Tessarea Vaitogi Inn Pago Pago

... the spirit of the people. Everyone that I met had a quick smile and a hearty welcome, even if they were in the midst of picking through rubble to find anything salvageable of their former home or business.<br><br>Several people stopped me and asked me to take their photo and gathered a small group of friends. <br><br>What a joyous experience in the midst of heartbreaking loss of life and property.<br><br>-T<br><br>

... had a streak last week where it rained fairly consistently for 4 days. I'm scared to see what the rainy season is going to be like. It's also humid. The humidity is almost always in the 90's, so even though the high temp everyday is only about 85, I'm drenched after the walk home from school.<br><br>Animal life on the island is kind of different as well. There are very few mammals here. The largest wild animal is the ferral pig ...

... and it's nice to finally have some alone time. <br><br>Unfortunately we did run into a fairly serious problem this weekend. Our field director stopped by and told us that we were being forced to move. Appartently, last year, the volunteers stayed in a house that is owned by the sister of the vice director of the Department of Education. Basically, the Department of Education got ridiculously angry that this sister wouldn't get our rent money for the year, and ...

... each other, and it has everything we need. There's not warm water for most showers, so that'll take some getting used to, but other than that things have been pretty nice here. The group is great although slightly intimidating. We have a retired Army Ranger, a guy that graduated high school at 15, and a Fulbright scholar in the group just to name a few. Most of them have travelled fairly extensively and a lot have had teaching ...

... and that the AC condenser drain was routed to Dart's feet. Oh, and the good on gas part? One trip to Tisa's and back plus one trip to the northern part of the island was good for six gallons...best I can figure, about 14.4 mpg. Should've gone for the Escalade, huh? Anyhow, we rode up over the ridge to the National Park area on Tutuila and were pleasantly surprised to find that the northern part of the island is quite different than the more heavily populated ...

... Manu'a islands...Tutuila seems almost third-world in its crowds, haphazard development and overall litter-strewn environment. Adding in the large numbers of semi-feral dogs roaming the streets of almost every village, we thought that another day in Ofu would have been the way to go. But things have a way of showing their sunny side...the reason we returned to Tutuila was to participate in an umu feast at Tisa's Barefoot Bar on Alega Beach. OK ...

... and I tend to agree. Arrival at Pago Pago was like a blast from the past...direct disembarkation to the tarmac, then into a cattle pen area for immigration, baggage pickup, and customs. While American Samoa is a US territory, they have their own rules and regulations. US citizens need passports to visit. The trip to our B&amp;B, the Turtle and Shark Lodge, took us in the dark through dense banana fields, buildings in various states of repair, and down ...

... and Elaine in the Atrium. We all got together with the intention to find a taxi to take us around the island. As we walked from the ship we were greeted with a typical Samoan welcome with music and young men and girls in traditional costume. We were encouraged to have our photographs taken with them. We appreciated the genuine warmth and hospitality of the people and couldn't wait to explore this beautiful island. After talking to the taxi drivers and getting an ...

... misbehaves, their home is burned to the ground and no one is allowed to help. A central fale is used for entertaining and the family members stay together, even after death. There are no public cemeteries for Samoans; the graves of loved ones line up alongside the fale. One of their important holidays is White Sunday, a special day for children. The children lead the church services and are served ...

... to his boat the Silkie, a 54 foot catamaran. I found out I had the entire port hull to myself, plus a bunch of tools and storage but plenty of room for me, my meager clothes allowance, and the 2 kites and kiteboard I dragged along for the first part of the trip. As I finally showered and went to sleep after a 5 AM to 11 PM day plus 5 additional hours of time change, the strong wind, occasional hard rain, and unfamiliar ...