The Zaandam arrived to Tutuila Island, and the Pago Pago Harbor of American Samoa early this morning. With the help of a pilot and the local tugboat, we entered the harbor and were docked portside close to 7am. Much to our surprise, it wasn't raining as had been predicted, but there was no sun to be seen either. It was heavily overcast and humid as heck. The nice thing is that we were on the best side to watch our welcome show of several native Samoans who had dressed in their native garb and came to dance and sing for us.
For a change, we did not rush to breakfast at 7:30am, since we would have missed all of the festivities. And here it was….right outside our veranda. There was no live band, but the Methodist church group brought loud speakers and equally loud music for their dances. Halfway through their routine, they introduced the current Miss American Samoa, who entertained us with a solo performance. By the time the ship was cleared by the local authorities at 8am, they said their goodbyes. And we went to breakfast.
Actually, we were missed by the waiters who knew we would show up. Our fresh-squeezed glasses of orange juice were there as well as our coffee cups ready for hot coffee. They had guessed we were watching the welcome committee and they were correct. Many of the guests must have had early tours today, so the restaurant was not too busy. And speaking of tours, there were only four choices today. All were a duration of three hours and varied in price from $90 to $140. The least expensive was an east side island drive with a beach stop. Then there was myths and legends of Tutuila, followed by a village ava ceremony and island entertainment. Last but not least was a taste of Samoan village life. On past visits here, we have done at least three of the four excursions. The buses they use are not what you might expect. They are made small with wooden seats and open-air windows. Like no windows. On the myth and legends tour, several buses convoyed together, arriving to the same sights at the same time. Only when we did this tour, our bus was always last. Only one guide would give a talk at each site for all of the guests on the buses to hear. We heard the last two sentences because we were the last ones there every time. The Village "ava" ceremony was a "kava" ceremony where you are expected to taste a communal bowl of muddy-looking brew from the roots of a peppermint plant. We only pretended to taste it, because you risk insulting the host. That was the one and only time we booked a tour like that. Except once in Fiji, where we hid at the back of the crowd to avoid drinking the mouth and throat-numbing concoction. No more tours for us….thank you.
So we stayed onboard until 10:30am while listening to the crew drill that was taking place. This time, the souvenir stands were set up along both sides of the way out of the container port. This is a very busy cargo port, so we were kept to one side to stay away from the workers. We did a quick look-over of the tables of trinkets and t-shirts, and island clothing to beachwear. There was really nothing we were looking for. Well, maybe at the big market, we might see something that catches our eye.
But first, here are a few important facts about American Samoa. The total land mass of American Samoa is 76 square miles. There are five volcanic islands that make up American Samoa, as well as two atolls. Their marine waters are 117,500 square miles or about the size of the state of Oregon. It 's a tropical paradise with temperatures that stay around 82 degrees year round. The ocean waters surrounding the islands are also up to 86 degrees. Rainforest covers 90% of the islands and much of it is national park. In fact, it is the only US National Park in the Pacific. It is a tourist haven for hiking, swimming, snorkeling, diving, and fishing. Of course, it would take more than one day to do all of this.
Samoans are regarded as the largest full-blooded Polynesian race left in the Pacific. And we can tell you, there isn't another place that comes close to the friendliness of these people. Maybe it is due to the fact that they are very religious or raised to respect others, but it shows in their every day lives. Sunday is a day of worship and spending time with family or taking the time to rest. All major shops are closed, except for local food markets. Visitors are welcomed to attend a church service, but are asked to dress conservatively. That means a blouse and long skirt for the ladies, and men with shirt and trousers.
One thing we had forgotten was that there is no tipping expected. If you use a credit card for a restaurant, for instance, when they take your card, it is run with the exact amount of your order. There is no place to even add a tip. There are few places left in the world that does this.
So our hike began after passing through the craft market set up by the ship. Turning right at the street, we passed by The Jean P. Haydon Museum with exhibits of Samoa's history and heritage. Downtown Pago Pago included all government buildings such as the legislature, two courts, and the US post office. A brand new government building was under construction and may be their new legislature. Our tax dollars at work supplying employment to many locals. A good thing.
The nearby bus depot was busy with locals out shopping, but the adjacent McDonalds was closed permanently. That was a surprise, since it was always the busiest place in town for both dine-in and take out food. The Sadie Thompson Inn was still across the road, but we saw little activity there.
Fatatogo Square was located in the same village and it is their main marketplace with fresh produce, handicrafts and lots of souvenirs. Of course, we always take a stroll through the market and of course, one of us saw a unique stone necklace and bracelet set that would match many clothes in the closet. We are not talking "Effy" here, but nice, fun island creations – a good memory of our visit.
Looking closer at the map of Tutuila Island, we surmise that the island has a series of villages. We had left the port at Fatatogo, then passed through Malaloa to Autapini. That is the area where we saw the National Park of America Samoa's visitor center. This park is totally covered with tropical rainforest as well as underwater terrain. The center is a great source of info on rare plants, animals, and coral sand beaches. However, you would need much more time than a one day visit here to even see a small part of this volcanic paradise.
The next villages we passed were Fusi and Si'ufaga where the road took a turn around the end of the bay. There were a couple of small food markets, and some outdoor domed "fales" or palapas. When a religious event is taking place in these structures, shoes have to be taken off, and you never stand when the elders are seated. And when seated, you must sit with your legs crossed (or try to) or tug your legs on the side ( a bit easier). Pointing your feet at someone is considered rude. If you cannot sit like that (many cannot), you can cover your feet with a mat or a sarong. This same protocol will apply when we visit the ports in Fiji and Tonga.
So by now, we passed the tennis courts and Pago Pago Park. Two places had playgrounds for the little ones that are in the process of being remodeled. Many opportunities to sit and relax were along the guardrail of the main road. One nice spot was under palm trees across from the Paradise Pizza Restaurant that seems to be closed every time we pass here. Close to this area is a large fenced complex that appears to be a safe sanctuary for abused women and their children.
By now we were passing through Lalopua where a Catholic Church is along the roadside. In fact there are churches everywhere on this island since it is a big factor in their everyday life. Naturally, there was a cemetery nearby as well as some crypts in people's front yards. Very common in these island nations.
There was a huge tree that used to spread well over the bay here, but it has since been cut down to a stump. The massive root system has destroyed the sidewalk so much, it was difficult to walk over. One day this tree will come back to life for sure.
Now we were passing Satala, the Ronald Reagan Shipyard, and Anua village where the massive American Samoa Power Authority stacks provide power for the entire island. Samoa's major employer has to be the Starkist Tuna factory and processing plant. Many of the workers were just beginning their lunch break, and the street was full of people. And it was time for us to turn around and head back, but not until we got pictures of dozens of frigates hovering over the factory. Wonder if they flush the unusable fish parts?
We did make a stop at one of the small markets to pick up some chips and a couple bottles of much needed water. Where else can you buy bottled water for 50 cents apiece? The products sold in here were mainly rice in bulk, canned foods, cereals, candy and dozens of snack items from chips to rice crackers. We could not locate more of those honey mustard pretzel pieces we like so much. We should have stocked up in Maui, but then, hind sight is 20/20, right?
Taking our time, we made it back to the port area around 2pm. Our final destination was lunch, and we knew if we went back onboard, we might never make it back outside again. It had been a very long walk in the humid heat under cloudy skies. So we continued walking up the road to another village – Utulei. We passed tall trees that that always have hanging fruit bats in them. Although we did not see any this time, we knew they were there somewhere. Sometimes if their source of food is not in season, they will move to other locations. And we did see some of those large bats flying right before the ship dropped their lines and we left the harbor.
Passing the Ocean Center with many educational exhibits, we located Sadie's By The Sea Hotel and their convenient restaurant on Goat Island called Goat Island Café. You cannot imagine how great it felt sitting down at a seaside table and being served two Vailima beers in tall cans. They do not serve draft beer here. But these high alcohol lagers were ice cold and really helped ease the leg muscles in short order. We added one appetizer of chicken and cheese quesadillas which turned out to be quite large with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. And good with the beer. We could watch the nearby local high school kids getting out for the day, and several folks on the nearby beach. There was one fellow snorkeling past the end of Goat Island, but most of the beach-goers were closer to the hotel's pool and small beachfront.
We spent an hour there and ended our meal with one nice slice of carrot cake. The best ever. We were among the last of the lunch diners, where the staff were in the process of getting ready for the dinner crowd. The walk back was easier, due to the beer consumption we figured. All aboard was at 5:30pm, and we had made it back by 4:30pm. While we were waiting to go up the gangway, a nice fellow behind us asked where we had gone today. He introduced himself as the Port Agent that also doubles for the agent of Swire Shipping in American Samoa. When we told him we had walked to the tuna factory, he said…oh my gosh, that is about an 8 mile hike or more after walking to lunch. He continued telling us he was from Marin county (Novato) in California, and we said we were from San Francisco and live in the East Bay now. Small world. We wished him well as he was on his way for another run through the Lido.
Glued to one of the veranda lounges, one of us relaxed while the other began work on the hundreds (if not more) photos of the day. By 5:20pm, there was a call for four missing guests, three of whom were crew members. Not a good move. More island native ladies arrived for a rousing send-off to a very pleasant day here. And what a surprise. Had we not brought the umbrellas, it would have poured. As it turned out the rain never did come own, even with a 100% prediction. Lucky for us, the sun stayed mostly behind the clouds the majority of the day.
Captain Smit came on with his pm talk and said that we had 600 nautical miles to reach Fiji. And we would go from today, the 18th, straight to Sunday, the 20th of October. The 19th would not happen since we will cross the International Dateline this evening. More about that tomorrow.
We had a nice sail out of the Pago Pago Harbor, and had the chance to take photos of the opposite shoreline until it got dark. The sunset was not on our side, so we missed it except for some opposite color in the clouds.
Dinner was slow-going tonight. Why, we don't know, but it sure made our waiter nervous. It wasn't like the dining room was over-crowded, but it took one hour before we saw our entrees. For starters, we had a Caesar salad and one bowl of won-ton soup. Asking for extra wontons, I got four of them. One of us had the honey mustard glazed roasted lamb (excellent), and the other the Club Orange chicken (OK). Why it took so long, we still don't know, but it was worth the wait. We had spotted a glass of what looked like orange sherbet, and we asked Sarif if it was available. Of course, he said. It was just enough to end our meal on the lighter side.
We have two days at sea now as we head for Suva, Fiji.
Bill & Mary Ann
