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!

Comments

The Adventure Begins - Part One

It's now less than 24 hours before we head out on our adventure! We are so grateful to have wonderful friends who are sending us off in style. Steve and Tresa planned a lovely Bon Voyage dinner for our last night on the Ranch. The dinner included a signature blue drink (yummy!) and a Bon Voyage cake. Kim and Don sent us off with a fun and super creative touch ... personalized Bon Voyage napkins! We used some of them but the rest are coming with us on the ship. I wonder if the butler for our cabin has ever had someone provide their own personalized napkins! Signature Drink Bon Voyage cake, signature drink and gifts! Bon Voyage Cake & Napkins Other friends have called or sent emails and e-cards to wish us bon voyage - too many to mention individually, but it means so much to us. Thanks to each and every one of you! Now that we're ready to head out I can finally answer the question - "how many suitcases are you taking?" The answer is 5 large ...

A Week At Sea / Thu Feb 21 - Wed Feb 27

We have 7 full sea days crossing the Indian Ocean until we reach our next destination which is Port Louis, Mauritius. When we docked in Freemantle our butler (Marcelo) left the ship. His contract ended and he flew home to Brazil for a well deserved vacation. We're so sad to see him go as we had grown quite fond of his cheerful greetings and lovely manner. Our new butler is Jean - also from Brazil. When we began the cruise we weren't sure what to do with the butler service that came with our cabin but it turns out that they can be very helpful with just about everything! Each day around 5pm our butler arrives with a variety of canapes to snack on before dinner. Jean really out did himself one day with this display (partially eaten before I took the photo) of crab claws, lobster meat, cheese and crackers! It's hard to imagine but the days at sea fly by. We're keeping busy with lots of activities including some excellent enrichment lectures and bri...

Parting Thoughts and More ...

It didn’t take too long to re-enter our normal lives. Although I did miss having our linens changed daily, Larry was delighted to get back home so he could eat dinner wearing shorts (not long pants) ... which he couldn’t do on the ship. Because I get sea (and motion) sick I used the scopalomine patch on this cruise. Usually Bonine is enough but the cruise started in rough waters (crossing to Hawaii from LA) so I decided to use the patch. It worked really, really well with no side effects so I continued using it. When it was prescribed (by two different doctors) I asked each if using it for almost 3 months would be an issue and both said 'no.' Well, I should have done more research as it turns out you can get addicted and experience withdrawal .... and I did. I wasn't able to get off it until the 3rd time I tried and even then it took about 3 weeks to be free of all symptoms. After going online to find out how to withdraw, I saw that some people have much more trouble t...

Opals and Romeos

Search This Blog