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...
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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…
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