Pago Pago, American Samoa - Feb 4

 Pago Pago, American Samoa - Feb 4

We have been scheduled to visit here 3 times now. In 2017 it was canceled due to weather and 2021 & 2022 were canceled due to Covid. So, we were thrilled to finally make it and I have been in contact with Mike of Best Tours for years trying to make this tour happen. It is pronounced Pahngo Pahngo. Many on crew on the ship are saying Paygo (long A) or Pago with no “N” sound.

We were an hour late getting off today due the ship not clearing quickly. We had no problem finding Best Tours as I think they do the majority of the tours on the island. Mike, the owner found me and had my group wait while he got all of the rest of his tours on the road. Most of his tours are 3 hours, but I booked an all-day tour so we could see a bit more and have some lunch.

We had a great group today; Bob & Phyllis, Cathy & Tom, Heather & Matt & Horst & Mark, Roberta & John and June.

The big draw for many of us was to visit the National Park since it’s the only park south of the equator and of course very remote and not easy to get to.

sail in from the balcony

performing as we arrived

off the ship - finally!

Mike, the owner of the company was our guide

drive to the National Forest Visitor Center

Sadie's by the Sea

Visitor's Center of American Samoa National Park

we didn't have our passports stamped, but stamped the map

on the back of the bathroom door

We then proceed up and over the Afono Pass for an up close look at Rainmaker Mountain and a breathtaking view of Pago Pago harbor.  We'll then descend into the National Park to see the awesome Pola Island. I don't have time to label the photos, but our day included Lower Suama Ridge and Pola Island lookout, the villages of Afono and Vatia which are in the National Park , an eastside scenic tour, Flower Pot Rock and a visit to Historic Aerial Tramway (panoramic scenic overlook of Pago Pago harbor)

Pacific Kingfisher

bad photo of the Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater

Common Myna

Jungle Myna

Jungle Myna

Jungle Myna

tuna nets

Starkist Tuna Processing Plant

Mike's wife (she & Mike own the restaurant) DDW Beach Cafe

view from the restaurant

Oka (like Poisson Cru) in coconut milk and green bananas

DDW Chicken Curry - Served with rice & Oriental salad

Island Seafood Curry - Shrimp, Mussels & Fish in curry sauce served with rice & oriental salad

Mark, Phyllis & Bob, Roberta & John, Horst, Matt & Heather, Annette & Greg, June, Tom & Cathy

The food and atmosphere was awesome!

Legend says Fatu and Futi (two offshore islets) were lovers living in the Manu’a Islands. They wanted to get married but were forbidden to do so. The couple sailed from Savai'i (Samoa), looking for Tutuila Island; their canoe sank, and the pair were transformed into these tree-topped islands.

Fatu ma Futi (Flower Pot Rock)

family enjoying the water - they said "come on in"

Samoan Starling

Fruit Bats (aka Flying Fox)

Cathy, Mike, Mark

driver

Longboat

Golden Plover

Market

grocery store stop

frozen meats

magnet

passport stamp

We showered and went up to the Lido for dinner. Tonight, had an Indian Food station so we mostly ate that. YUM!

The show tonight was a circus artist called The Mighty Quinn. Fun show. He juggled and though he as been working for a long time on land he was just starting to perform on ships. I’m sure the movement had him missing a few more than usual. He was funny and kept us entertained as he did the trick until he got it right. After that we went to play Musical Bingo. We would have won if I had recognized the theme song to Magnum PI. Just as the name was displayed and we marked it, someone else yelled Bingo first. Darn, really wanted the Hawaiian Key Chain…LOL Always fun to play.

Finally got a return email from the guy that showed up late for the tour. He was on one tour that wasn’t a private tour as we are joining an EKO Tour boat open to all, but he told me that he got in touch with them and canceled his reservation to get his money back. The boat operator said they could wait a short time for cruise ship passengers but would leave if the majority were on it. He was on one other tour which he canceled as well. Fine by me, if he can’t show up on time. Heather told me she knew a couple that were looking to jump on some tours and Horst said he might know a couple also. Heather’s friends took the spots, so it did not double the cost of the 4 person vehicle they were in.

In the show tonight, we overheard one lady saying "how glad she was that she didn't take a tour here. Did you see those open air buses with the bench seats?" Then went on to say that the other place she is glad she didn't have a tour was Darwin, AU since everything there wants to kill you." She goes on to explain how she has no desire to see large crocodiles or anything else there. Then she says something that if we kept a book of stupid things you hear people say it would be up close to the top. She says "did you know if you cut a snakes head off, it grows back?" Yikes!

Later, we talked to another lady on our tour who said he approached her to ask why we left him when he was on time. (he wasn't on time and his wife wasn't there yet) She said "you weren't on time; do you want me to show you on my phone what time you were supposed to show up" and he said "no, why would I want to do that?" Honestly, if it hadn't been a tender port, we could have waited another 5 minutes or so. Glad we don't have to worry about them on future tours.

We saw 5 new birds today, bringing our life-list to 1,607

Samoan Starling

Jungle Myna

Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater

Pacific Kingfisher

White-rumped Swiftlet

I can't thank Mike enough for the wonderful tour we had today. He is an interesting guy and does wonderful things for American Samoa. He has 4 businesses and works for the government trying to improve the area. I loved the island, and it looked like paradise. The open-air buses were the perfect experience. I had no idea that they had such a huge tuna plant there for Starkist and I think Mike said that all of it is shipped to the U.S. He also said if left it would devastate the economy of the island. For those that didn't get out and experience the island really missed out in my opinion. Not every place has an Eiffel Tower or the like, but I chose to enjoy every place for what it is and enjoy all it has to offer. Personally, I really enjoy these types of more laid-back stops.

For larger photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1p7tAaMKWqTW8xCZ

We now have 3 sea days before we reach Bay of Islands, NZ.