Pago Pago / Sun Jan 27

Today we're in Pago Pago, American Samoa. It's located 1600 miles northeast of New Zealand and 2,200 miles southwest of Hawaii.

Pago Pago is pronounced 'Pango Pango.' It's the only urban center in American Samoa and it sits on Tutuila Island which is 52 square miles in size. The island is one of 5 volcanic islands and 2 atolls that make up American Samoa.

American Samoa is a U.S. territory considered to be an 'overseas possession.' People born in American Samoa are American Nationals with the right to live in the US but they're not American citizens unless one of their parents is.

Pago Pago's harbor is one of the world's largest natural harbors and it has the highest annual rainfall of any harbor in the world. There was a rain shower as we sailed into the harbor so we were greeted with a rainbow!

Then the sun came out.

We took a private tour of the island. Beautiful scenery! On the dock, we were greeted by Miss American Samoa (sorry didn't get a photo of her). Our tour bus was one of many highly decorated buses that families on the island use.

The people on the island are very religious and on Sundays they traditionally pray and sleep. Since we were there on a Sunday all businesses were closed. On our tour we stopped at a number of scenic spots and drove through several villages. Each village has a bell they ring at 6pm each day to announce prayer time. It also rings at 10pm as a curfew for those under age 18.

One of the main employers here is the Starkist Tuna cannery. About 3000 people work there.

We visited the office of the National Park of American Samoa. We were lucky the government shut down was over so it was open. It's the only National Park Service site south of the equator.

And yes, there is a McDonald's on the island!
Below are photos from our tour ....

Flower Pot Rock

Two of our tour guides telling us the story of Flower Pot Rock

The other day we received our certificates confirming that we crossed the equator. This is mine:

Now that we've left Pago Pago we have two days at sea before we arrive in Fiji. Tomorrow we cross the International Date Line so Mon Jan 28th just disappears!

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