From Greenwich Meridian to International Date Line. Part 3. Samoa and American Samoa.

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9. Today's the day....or isn't the day.

Despite the fact that the ship's GPS is showing a position of 168 degrees west, the international geographical authorities deem that the international date line actually passes through this line of longitude rather than at 180W, thus at midnight, we jumped from Tuesday April 9 to Thursday April 11. Technically the date line has been reached and instead of being 12 hours behind Greenwich, we are now 12 hours ahead. Around a dozen people aboard have missed their birthday. Talk about time travelling.

On the other hand, at 12.45pm today we will be crossing the equator. However, and somewhat surprisingly, there has been no announcement of King Neptune making his customary appearance.

Maybe he couldn't afford the fare, although we've now just heard he'll be arriving tomorrow instead. All a bit late if you ask me.

Wildlife sightings out in the open ocean have been rare to non-existent. We have spotted just one pod of dolphins, a few flying fish and the occasional seabird. Equally rare is sighting of other shipping. Since departing Los Angeles, we have only seen one other ship (Hawaiian waters excepted of course.) It's hard to comprehend what a huge ocean this is and how much water it contains when we consider we have been sailing for days with no land anywhere close and the water depth is over 5,000m.

Our trivia team has been reasonably successful. Mike and Zennie are very keen triviaists (is that a word?) and seem to spend their whole life cruising Therefore they know many answers before the question has even been finished! We've won about four times so far but the quality of the prizes never improves. It's all about the glory.

The menus and food have been a little disappointing but there is certainly nothing to complain about. The menus state that many of the dishes are regional, but all that means is that they put a few pieces of pineapple on top and call it Hawaiian.

Our captain, Michel Tuvo is, without doubt, the best captain we have ever sailed with. From previous experience, the captains are largely anonymous people, but Captain Tuvo is completely the opposite. He is always wandering around the ship, talking to passengers, eating in the buffet, checking on the progress of events and deliberately photobombing people's pictures. Because he is Italian, he says that he is an "excellent driver" of the ship. When the weather is good he says it's because "me me me in charge of the weather today", when the weather is bad, it's because somebody else is in charge. He always ends his broadcasts with a quickly spoken, high pitched "bye bye!", and this catchphrase is now being used by everyone. He has also announced that as so many people aboard have already crossed the equator, this time we will be going underneath the line, rather than over it.

It's been mooted that in the event of a real emergency whether or not he would be taken seriously, such is his jocular demeanour.

10. Samoa

After four days at sea we have just had two port days and so I'm only now having a chance to catch up.

As I alluded to in an earlier post, the crossing the equator ceremony finally took place, albeit 24 hours late. Much gunge was poured and many eggs were cracked over heads and as a result, all Pollywogs are now Shellbacks. It was also the only time I've ever seen a captain, deputy captain, chief engineer and head of the hotel department all end up in the swimming pool fully clothed. Well done to all and a massive plus for guest relations.

We reached Apia, the capital of Samoa on Saturday April 13...it's sometimes known as Western Samoa but this is very un-PC in these modern times. There was a welcoming committee waiting on the pier consisting of girls and guys dancing, drummers drumming, men performing the Hakka and even Miss Samoa herself with a solo hula.

We hadn't really known how to spend our time in Samoa and so left a decision on sightseeing to the last moment, managing to squeeze onto a tour which included some cultural experiences together with a swim. I don't often opt for anything described as "cultural” but given that you can't ever watch too many dusky Polynesian maidens hula dancing, off we went.

We were taken to a local village (the sense of community is extremely strong in Samoan society, everybody gathers in the open-air village hall, everybody shares in the cooking and the food), for the said dancing and to sample some local snacks and coconut milk. The kava ceremony was also performed. This is a traditional drink made from the kava root for use during special events and is seen throughout the Polynesian Islands. It looks and tastes like cold, dirty dishwater and makes your lips and tongue go numb. I have a feeling it would be illegal in many western societies and only a watered-down version is given to tourists. Since you are reading this post it's proof that I survived.

By this time the day's heat and humidity were at their peak so we moved on to the Piula Cave Pool for a welcome swim and cool down. The pool is actually freshwater and is part of an old lava tube. Being a Saturday, the pool was busy with many locals picnicking and their children enjoying the water alongside the tourists.

Heading back to the ship we passed many small villages hugging the coastline, each surrounded by lush vegetation and brightly coloured flowers. Chickens, stray dogs and pigs roamed everywhere.

Before leaving home I had read that the local beer, Vailima, is not to be missed so rather than getting straight back onboard we walked a short distance along the waterfront and found a bar. We'd not eaten since breakfast so ordered a couple of bottles of the brew and a cheese toastie and a plate of chips to go with them. Very good it is too and I'll certainly add my recommendation to try it to anyone else venturing this way. The waiter who served us had also been doubling as a tour guide earlier in the day and was keen to chat to us about where we lived, where the cruise was going and what we thought of Samoa.

Indeed, we remarked afterwards that the locals were all so welcoming, smiling, softly spoken and friendly.....wherever we went they stopped to wave as we went past. They only have around 12 cruise ships visiting each year and so the welcome did feel very genuine and not just "put on" for the benefit of the passengers and their tourist dollars.

Incidentally the author Robert Louis Stevenson enjoyed the climate and hospitality of Samoa so much that he lived out the latter part of his life here and is buried in the mountains overlooking Apia.

Then as we sailed away from the quayside the dance troupe from the mornings welcome gave another performance, this time with flaming torches.

11. Groundhog Day-American Samoa

Our most westerly point had been reached at about 173W and overnight we sailed a few miles eastwards from Samoa to the neighbouring island of American Samoa. Due to political preferences whereby Samoa wants to be aligned with its closest economic partner, New Zealand and American Samoa remains an American territory aligned with the western USA, the Islands are on different sides of the International Date Line and thus we have crossed back. Having missed Wednesday this week, we were now in American Samoa and the date was Saturday April 13...again.

The main town is Pago Pago but it's correct pronunciation is Pango Pango. (You can't say that this blog isn't educational). Our tour didn't leave until late morning, so this gave us time to take the short walk into the downtown area. Downtown is rather misleading, it was just a small area with a few more shops, churches and markets.

It also happens that in a few days’ time, April 17 is the National Flag Day and a day of celebration. However, in true Samoan style, the celebrations are flexible and as the weather forecast was good and there was a cruise ship in, the annual canoe race was going to be held in the morning. The canoe race is a Very Big Thing with each village putting in a team and vying for bragging rights for the ensuing year. The canoes are also massive, requiring a crew of 48 paddlers plus a captain. And as anyone else who is familiar with Polynesian culture will know, the paddlers are pretty big guys too! As we strolled into town we followed the white team who were singling and chanting and high fiving anyone who walked by. Indeed, the whole Island seemed to be coming down to the harbourside to cheer on their local team.

The race went right past the ship and got back in time to watch from the vantage of the promenade deck. The blue team won by several lengths (a length is at least 150 feet!), followed by the reds. Our white team was some way behind but at least fared better that the yellow team who, unfortunately, sank.

We joined our tour at midday and climbed aboard our tour bus. All the buses have definitely seen better days. They look as if the Samoans have bought the ones the Cubans and Indians rejected for not being old enough or having bright enough paint jobs. We stopped off for a look at a centre dedicated to protecting and conserving the unique Samoan environment before driving further along the coast and sightseeing. Eventually we stopped for a swim at Two Dollar Beach, a pretty little spot which was too small, too busy, and too shallow. But the water was beautifully warm and it felt good to escape the heat. After swimming we bought a couple of Vailimas at the beach bar and drank to world peace.

Unlike Samoa where we sailed away after sunset, the Pago Pago departure was late afternoon and as it's a natural harbour, there were many photo opportunities to be had.

So we are back now for a couple more sea days before our next port of call, Tahiti.

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Photos

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Samoan welcome

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Apia, Samoa

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Canoe Race

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American Samoa