Thursday, March 20, 2014

American Samoa

Hello again from the Queen Victoria!
We were in the Kingdom of Tonga on March 17th and then spent another day at sea en route to our next port of call. Speaking of March 17th by the way, here’s a first for us. We just so happen to have had two St. Patrick’s Days. Yes indeed Wendy Johnson-Lapp we did in fact have two opportunities to celebrate your birthday two days in a row, so a very happy belated birthday to you. Wee Shaemus was only too happy to do that…..
Why? Well during the night of the first one we crossed over the international dateline and therefore woke up to another Monday, March 17th the next day. I’ll bet that doesn’t happen more than once in a lifetime eh? Oh and by the way we are no longer one day ahead of North America, and are now actually 7 hour behind you.
Today is March 18th as I type this and I’m sitting on our cabin balcony docked in Pago Pago American Samoa enjoying a glass of wine. My view at the present moment is a combination of the hustle and bustle of a busy portside pier along with a gorgeous backdrop volcanic mountains covered with lush vegetation which are dotted with many tiny rural houses.
We took a shore excursion around the eastern side of the island where we took in some of the island delights and some of its culture. It was a very interesting day as life is very different in this part of the world. The island itself is a lot more developed and scenic than Tonga was. I believe that is solely due to the influx of American dollars, hence the name “American” Samoa, otherwise it might look a lot more remote like Tonga I’m sure.
Pago Pago is a mixture of semi-urban communities, a small town, tuna canneries, which provide employment for at least one third of the population. The harbor is surrounded by dramatic cliffs, which plunge straight down to the sea. An earthquake struck off its coast in 2009 triggering a tsunami that hit the island which caused moderate to severe damage and an unknown number of deaths. You would never know that today.
When we leave here today we will be making our way to Hilo Hawaii, which is about 2250 nautical miles and will amount to 5 days at sea. We will be spending much of that time socializing and participating in events around the ship. Rick has already taken a couple of fencing classes to date, oh and let’s not forget swimming and/or walking around the open deck to help keep our waistlines in check.
So stay tuned for some ship photos to follow soon. Here are some pictures of our day in Pago Pago.
Love to all, Rick, Sandra, Wee Shaemus xoxo
Sheamus_Piano
The Wee Lad Getting In On The Action
We Had Lots Of St. Patricks Day Action Since We
Went to Bed On March 17 And Woke Up The Next Day On March 17 Having Crossed The International
Date Line That Evening.
Cheers
Samoa_From_Ship
Our View Waking Up During Docking
Pago Pago, American Samoa
7:30 am 28c 82f
Samoa_From_Ship2
Samoa_Bus2
Our Touring Coach Winking smile
For The First 3 Hours Of American SamoaSamoa_Bus
Samoa_Shore
Beautiful Coastline Around American Samoa Sandra_Coconut
Enjoying Fresh Coconut During A Samoan
Cultural Dance RitualMac_Ds
Yes Sir Even In The Middle Of No Where
A Couple Of Mickey Dee’s Shaemus_Beach_Relax
Some Much Needed R&R
On The Beach Kayak_No_LifeJacket
Yes Even In The South Pacific
Common Sense Is In Short Supply
This Fellow Had No Life Jacket In Large Sea Swells
And Of Course One Must Kayak
In The Main Channel In Front Of
One Rather Large Ship
 
Hope all is well more to come.
 
Rick, Sandra and wee Sheamus









1 comment:

  1. Looks like a trip of a lifetime! Wonderful pictures to get a glimse of your adventures!! Enjoy my friend while we all freeze! Lol

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