PAGO PAGO AMERICAN SAMOA February 9, 2008
Polynesians were exploring and settling in remote islands hundreds of years before Europeans visited the Pacific Ocean. These intrepid explorers set sail with no compass and not knowing whether they would see land again. They had a vague notion of the direction in which new land lay educed from the observations of migrating birds. Travel was in a twin-hulled waka, navigating by the stars and by primitive maps made of sticks and shells.
The life of the peoples of the Pacific is bound up with numerous rituals and traditions. American Samoa is made up of seven islands and Tutuila is the largest. The island is high thin and eighteen miles long. Enclosed by nearly vertical rock walls festooned with tangledltropical vines, the harbor of Pago Pago is in fact a drowed volcanic crater. It is located just east of the date line (180th meridian) and just south of the equator.
It is very beautiful coming into the harbor. On the first picture you can see the high mountains and the harbor curving around to the right. As we curve around with Judy in the picture we can see the harbor opening up to us.
The next picture as we got hungry is from our beautiful table #4 finally approaching the dock on port side.
After boarding a tour bus we made a stop at a rather unspectacular (but I’m sure much photographed) rock linked to a legend about two lovers swimming to the island from another island to escape a cannibal king. They drowned just short of the island hence the two rocks….or so the story goes.
I had to take a picture of this golf course. I will never be able to pronounce the name I’LII’LI.
Finally we arrived at a Samoan village recreation and were treated to lunch, handicrafts, family life, cooking, coconut tree climbing, and of course the Polynesian dancing. This is a picture after getting “leied” (that is receiving our lei). Much Fun.
