Sadies By The Sea Pago Pago

... level of destruction proved enormous. I went out in search of the national park, it was touted to be very beautiful and the park ranger gave us all maps upon exiting the ship. I never did find it, but I did encounter hordes of FEMA, American Red Cross, Mennonite Disaster Relief, and a host of other organizations working to restore the island to its former splendor.

The thing that struck me the most today was ...

... First off, it rains...a lot....no really...a lot. It has something to do with the mountains stopping the moisture from getting past. I think it might be called the rainshadow affect, but who knows, I'm no science major. Anyway, American Samoa gets about 300 inches of rain every year. That's almost an inch everyday. We are in the dry season now and it still rains almost everyday. Usually it only lasts for an hour or two, but ...

... and nearly all the floors are completely redone. The house has a great location right in the middle of the shopping "district". The six volunteers plus Alison, Jung (my roomates) and I still made for a lot of people under one roof, but it was fine, and actually kind of fun. We played games at night, and threw a pinata/marker party there last Friday. Our six guests just left us on Sunday morning. The house feels very empty now, but I get along really well with my ...

... myself and the group of 33 other volunteers arrived on the island sunday night after two 5.5 hour flights. A group of locals was waiting for us at the airport with a big banner and necklaces for everyone. We are being housed at a local high school in a few classrooms for the first two weeks while we go through orientation and look for more permanent places to stay. It's not the ritz,but it's a good way for everyone to get to ...

... us know that "this one is a little rough" so he offered a $25/day discount - to $75.00! "A little rough" was pretty generous...this was the kind of car you can buy for $50/week at the local buy here-pay here lot. I knew we had issues when I looked down at the steering wheel and realized that it was 90 degrees out of line. Well, the AC worked OK and it held a straight line (mostly), so off we went. Later, we also found out we couldn't lock the doors without an arcane ...

... but we needed to pack up and say goodby to a very special part of the world. To Deb and Ben, we deeply appreciate your sharing your place and helping us experience something truly special. Keep up your efforts...this place is important to maintain. Our return to Tutuila was uneventful (our favorite kind of flying) - even the fog-filled cabin was passe' by this time. Our return to the Pago Pago area drew a sharp contrast between Tutuila and ...

... were 245 passengers. It seemed about half of these were from one family (wearing their 2008 reunion t-shirts). Dart and I had a double seat, so we didn't have to contend with the crowd. And since the Samoan people are, by and large, BIG folks, that was a good thing. With the family crowd making up so much of the passenger list, there was a constant banter of calls, responses, and general good will. These folks are sometimes referred to as the "happy ...

Day 30 Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) As Aurora gently sailed into Pago Pago, images of a Pacific island paradise lay before us and we were not to be disappointed. Aurora docked in the centre of town amid such beautiful surroundings. Pago Pago has a wonderful setting with mountains to each side: the 1,178 ft Mount Pior (Rainmaker Mountain) and on the far side of the harbour the 1,609 ft Mount Alava. We couldn't wait to get off the ship and had arranged to meet ...

"Tah-low-fah" is hello in Samoan on this island of Pago Pago ("Pango Pango"). Am. Samoa is an incorporated territory of the U.S. and Pago Pago is the seat of government. The currency is U.S. dollars and both English and Samoan are spoken. Despite the Western influences, however, Fa'a Samoa-the Samoan way of life- still retains its basic unit, the extended family. Each village is ruled by a Samoan chief. If ...

After a long flight, an extra hour waiting for my second bag, I quickly found John Fisher, a friend of my uncle's who agreed to have me join them for a portion of their leisurely sail trip around the world. It was very dark as we drove for about 1/2 hour along the coast of American Samoa, pulled into a gas station, walked around the back and down some cement steps to a small rock where his dinghy was tied up, jumped in and motored ...