harbor house fruit bats. They can be seen hanging upside down either curled up tight or fanning their big wings. They are nocturnal, and rarely fly during the heat of the day.
We did spot a restaurant on the hillside called Paradise. It used to be a pizza place, but since it was still early, we decided to wait until we got back to town. Taking our time, we turned around before the aroma of cooking tuna hit us. Took over an hour to get back. Passing the ship, we continued for a mile or so to Goat Island Café located at Sadie's by the Sea Hotel. We found a good table outside which was out of the driving rain. We ordered Corona beers, since they did not have local draft beer. Lunch was a shared appetizer of chicken/cheese nachos. It came missing the sides of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. We asked, and our waitress apologized and brought us the sides. We finished our fun meal with a slice of chocolate cake, mainly because they were out of the Key lime pie.
It rained all the way back to the ship where we arrived by 3pm. Despite it all, we still managed to get some good photos. Took the rest of the afternoon to process them and write today's log. Once again, our veranda stayed dry, and it was fun watching the car traffic and pedestrian traffic the rest of the afternoon. All aboard was 5:30pm, and the ship pulled away from the pier before 6pm. Miss Samoa had returned with some of her friends to say farewell to us. Was a nice way to end our stay here, even though it was a very wet one.
Dinner was back in the dining room where we ordered very tasty chicken and veggie spring rolls. So good, we doubled the order. A Caesar salad for one of us and a tomato/mozzarella cheese tower for the other. Mains were one oxtail plate with mashed potatoes, and the other was a vegetarian Asian noodle dish with lots of sauteed veggies. Nice for a change. Desserts were the sticky date pudding, which looked nothing like it sounded. One of us had sliced bananas and strawberries. Risman offered a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, and we said OK. When he said one scoop, he meant a tiny scoop, which made us laugh when he brought the glasses. Noticing other folks that ordered ice cream, they had at least 4 scoops in the glass. The trick is knowing how to order it. We finished early, which was perfect. It had been a long day, and we were ready to call it a night. And there was only a movie in the World Stage. It was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Bet we already saw it.
Bill & Mary Ann
