Blogs from American Samoa, Samoa, Oceania

This is our second visit to this island. This time we stopped at a town called Fagoto. Soon after disembarking there is a lovely museum (closed since it was Sunday) but they had this lovely mural and story of creation in front that I wanted to share. There are some interesting buildings that added a bit of character to our walkabout. Further down we stopped at the only bar in town (which was also closed) but I got this great poster of Sadie Thomson! A beautiful and lush island – very green as the average rainfall is around 200 inches per year! Take a taxi for a trip around the island to see the views and hope that you never have only a Sunday to visit Pago Pago! I added a photo of Darold outside our ... read more

Blog 33 Pago Pago, Tutuila, American Samoa, April 22 ,2018 – Weather forecast: partly cloudy skies; humidity 85%, temperature 29°C, wind 6kts (2 Beaufort) Early this morning we arrived in American Samoa and the ship was immediately subjected to an inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard. This resulted in the crew going through a complete series of emergency drills. While they conducted their drills most of the guests went ashore to explore Pago Pago, which is the capital of American Samoa. On the opposite side of the harbour was one this island state’s principle industries, a tuna cannery. Fish exports represent 95% of the area’s exports. We boarded a vehicle known as an Aiga (family) bus for our destination, a Samoan village. We drove along the coast to our first photo stop at the Flower Pot ... read more

Day 163 Tuesday 25 August At sea, bit of a swell 33c cloudy Had breakfast then did Zumba (Gold and Regular) then Gail walked and I did some washing. They were going to have a crew tug of war but there had been some overnight rain so the deck was wet and they had to cancel. For lunch we had a Mongolian BBQ but I think I put too much sauce on mine and it was a bit salty. After lunch we had a cup of coffee then Gail went to Choir practice and I went to a lecture on the solar system. After, we played cards for quite a while. Gail got consecutive undeclared slams. I've never seen that before. After dinner we went to the Vista Lounge and watched Martin Lawson, the Scottish lead ... read more

The lure of a flight over to American Samoa cast a powerful spell on me, and it didn't take long for the friendly staff in the Apia office of Polynesian Airlines to get my itinerary sorted. I always find it thrilling when a new travel itinerary has been finalised, and the chance to visit another country in this wonderful world becomes a real prospect. The airport to American Samoa is very close to Apia itself, only a ten minute drive in fact. The runway is only suitable for propellor planes, but the ride in the taxi entails just a few turns in an Apia neighbourhood, and suddenly the airstrip presents itself seemingly out of nowhere. I arrived at the airport a little over an hour prior to departure time, and there were a few taxis and ... read more

Pago Pago: During the night we steamed across the South Pacific Ocean into the Samoan Basin. In the morning we approached on a Northerly heading towards Pago Pago Harbour. Approaching to the entrance we left on our Starboard side Breakers Point, and on the Port side Tulutulu Point before making final approaches towards our berth. On going ashore Colleen, myself, Greg, Judy, Liz, and Howard hired a bus to take us out to Two Dollar Beach and then onto Tisa’s Bar and Grill. All beaches in American Samoa are privately owned and no prize for guessing how much the cover charge was for using the beach. Tisa’s Bar and Grill is commonly referred to as the “bar at the end of the world” as C.N.N. did an article on it some time ago hence its name. ... read more