10/8/08 Pago Pago, American Samoa

Pago Pago, it even sounds exotic! We arrived early in the morning and it was a beautiful sight after all those days at sea. From the ship, it was a beautiful island, very lush and green with dramatic steep mountains. It got even prettier as we sailed into the harbor and prepared to dock. I was glad to be here! I had signed up for a pair of half-day sightseeing excursions using local buses for transportation. There was some duplication in the tours but each offered some things that the other did not. In particular, I wanted to learn a little about the local culture and the second tour visited a Samoan village. So I was looking forward to both tours.

The tour descriptions stressed that the buses were genuine island transportation, without air conditioning, padded seats, etc. I quickly found out why this was important. The lack of air conditioning wasn’t a big deal but the seats were a different story. The bottom and back of the seats were boards, maybe twelve to fifteen inches wide. There was nothing to recline against so you essentially sat straight up, with no back support, on a plank. The intelligent people brought a towel from the ship to sit on but I wasn’t smart enough to think about that. After an hour or so, my back and neck were killing me, not to mention my sore butt! Fortunately, there were multiple stops during the tour and we were able to get up and move around for a few minutes. The sights were gorgeous, especially along the coastline. We stopped at the Flower Pot Rocks, Leone Village, Turtle and Shark and Governor Taueses Museum in addition to our drive along the coast. All the sights were impressive but I was even more impressed with the people. They were extremely friendly and they are so proud of their island. By our standards, they appear to have very little but they seem so happy. Vickley, our guide, had taken off from school (skipped) in order to make a few dollars and he was very enthusiastic to be showing us his home! Family is very important to the Samoan people, with multiple generations living together. Deceased family members are buried on the family home site, which is passed from generation to generation. There are no public cemeteries, so far as I know. It was an interesting and enjoyable half-day learning experience.

The afternoon tour was also enjoyable, even though some of it was repetitious. We did see the Sliding Rocks and the golf course which were not part of the morning tour. Then we went to the village where multiple stations depicted various aspects of village life – washing clothes, weaving mats from palm fronds, cooking, etc. My favorite demonstrated the uses of coconuts and began with a Samoan native climbing the palm to retrieve the coconut itself. He was up and down in a flash! Refreshments were served and I took the opportunity to try the local beer which was on sale. Not bad! The visit ended with a show featuring traditional dances, including the obligatory participation of a couple of audience members. Although I normally don’t care much for touristy recreations, the hospitality and friendliness of the villagers made this a fun afternoon.