Pago Pago America Samoa February 14, 2012

A beautiful sunny morning blossoms as the ship approaches Pago Pago Harbor, the flooded crater of an ancient volcano.  Crater walls dwarf the harbor as the ship maneuvers into a tight berth where tuna boats are also docked.  It is also where all incoming and outgoing sea containers are landed, stored and sorted.
 
On the dock where we disembark are many tents set up with local wares for sale.  A line of funky open-air jitney-style tour buses, decorated with wild colors, local plants and flowers, await our arrival.  Our tour guides, Uni and Icey, are indigenous youth who attend the local community college.  Both cheerfully and energetically attempt to teach us their language and songs, and keep us entertained and engaged, as we make our way along the tour route. 
 
The road hugs the coastline; the tour makes three stops.  The first is the famous flower pot rocks, conferred the legend of two lovers whose parents forbade their courtship, threatening they would turn to stone at sunset if they continued.  Sadly, they did, and sadly they did.

Next stop: The original sight of the first local Christian missionary church, founded by John Williams.  Many of the surrounding buildings were damaged by the 2009 tsunami and still await repair.  The church seems unharmed although in a mild state of disrepair.  A beautiful wooden ceiling, in the style of an old ship-inspired design, is the highlight.

We ask - How many churches there are in America Samoa?  It seems as though every third building is a church, bible camp, Christian school or mission as we travel around the island.  The young tour guide answers there is every religion and every village builds their churches so there are probably 6 per village.  Apparently the chief of each village decides numbers and denominations as that’s how zoning and density is decided here.  (For the record, we did not see any ELCA churches!)  We are also told that the tradition in American Samoa is to bury your relatives in your front yard out of respect and to keep them close to you.  We see many houses where this is the case. We consider the implications of bringing this custom back to the Suncoast.

A quick stop is made at American Samoa’s only golf course so we can use the bathrooms, take scenic pictures and have a drink.  Checked the rates - a round of golf costs $15; $20 to rent a cart.  Although not stated, there are indications that this was once or perhaps still is a government-subsidized course, of the nature you might find elsewhere on US military posts. 

Our last stop is a village leader’s home.  We are told this is the village where many of the national rugby and football players come from.  Some wealthier home owners have their own pavilions near their houses.  These are open-air and reserved for entertaining guests.  The village leader and his wife welcome us into a large and elaborate pavilion.  An Ava Ceremony is performed to welcome us with an offering of drink.  Two of our contingent are made honorary village chiefs.  We are given coconuts with straws inserted to drink from, although some members of our tour do taste the ceremonial drink as well.  Fresh papaya and coconut are offered while we watch traditional dances performed by the women, with the men jumping in, literally, from time to time.  Very interesting performance. 

Once the tour is over, we walk the main street of Pago Pago.  We find the post office, an open-air market place, McDonalds, the locally famous Sadie Thompson Inn and the National Park Visitor Center.  We chat with the lonely Ranger at the park center and gather our maps and the obligatory stamp we are obtaining for each national park (35 of the 58 thus far).  What gives this National Park its unique personality is that it is part mountain and part coral reef.  It is home to only one mammal, the fruit bat.  The coral reef has over 900 species of fish.  Our time is limited so no hiking or swimming for us.  If you visit this National Park, you can stay at the Sadie Thompson Inn or there are Samoans who have opened their homes so you can stay with them.

The indigenous Samoans are doing a tolerable job of maintaining their culture despite the American influence.  70% of the population works for the tuna industry we are told.  The population is around 60 thousand, having declined after the 2009 tsunami struck the island, out of concern of repeat.  The young people who leave to attend college or exploit their talents elsewhere are called doves, after the dove in Noah’s Ark.  Some return, some don’t.  However, it is clear they love their country and many do return with the skills needed by their island.  Tour guides Uni and Icey are studying to be a teacher and marine biologist, respectively; Uni plans to seek a master’s degree, probably in Manila due to its adjacency.

Back on the ship, there is an onboard show of young Samoan girls performing traditional dances.  Today is Valentine’s Day so tonight’s dinner includes special dishes and roses, and late-night chocolate fondue.  We are crossing the International Dateline tonight so we are skipping February 15.  As I write this blog entry this morning, it is already February 16!  Somewhere we gained a day at sea; we are now 14 hours ahead of Florida instead of 10 hours behind, and we gain one more hour this evening.  Steve laid awake last night, contemplating the “loss” of the ides of February and mentally modeling how it will be “earned back” before we disembark in New York in early May; he says he will accomplish this via afternoon naps on the deck and encourages me to do the same.

Nautical Term:  Bulbous Bow – A feature of many modern ship hulls, characterized by a protruding bulb at the bow of the ship, just at or below the waterline.  The bulb modifies how water flows around the hull under power, thereby reducing drag and affording an increase in speed, range and fuel efficiency (between 12-15%).  Now you know….!