Welcome to my 11th Visit and Run Territory
out of a global total of 71 Territories.
Thu 25JUL in
Samoa was cloudy and cool. Left for Faleolo International Airport at 8am and by
830am I was sitting in the gate lounge with only 6 others travelling to
American Samoa. I requested 1A so I could take my shots but this is not
guaranteed. Like Futuna, the pilot decides where everyone will sit based on
their weight after check-in staff actually weigh you. The aircraft that flies
the short 30min hop is a “Twin Commander 690B” which seats 9 people and cruises
at 525km/h. It was designed and built by a US company in North Carolina back in
1976 as a private aircraft sold to the rich and famous of that time !!! It was
immensely successful in that it is pressurised and has exceptional handling capability,
which explains why they still build them today. I was excited. There is only
one pilot and a passenger sits in the co-pilot seat but I opted out because it
is on the right side of the plane and the best view is on the left. The plane
is very crammed – one seat each side and the windows badly scratched. I was
worried. Not just because my film and photos may be obscured but the inside of
the plane was so old it looked like it had been built in 1976 !!! We took off as
soon as we entered the main runway and cruised the 151km at 376km/h at
11,600ft. We flew along the entire length of the main Samoan island of Upolu
and then a short hop across the ocean into the very jagged, lush green island
of American Samoa. The airport is surprisingly clean, tidy and well equipped.
In just 30min of flying we had flown back in time by nearly 24hrs !!! We left
Samoa at 10am on Thu 25JUL and arrived in American Samoa at 1030am on Wed 24JUL
!!! These two nations are the first and last to greet every day and each New
Year given the International Dateline is directly between them. I caught a taxi
to my hotel and met 20-year-old Malaea and her dad Keith who did everything to
help me with a supermarket, hire care and boat cruise. Full marks. Terrific
service. My room was the best to date. Strong aircon, big fridge, microwave,
big bathroom and very homey. If was now Noon and very hot so I grabbed a taxi
to the supermarket. One of the best to date. Plenty of hot local dishes and
wine. I returned at 130pm but it was way too overcast for great shots of Pago
Pago so I would wait until I got my car tomorrow. Settled down to an afternoon
of this post and planning the next 3 full days in detail. The food from the
local supermarket was the best to date. The BBQ chicken in particular is huge,
tasty, juicy and only $12AUD. Put me quickly to sleep.
I opened my
door on Thu 15JUL at 6am and it was pouring with rain. The forecast showed the
rain clearing after 9am and just as well since my hire car was due to arrive at
9am so I decided to run then and went back to sleep !!! Woke again at 830am and
Mr Jason arrived with my 4C 1.6L Auto Hyundai Venue, an SUV of good size and
clearance. We drove to his Chinese Supermarket, which doubled as a car hire
place. Jason is originally from China and served in the Navy. He then served as
Navigator and later Captain on fishing boast for a large Chinese Fish. This
brought him to the Pacific and eventually to American Samoa which has a huge
Tuna Cannery of its own called STARKIST that is still the No 2 employer on the
island after the US Army. All tuna is exported to the USA. Jason ended up
marrying a local lady and was hired by the local Cannery to captain their
fishing fleet. 20 years and 3 daughters later he signed me up to hire his car
in his Chinese Supermarket. An amazing story. I drove back to my hotel and went
on my run. I started at 1030am which is late for a Pacific Island but I relied
on the clouds to survive. Not so. The sun started coming out and I was glad for
later but suffered for now. A tough run but I made it after 10km in 28C and 90%
humidity. I was glad to be back, showered and ready to drive. I began my
driving expedition by visiting the western side of the island. I set out around
noon and by this time the sun was making many appearances. A good sign indeed. I
noticed immediately that people here drive very slow and cautiously. As I drove
along the coast I realised that American Samoa looks the same as independent
Samoa. People are very house-proud and keep their homes painted, neat and tidy
with great gardens. The other similarity is churches – every 500m !!! What is
not the same is the number of stray dogs – there are heaps here. They chase
cars. They bark all the time. They look very sick. There were definitely more
places to swim but not deep and not long coastlines. Another challenge for
tomorrow’s 2km swim. For now it was enjoyment of the western coastline. Every
cove or bay had a little village and colourful church with well-kept houses on
either side. I drove to the following places: Tau Mountain, Malaeimi, Pavaiai,
Fogamaa Crater, Laumeimamalle Point (Turtles & Sharks), Olovalu Crater,
Fagatele Bay, Leone (Siona Le Mauga Paia Church), Faatafa Rocks, Papaseugogo
Rock, Maugatele Rock, Agatoavalu Rock, Logoua Point, Utusiva Rock, Poloa. My
favourite was the view of Agatoavalu Rock coming back from Poloa. It was 430pm
when I hit the hotel and I was buggered. Nothing a good Edam and Rose could not
fix. I blogged away and retired to a local fish and omelette – a strange
combination indeed. Another nice cultural flavour of American Samoa is that everyone
calls each other “brother” if they do not know each other or their name. Even
females !!! “Brother” replaces “Mate” in Australia. Nice.
Fri 26JUL
was way better weather wise. The sun was out with much less cloud. Perfect for my
drone flight due today. I woke at 730am and hot the road at 8am. The day looked
great. As I drove I noticed again how slow people drove, especially turns –
they take their bloody time !!! I visited the flowing places between 8am and
430pm: Mauga o Tauese (Historical Landmark), Utulaina Point, Mataae Point,
Faganeanea, Matautuloa Point, Matu'u, Fatumafuti (Drone Flight), Futi Rock,
Niuloa Point, Tulutulu Point & Blunts Point Battery (Canon Mount), Utulei
Beach Park & Fort (SWAM HERE TO SOUTH), Tause P F Sunia Ocean Center,
Government House, Jean P Haydon Museum, Co-Cathedral of St Joseph the Worker,
District & High Court & opposite is Visitors Centre, Fagatogo Market,
Breakers Point, Alega Beach, Avaio Beach, Anapeapea Point, Fagaitua, Masefau
Lookout, Masefau. My swim in Utulei was great. Water was clear and calm but against
a main town so some rubbish in the harbour. My favourite was Lafiga Point and
Rock – best photo of the day. This was the busiest day of my trip taking in
many villages, points, rocks and sites so I shall leave it to the photos to
tell the story. By 530pm I was blogging and Rose-ing but very tired. The wine
gave me a second wind so I sailed to the main office to continue watching a
Netflix series called THE CHESTNUT MAN since the internet in my room was not
strong enough. Dinner and a movie followed and I was ready to sleep my way into
my final touring day in American Samoa.
830am
sleep-in made the world of difference. Not only to my energy levels on my last
touring day but also bought me time for the sun to come out after a very
overcast night. Unless it is clear skies at dawn what I have noticed in Pacific
Islands is that you must wait until at least 10am to see the sun if it is
overcast at dawn. I started my morning routine like Balkanopoulos, with
McDonalds !!! There is only one on the island and the drive-through is 1km long
!!! It is strange seeing only Polynesians inside working and ordering. Not a
single tourist in site except for moi. I drove 32km to the last place in the
east I visited yesterday so I could continue my journey to the very eastern
edge of the island. The cloud was dispersing and I got enough sun on my first
batch of film and photo. It was Saturday and loads of young people in each
village were holding up “Car Wash” signs. I asked one of them what was going on
and they said that every Saturday is Car Wash Day and young people all over the
island are allowed to wash cars for money. Quirky but practical. After 3 days
of driving, I also concluded that most people drove humungous 4WD utes, mainly
Fords and Chevys with the rest Toyotas and Nissans. What puzzled me is that
they drove them at 5km/h over speed humps – such huge cars, 4WD with huge tires
– they can go much faster !!! The wind was howling and the ocean on the south
coast going east was wild. I was looking for a place to swim other than the
place I swam yesterday. I found one in Pago Pago Harbour directly opposite yesterday’s
location but hoped I would swim on Aunuu Island. When I arrived at Auasi which
is opposite Aunuu from where the boat leaves I headed to the small breakwater
port and a local told me that the boats where suspended due to the high wind,
surf and current. You could see it. There were white ocean crests everywhere
including along the island’s beach so no possibility of swimming there even if
we managed to get across. Instead I studied my map and found a bay on the north
side that I thought was worth investigating for a swim in lieu of Aunuu Island.
I drove to Amouli on the south coast and from there you ascend and descend the
middle of the island to get to Aoa Village & Bay. From the top I could see
that Aoa Bay was fully protected, smooth as silk and big enough to support 2km
in two sweeps. I was excited. I descended and ended up in front of and under a
big blue house at the western end of the bay. A lady popped out on the balcony
above and asked me if I needed help. I told her I was a visitor from Oz and
excited about swimming the bay and permission to park my car at her house. She
said “no problem”. Her name was Octavia and she explained that although she was
born in American Samoa, her dad was a big fan of England so gave her an English
name. I was delighted. The bay was calm, slight breeze and pristine clear
waters with adequate depth. It was easily the best swim of Terranesia. Lots of
coral to keep me entertained and just enough depth not to scrape my legs again.
I entered the water below the house in front of two old WWII bunkers !!! What a
fluke that was. Water visibility was excellent, even through my old cruddy goggles
!!! When I got out after 2.1km, Octavia had a bowl of cool fresh chopped-up
banana and paw-paw with lemon juice to refresh me. So kind. It was delicious
and the lemon matched well. That salt taste in my mouth was quickly extinguished.
I met Octavia’s daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids. So cute. They all
shouted “farewell Mr John” as I drove off. What a find. What an experience.
Loosing Aunuu Island was a blessing in disguise !!! It was 230pm and I was done
with the far east. I decided to head home via the petrol station to get the car
ready for hand-in the next morning. I ended up visiting more places than
expected: Two-Dollar Beach, Asasama Point, Uea Point, Kingdoi Lookout,
Matalesolo Point, Auasi, Lealaei Hill, Maliuga Point. Onenoa, Cape Fogausa,
Amouli, Matautuele Point, Aoa Village & Bay (Swam 2.2km). The highlight of
the day was no doubt my swim in Aoa Bay and Octavia and her family. The most
novel stop was the TWO-DOLLAR BEACH, a private beach and bar under a volcanic
outcrop that looks like something out of a James Bond film. Sadly it was closed
but the photo says it all. My drive back to the hotel was 38km and 45min
non-stop. I refuelled and was blogging on my bed with wine, cheese and olives
no later than 430pm. Bliss. That night I submitted this post and retired to
more Netflix with a sumptuous BBQ chicken dinner and bubbly.
My last
post (after this one) will summarise my journey home and a summary of the four
territories visited in TERRANESIA 2024.
Enjoy images of my 16th island of
Terranesia and it promises not to disappoint. Don’t forget Facts, History and
Interesting Facts about Samoa after the photos...
AMERICAN
SAMOA FACTS:
Area: 199
sq km (only 1.6% the size of Greater Sydney)
Dimensions:
Wallis is 20km by 10km or 52km by road from one end to the other.
Coastline:
116km.
Highest
Peak: 966m.
Population:
43,914.
ABOUT AMERICAN
SAMOA:
American
Samoa is not a UN Country but an unincorporated territory of the United States
located 220km further east of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean and 4,398km from
Sydney. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States,
situated 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of Hawaii. American Samoa consists of
five inhabited volcanic islands and two uninhabited atolls.
Inhabited
by Polynesians since prehistory, American Samoa was first contacted by
Europeans in the 18th century. The islands attracted missionaries, explorers,
and mariners. The United States took possession of American Samoa in the late
19th century, developing it into a major naval outpost; the territory's
strategic value was reinforced by the Second World War and subsequent Cold War.
In 1967, American Samoa became self-governing with the adoption of a
constitution but directly administered and funded by the US Federal Government.
Residents of American Samoa do not have US Citizenship (even if born there) and
no voting representation in the US Congress.
American
Samoa follows the history and genealogy of Samoa and first settled some 3,500
years ago as part of the Austronesian expansion and the Lapita culture of early
Samoa. Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen was the first known European to sight the
Samoan Islands in 1722. James Cook recorded the island names in 1773, but never
visited. Mission work in the Samoas had begun in late 1830 when John Williams
of the London Missionary Society arrived from the Cook Islands and Tahiti. By
the late nineteenth century, French, British, German, and American vessels
routinely stopped at Samoa, as they valued Pago Pago Harbor as a refuelling
station for coal-fired shipping and whaling. In the late 1800s, after several
conflicts, Germany and the USA split the Samoas with Germany taking what is now
Samoa and the USA taking what is now American Samoa and never leaving since.
92% of the
population is of Samoan origin with Samoan as the predominant language. Almost
all of the population is Christian and speaks English thanks to the USA. The
economy of American Samoa is strong due to the ongoing US Military presence
with Canned Tuna, Medicaments and Machinery as the top 3 local exports. Tourism
is very low given its distance from the USA.
AMERICAN
SAMOA INTERESTING FACTS:
1. Samoa is on the Australian side of
the International Dateline and American Samoa is on the US side and are the
first and last places on earth respectively to celebrate each New Year !!!
2. American Samoa was the place that
Astronauts from the early Apollo Missions were collected from the Pacific Ocean
and flown back by the US Air Force.
3. American Samoa has earned the
nickname "Football Island," as the islands produce more American
football players than anywhere else in the world.
4. Bats are the only native species of
mammals found in American Samoa.
5. About 78.3% of the American Samoa
islands consist of rainforest.
6. The word for “mate” here is “brother” when you
do not know them or their name…
.jpg)
.jpg)
