Day 40 – Tuesday 18th
February 2014 – Pago Pago, Samoa
Awake at
07.00 and on deck for 07.30 to see the ship tie up alongside, after we had
travelled 2,300 miles from the Hawaiian Islands.
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| Pago Pago |
Pago Pago is the capital of American
Samoa on the island of Tutuila and the harbour is situated inside a collapsed
volcano’s crater (Caldera).
As in other
port days, we went into the Britannia Restaurant for a full breakfast which set
you up for the day ashore.
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| Beach |
After leaving the ship at 10.00, we
turned left and headed for the beach about 10 minutes walk away. This is a small public beach and the surrounding area is looked after, our
intentions were to spend most of the morning here, but we decided otherwise and
headed back to the ship. As earlier
outside the gates, there were lots of the locals advertising and touting for
tours of the island.
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| Fishing Net |
Going back, you pass where the
fisherman mend and repair their nets.
There is big fishing fleet here; the fishermen are after the tuna, and
on the other side of the harbour is a large canning factory, out of a
population of 12,000 on the island, a third of them are employed in this
industry.
When, I saw
the size of the mesh in the fishing net, I was totally disgusted. The size was as small as 35mm (1 1/2 ins.)
and would not be allowed in the North Sea.
The nets must sweep the seas clean, another fishery which will be wiped
out.
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| Bus |
We
negotiated with one of the taxi drivers for a two hour tour of the island.
The organised tours from the ship were in these naturally air conditioned buses, meaning no windows and you sat on wooden seats. We opted
for the luxury of a taxi, softer seats but no air con., and driven along to the
music of Abba. Our driver, called Martini was a typical islander of very large
size and happy nature, wearing his skirt and forever towelling his head down in
an attempt to keep cool in the very hot and humid conditions.
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| Flower Pot Island |
Just outside the town you pass this
picturesque place, overlooking Flower Pot Island and our first picture stop. We
headed out in a westerly direction along the coastal road, passing the lush
vegetation clinking to the mountains and rolling down to the shore.
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| Church |
As we passed through the villages, we
were amazed at how many churches there were.
Obviously, the missionaries’ in the early years enjoyed it here. There was every Christian denomination here,
and we were told the churches are always full on a Sunday. It appeared every time we rounded a bend in
the road, there was another church. They are all flourishing as none were in disrepair, and we saw a brand new one being built.
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| Coastline |
Driving round we passed and met up with others from the ship, who were travelling on the buses and we waved at them as we were going along the same tourist route. It was at yet another idyllic spot during
this picture stop, I purchased a coconut and the milk supplemented the water
which we had brought along with us. The
smell of the island is what brought back the memories of the South Sea Islands,
where I had visited forty years ago, the rich vegetation with its exotic plants
and abundant flowers, giving off their distinctive tropical aroma.
Our two hour tour of the western side of the island was over to quickly, and Martini dropped us back in town at Sadie’s bar for a cooling beer and sandwiches. We paid for a two hour session on wi-fi, but never got a signal and were given our money back. A lot of the crew were here taking
advantage of the beach, swimming pool, bar and snacks, very good to see them
all relaxing, even if was just for two to three hours.
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| School Kids |
With a couple of
hours of shore leave left and the heat was becoming oppressive after a heavy
rain shower. We wandered back into the town and visited the market place and
near to the bus station, we met up with these school kids who had just finished
school at 14.45, and waiting for the bus ride of an hour to go home. They were smartly dressed and told of their
life on the island and the future. I do
think any of them will be leaving.
Our quest was to find another bar before going back on board, but no such luck, as we were told there was none in the centre of the town, that is what religion does for you.
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| Totem |
We passed this carving on a tree on the way back, and it was a wonderful piece of art situated just outside the museum.
We arrived
on board at 16.00 and found sanctuary in the air conditioning and fell asleep
on our bunks until we sailed one and half hours later.
The sail
away party was in full swing on Deck 9 as we left. A lot of the guests were wearing their newly
purchased, local tee shirts, dresses and garlands. Shortly after, the harbour pilot was dropped off, the heavens opened and drenched those trying to make for shelter from the open decks, and the music abruptly stopped, as we said farewell to Samoa.
Our cocktail
of Margarita, consisting tequila, triple sec and sour mix went down well before
dinner of seafood salad/beef bourgeon/strawberry cake.
Missed out
on the show, as we had seen this one before, and went into the Golden Lion for
the trivia quiz, once more the winners.
This was followed by Dixieland Jazz and the Speckled Hen went down very
well, and I ended the day by spotting the Southern Cross, very happy to be back
in this Ocean.
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