American Samoa was a wonderful port! The dock itself was surrounded by large trees, beautiful greens and deep valleys. Arriving in Pago Pago, pronounced Pango Pango, I was surprised by the numerous green trees and rolling hills that covered the island. There is only one road around Pago Pago and a majority of the people live by the water. As the population increases, some people are moving more island, which is comprised of hills and rainforests. We were only here for a short day, so we decided to take a tour to many of the islands most interesting spots! Our tour was on an open air bus again covered with flowers, without windows and with 5 rows of plywood seats! We had 2 guides who were very informative and sung to us throughout our trip! (Jenny - I think I may have found your fuffafini!)
As we started our drive through the area, there were people walking along the streets. Today was Sunday and therefore many of the people were at church. As we passed church after church, you could hear the people singing! We even stopped at a church in
Leone Village. This was the site of the Missionary Monument commemorating the first missionary landing in Samoa, which occurred in 1830. We were able to go into the church and everyone was dressed in white singing songs!
We continued on our drive, as passed by many structures that looked like outdoor pavilions. These are were religious ceremonies as well as weddings and funerals were held. Something interesting that I observed was that in front of houses, there were burial sites, each designed differently with either stone or a large monument.
Next we went to Leala Sliding Rocks which was an ancient lava flow that is now petrified.
Then we stopped at the late Governor Tauese Museum. Currently the late Governor's wife still lives here along with 9 other family members, one that was there! We were able to go into their home to see the memorabilia from the revered politician's life and times. On the side of the house there was the burial site for the late Governor. They had fresh papaya and coconut for us as well as some punch.
We then went to Tia Seu Lupe (Pigeon Mound) which was the playground of the olden-day chiefs were wives were won based on the number of pigeons caught! Can you believe that?
Here are some of the sights from our drive…
Finally we went to Fatu-ma-Futi also known as the Flower Pot Rocks which are one of Somoa's most photographed landmarks! Once we got back to the pier, there was a large market that was selling all kinds of fun things - Tapa pictures, sarongs, shirts, jewelry, coconut utensils, etc. We walked around looking at the various stalls and checking out the handmade crafts. We heard the ship's horn for All Aboard and head to the Promenade for the Sail Away Party! We were able to catch up with our friends and hear about everyone's day!
Tonight after dinner, we went to see Marty Brill who is a hollywood writer turned comedian!
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