PAGO PAGO, is there an echo in here?Oct 17, 2009
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The harbor at Pago Pago
Harbor panorama
Arriving in American Samoa
| "We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if we only seek them with our eyes open." - Jawaharal Nehru Finally – back in the good old US of A. An American Territory. They all speak English here, good English. The streets are paved; they have curbstones. They also have a McDonald’s, a KFC, Pizza Hut, and Carl’s Jr.. They take American dollars here. The exchange rate is: one dollar equals one dollar…duty free, no sales tax. These poor people suffered a terrible disaster here on September 29, when an enormous tsunami hit the north side of this island (the island is named Tutuila) and wreaked havoc and destruction with at least a 30 foot high wave that wiped out residences and killed about 200 people including some school kids. They are fortunate to be an American territory, for within 24 hours aid was arriving such as big power generators and supplies. FEMA is here and so are the SBA and the Red Cross. We saw a FEMA relief center, and we saw food bank distribution centers. By contrast, the other Samoa (known as either Western Samoa or Independent Samoa) has no such safety net. We are scheduled to make a port call there on the return trip from Australia and New Zealand on November 20th. At this time we do not know the status of what we are to do that day or whether anything will be available for us. Holland America, and more specifically the ms AMSTERDAM, has been collecting funds for two weeks for the relief effort here at Pago Pago (pronounced Pahn-go Pahn-go). In addition to collecting cash, the ship has been conducting a clothing drive for passengers to donate any unwanted clean items of clothing, etc. for distribution to the authorities today. Also, Holland America is donating over $15,000 worth of towels, linens, blankets, bathrobes, and clothing. This is one of those timely things that come along in life when we are going to be here, they have a great need, and we have the resources. Pago Pago has a dock for us to pull into; no tendering today. We chose a ship sponsored tour today, “ A Taste of Samoa.” This is a 3 ½ to 4 hour drive around the island with some cultural commentary by a lovely local guide; our guide was Loto. And then we went to a local village complex to sample the way the Samoans cook traditionally (guess what?...they use and in ground umu oven ). We saw what passes for shopping centers, a mini-mall, the community college, some fast food joints, roadside stands selling coconuts and veggies, all denominations of churches, some tsunami damaged properties, the airport, the golf course, and typical Samoan house architecture with associated pavilions where the “High-Talking Chiefs” meet to discuss and decide community affairs. The locals are very extended-family oriented and have a symbolic meaning for just about every aspect of their lives. They observe the norms of their South Pacific culture; these Samoans love to eat, they smile a whole lot, and they seem to run their lives on “island time”… just a bit slower-paced than we might (unless of course you’re retired). The vendors who set up an array of tents at the pier had goods for sale at prices that would have challenged WAL-Mart…some decent stuff and a lot of it was marked down. It was hard to tell if that was a result of the tsunami; but others who had been here before told us this was very typical. So, we bought a couple more shirts and pareos. OK, in early evening we start heading west to Fiji…that is as an exotic place name that conjures up visions of witch doctors and grass skirted warriors with spears boiling people in big cauldrons, and chanting while doing circle dances around the fire. We are scheduled to go out to a native village…we know there will be chiefs there…we know they will cook for us…we know we are not allowed to wear sunglasses or hats while in the village out of respect for the elders. The people? All we know is that Vijay Singh the golfer comes from here, Raymond Burr lived here, and HAL employs some Fijian men as security officers…these guys are big and imposing and would make excellent bouncers at any bar or club I’ve ever been to. Between now and when we get to Fiji, we will have gained another hour of sleep, but lost a whole day (and that will be a Sunday). The Catholic priest last weekend said that we had to go to Mass on Sundays. He went on to say that since there was not going to be a Sunday, technically we had an excuse not to attend. However, since there was going to be a Saturday, he would still say the vigil Mass for Sunday. That way he said he would be able to find out who the true believers really are. - RBM |
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