American Samoa

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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 Rocks, known as Fatu-Ma-Futi. Legend tells us that a man was fishing in the surf while his wife was doing the wash nearby. The undertow dragged him under and his wife went to his aid and the two of them drowned, and came back as islands. We were presented with several other opportunities for photo stops to admire the local scenery. Throughout the island we encountered many church structures from a wide variety of denominations. This area is known as the Bible Belt of the Pacific.



Driving along the coast we stopped at a particularly moving site which honored the victims of past tsunamis. As tsunamis are still a potential problem there were warning signs posted all along the coastal highway and in villages near the ocean.



Our final destination was Vila’s Village where our hosts demonstrated how coconuts, breadfruit, bananas, Samoan coco, chicken and tuna were prepared for a meal. Samples were enjoyed by all. The food preparation was done in their umu oven, basically a fire pit of hot rocks covered by banana leaves. As is their tradition the young men of the village did all the food preparation and cooking. Following our food sampling the young ladies of the village performed some of their traditional songs and dances.



Back onboard we decided to soak up some of the tropical heat in the hope that it would help us rid ourselves of the nasty “air-conditioned” colds that we have developed.



For the next five days we are at sea on our way to Hawaii so no blogs until then.

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Photos

1
Our Aiga (family) bus

2
Flower Pot Islands

3
Memorial to 2009 tsunami victims

4
Recent ship wreck

5
Men preparing umu

6
Coco pod and roasted bean

7
Traditional welcoming dance

8
Little princess

9
Tuna cannery

10
Sunset over Pago Pago