Pago Pago, Saturday February 4th

 Today we are in American Samoa, another tropical paradise. We will be spending the day in the town of PagoPago.

Pago Pago floats in the South Pacific Ocean on the island of Tutuila, the largest island in American Samoa. It is part of the greater Samoan archipelago, half way between Hawaii and New Zealand, and around 4200 miles southwest of San Francisco. The village in this city is centered on the Pago Harbour.

 It is HOT here. Actually is is only 32 degrees C but the humidity makes it seem much hotter, especially for those of us who are not accustomed to these conditions. But even the locals were using their fans.

I was getting ready and suddenly I spied a seiner on our port side.  The name was  Cape Breton. You can only imagine my surprise. I was able to get a pretty good picture of her.

We were due to dock at nine so there was time to have a leisurely breakfast. Then we gathered our things and prepared to disembark. 

First stop was to hide a duck. Saturday is duck day.

Then we went out on the seventh deck and arrived just in time for a wonderful welcome. A lady in local dress welcomed us. She said that the Island was only the second ship to visit in almost 3 years. They had been shut down because of Covid and Measles . They were very glad to see us.

In honour of our arrival a group of young people performed a native dance and song for us. It was a wonderful welcome. I filmed our welcome and I will try to share that with you.

When they were finished singing we left the ship and walked toward the market. The roads leading to the market were rough and uneven and so you had to choose your steps carefully. Because it was so hot and humid we were careful not to overexert. 

It was rather large with both fruits and vegetables for the locals and crafts and clothing for the tourists.

In one stall they were selling entire stocks of bananas. This must be for a very big family. They also had breadfruit for sale here.

In one of the stalls I found what will make a suitable Xmas tree decoration. It is about 2 and a half inches across. Again it is made of a type of balsa wood so it is light and beautifully detailed.

We returned to the ship around noon. We were happy to get bach to the cool ship. Both Ken and I are finding that this walking in the heat is not as easy as it once was. We were tired and ready for a nap after we returned.

The rest of the day was almost routine, dinner, a show, a drink at Good Spirits with friend and then off to bed. 

No one has found the duck yet.