Day 17 Pago Pago, American Samoa

Happy Birthday to my granddaughter Miranda!!! 

Today we arrived in Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) - One hot day here in Pago Pago. HOT and HUMID! It was 93F degrees with 85% humidity. 

What a great welcome we had into port! Long before mooring we had beautiful music and dancing to watch as we came in. They said they we so happy to see us, we are only the 2nd ship in 3 years. I know John and I stopped in this port in October 2019. I'm not sure how long it was after that it was. It seems odd to be this far from home and see USA flags on government buildings and English being spoken. There were a few shops set up in the port, but they were closed by the time we got back from our excursion.

Our excursion began a bit late, about 10a. These cute busses below show our mode of transportation. From Pago Pago, we went southwest past a series of small bays and traditional Samoan villages. Each village prominently features an elevated Fale. This oval shaped, open-sided thatched roof structure serves as the meeting house for the village council, some seem to be rectangular in shape. Continuing on past the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center, and Nuuuli Village, we also passed Lava Lava, American Samoa's golf course, and Fatu-ma-Futi or "Flowerpot Rock" on our way at the entrance to Pago Pago Bay. We stopped at Lion Park for views as well. People were enjoying BBQs and more in the park. Next we stopped at a monument build in memory of those lost in the tsunami of 2012. Finally, we arrived at what was supposed to be a traditional Samoan village and home. We would call it more of a park. They did have an umu with a small cooking demonstration. We each got a small taste of what was prepared. I never had breadfruit so I was happy I could try a bite of that. It really has little taste, maybe a bit like a potato. There was also recorded music playing and some very amateurish young girls dancing. This tour did not quite reach the description put forth, but it was fine. We had intermittent rain throughout the day. We were exhausted when we arrived back to the ship due to the extreme heat. I went to dinner and June stayed in, we both skipped the show, tomorrow is another day. 

Busses of Samoa
Flower Pot Rock
Umu
In Port





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