Sunrise to Sunset in Ofu

  Ofu, American Samoa
Thursday, August 2, 2007

[Just as daylight was creeping up on the small island of Ofu, I stirred myself from my bed.  I wanted to catch the sunrise.  I mounted one of the bikes the lodge let us use, and headed off towards the beach.  The dogs bolted out of the house after me, exstatic to have a companion for a morning run.  I got to the beach just as the deep reds were being painted by the sun's reflection on the clouds above the islands.  I enjoyed the soft breeze which cooled my sweat filled forehead, and drank in the scene around me.  You can truly feel how inescapable far away you are from everything out here.

Sunrise

Sunrise

Sunrise

I returned to the lodge, a little sandy, and little sweaty, in the morning humidity.  Coffee had beckoned me back, and shortly after, Amanda joined me for breakfast.  Soon after which we headed back down to the beach.  We read our books while waiting out the low tide.  Once we were well warm enough from baking in the equatorial sun, we threw on our masks and fins, and headed to the water.  When your mask breaks the surface of the water you enter a whole new world.  This reef in particular, is protected by the national park system, and has some of the most amazing wonders of the oceanic world I have ever seen.  Triggerfish, angelfish, parrotfish, damselfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, boxfish, picassofish, blennies, gobies, puffers, sea stars, moray eels, octopus, an array of different coral species, sea urchins, crown of thorns sea urchins, sea snakes, worms, cucumbers, grasses, and yes.. sharks.  Small ones, but believe me, when there is a shark 20 feet from you, the hair on the back of your neck stands up no matter how "harmless" everyone tells you it is.  We spent most of the day, snorkling, sunning, reading, and then repeating the cycle.  Not so bad.  Our stomach eventually told us it was time for lunch, so we started our walk back with our new companions, the dogs.

After lunch we hung around the beach outside the lodge, and more of the same.  We watched the sun go down from the end of the runway, which is also right outside the lodge.

Sunset on the runway.

Sunset on the runway

The sun heads behind Ofu

Horace, Angel, and Sandy

Then came dinner, we shared some stories from the day, and then waited for Jim to clean up, and headed back out to the beach, to be once more awed by the heavens above.  After about 20 shooting stars, and one more beer, we got to talking about Ofu, and what it is like to stay here.  It eventually turned to talk about us staying longer, if only we could afford it.  Jim told us he would see what he could do.  Once the moon rose, and the stars disappeared we decided it was time to head off.  After all it was after 10 o'clock by now.

The next morning, Marge and Jim sat us down, and offered us to stay an extra 5 days, and work for 5-6 hours a day.  In exchange we would stay and eat for free.  Deal.  We were to be on Ofu for ten, instead of 5 days.  Beautiful.