Pago Pago, American Samoa

Much has happened since I last wrote!

We had our second sommelier wine tasting and boy was it a good one! The usual suspects were back and we ended up seated at a table with Rod and a few others we hadn’t met yet, including a gentleman from Adelaide Australia – we are on a mission to talk to him next time since we’ll be spending almost a week there next month/

Anyway, so we get in there and I immediately spot the Veuve Cliquot champagne! W00t! I wandered over to check out the other selections and IMAGINE THE BLISS when I spot the Col Solare! This is a wine we discovered while in Washington state last year (or was it 2 years ago? Who knows) They had a pop up tasting room inside Chateau St Michelle and, being curious, we stopped in/ It was the best wine we had the entire time and we signed up to join their wine club/ The next day, they called and said that since they were technically an Italian winery, they didn’t have full shipping rights and Texas was a state not in agreement to ship international wines (UM, WHAT?!) So, they booted us out of the wine club/ WAH! And now, here we are deep into the glorious international waters of the South Pacific, ready to drink it again with JoJo, whom I now consider to be my personal sommelier/ He doesn’t know yet so don’t tell him/ The Col Solare was just as good as we had recalled We were also pleasantly surprised to taste the Eroica Riesling, which was a dry riesling/ Not sweet at all and really quite good/
On our tasting plates was a delicious smoked salmon – we knew that was on the menu for the sip and savor later so we knew we’d have to go;) Oh, darn

Oh, let me back up because I forgot that we attended another art auction right before the sommelier tasting and I won a prize /// but in order to find out what it was, we had to come back later that night/ Sheesh/

At the sip and savor, we sat with Rod and Louise again and got heavy into discussing international politics (oddly) / I always find it refreshing how well educated and aware people from various other countries are about the politics of countries in which they do not live/ I’m really not all that political, but I read a lot every day and try to stay informed/ These guys knew the ins and outs of our system, names of our senators, etc / Seems like they knew well more than most average Americans/ Anyhow, good chatting with them again/ We split off to go freshen up for dinner (read: Jason has to put on pants and I have to stop wearing flip flops) and somehow ended up in line for dinner right next to each other! We then ended up eating together, too, because getting a table for 2 is usually quite a wait/ We’re not opposed to dining with others but often by dinner we’re worn out and don’t have the energy to engage in a long conversation Another couple came to join us – they live in Pennsylvania now but are originally from Australia/ It was hard to hear them all the way around the table, but it was nice to chat/ They filled us in on the cruise ports in Sydney – there are 2 and we are coming into the one they didn’t want, and it appears we don’t want either/ Not a big deal, but one is in the city center, which would be the most easy to immediately walk somewhere/ The other probably means a taxi ride/ We’ll live/

Oh, so we signed up for the wine pairing dinner over at the Pinnacle Grill with Rod and Louise for next//Monday? I have no idea what day it is/
We had to leave prior to dessert, which was fine for missing dessert but I felt a smidge rude leaving the table – but I had art to claim, for cryin’ out loud To be honest, we weren’t expecting much/ What we got though, was our choice of one of 5 large pieces/ To Jason’s surprise, I selected the piece that had owls – I think it’ll match well with a precious, small painting of owls that Jason’s Mema painted/ While chatting with one of the art ladies, we learned that she was also from Zimbabwe but had been in Grapevine, Texas to work at the Gaylord for the famous ICE event one winter! What a hoot! We laughed thinking that we likely crossed paths in another corner of the world/ Small, small world/ She now lives in South Africa/ What a life of globe trotting!
Oh, please let me stop to mention coconut ice cream/ Glory be/ Hallelujah/ Amen / Fresh, tender, real coconut chunks in the most glorious creamy ice cream you can imagine/ Good thing the serving size is quite small and they’ve only had it twice

After 5 days at sea, we were finally unleashed onto dry land at Pago Pago, American Samoa/ When I woke up, I could tell the sun was starting to rise, so I ran to the balcony, threw open the curtains and saw the most gorgeous, green, lush land! What a delight to the eyes/
We didn’t have an excursion so we let those who did wander off ship first and followed along around 9/ As we stepped off, I heard a lady say to her husband, “Well, we’ve seen all the highlights,” and they walked back on board Again, it was 9 am/ First possible time to get off was 8/ Man/ That was a fast tour;)

So, American Samoa—how can I properly explain the beauty of this slice of paradise? I must begin with the people who are, by absolutely ANY standard, some of the most exquisitely beautiful people we’ve ever seen in all the places we’ve been/ Oh, and the babies/ My word / I thought Jason might start kidnapping them/ It reminded me of Fiji in that the children were very quiet and calm – that was such a shock to my system when I spent time there years ago/ Life without much of any wild stimulation beyond human conversation and singing clearly creates quiet, peaceful children

We didn’t book an excursion so we just packed a tote with snorkel gear and started walking, we hoped, toward a national park that Rod had told us about/ Apparently, we skipped the talk about what to do in Pago Pago so we were, quite literally, completely clueless/ As we walked along, we stopped to admire and photograph the natural beauty of the island – flowers everywhere/ Everything green and lush and healthy/ Wonderful creativity in using what was available (as we often see on Roatan) – they made ample use of old tires in their landscaping—spraypainting them various colors and using them as planters around trees and flowers/ I had no idea that old tires could be “cute”/

We saw a sign that pointed the left for the National Park and so we made a left of the next street/ (side note, we also saw a sign for the National Park office, but duh, didn’t bother going in/ As we started up the road, a younger man, maybe 20, came walking up and asked us in a very friendly tone where we were going/ It’s in our nature to be suspicious of everyone and everything so we hesitated a moment Then, “the national park” Oh, he said/ Hmmm/ That’s the other way/ “Well, we saw a sign that said it was this way” (Cause, of course, we know) Oh, he said/ well, there are several parks/ But, it is this way – and pointed back to where we’d come from/ “But, the sign/” He was incredibly gracious the whole time and never tried to indicate we were wrong directly/ Finally, he said, “well, ok, continue on if you’d like” So, we did/ A few moments later, we were thinking he was right and we/the sign were wrong/ As we stopped to look around and consider it, an interesting thing happened/ Not that I saw it/

We turned to walk back and Jason says, “I think I was just propositioned” Me, “huh?” Jason: repeats self / I hadn’t seen or heard a thing so I had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently, there were some houses up in the trees and as we stood looking around, a woman on a porch waved to Jason (as if to invite him to come up) and then lifted her shirt to show of her goodies! HAHAHAHHA 

We walked more quickly back to the main road – I guess our young friend knew what we were walking towards/ As we got to the road, we ran into him again/ A lady near him asked if we needed help/ Again, being dumb and suspicious, we just shrugged and said we were heading back to the ship/ The young man came and said, “I’ll walk you over to the park and show you where it is” Hmmm/ ok

And so he did/ And he pointed out things along the way – places destroyed by tsunamis, the breadfruit growing on the trees, and finally, the national park entrance and the office/ He also waved at everyone going by – cars, taxis, pedestrians/ As we were ready to part ways, we were unsure if we should tip him or//?? He seemed like just a nice person willing to help a stranger/ He asked for nothing in return and made no indication we owed him a thing/ He simply said good bye and walked back/ Why is it so astonishing to encounter people who are just nice and expect nothing in return? It made our day/

We bought some things at a local market, stopped into a shop which miraculously sold teva flip flops in Jason’s size (his other pair have been rubbing his feet raw)/ In the shop we met a lovely woman who told us lots of great things, including where to go for a wonderful local lunch/ Away we went to enjoy some delicious fresh fish and a local Samoan beer—for about $12/ The find of the day, shopping wise, was this totally rad Samaoan red and green shirt for Jason/ There are plans to wear it at Christmas;) I also found a couple yards of gorgeous sarong material for super cheap and a small Christmas ornament made from coconut shell/ Bam!

We got back on the ship right as a rain came in and it proceeded to rain the entire rest of the afternoon! Intense rain and lots of fog/ I was glad we were somewhere out in the national park caught in that/ Oh, and by the way, the national park office was really nice – a tiny museum in itself with more truly kind, helpful people staffed inside helping everyone /
Another thing I loved there were the buses – they were small, holding maybe 20 or so and each one was individually painted up – very lively colors and scenes depicted on them/ What fun! The island was quite busy, but relatively quite and very peaceful/ We thought the prices were really good – not really marked up for tourists, even in the little tent market place outside the cruise pier/ We really enjoyed spending time there – thankful that I got to see it and its beautiful people/

Last night we went to bed – it was Wednesday around 10 PM/ Woke up this morning and it was Friday at 5 am/ Overnight we gained 23 hours! No Thursday, October 12 for us/ I thought we would be missing the 13th, but surprise! Every day is something new/ I believe we’re now one day and 6 hours different from Texas time, but it is getting hard to keep track/ And really, who wants to?

This afternoon, I’m off to learn about coral reefs, attend another art auction, and kick butt at Bingo!