Sorry, Charlie

     Along the south/eastern shore of American Samoa is a rather large area of undeveloped property. Much of it is owned by the Fuimaono family, who has allowed a portion to become the Fagatele Bay Marine Sanctuary, a National Wildlife Area.   I plan to hike up there soon, perhaps this weekend. There are two scenic bays with reefs, surrounded by cliffs and jungle. Snorkeling is said to be good there. But I did get out to the eastern edge to view the rocky shore with the waves crashing. There are numerous blowholes here. The coral shoreline is full of caves, holes, indentations and weird formations. The waves roll in, pushing water into these spaces with great pressure, so sometimes water comes shooting up like a geyser, or air is blown out. It's pretty spectacular when the seas are active. There are a couple smaller blowholes right where I live. Life is good.

     This area is called Turtle and Shark, after an old legend. There are lots of old legends, so I won't claim to know this one well, but two lovers jumped in and turned into a turtle and a shark hereabouts, I think. I didn't actually see either a turtle or a shark, but I did see some awesome scenery. Here are some photos:

Shoreline at Turtle and Shark

Waves crashing, looking toward Sanctuary area.

Looking out toward the sea.

Cliffs; don't jump!

Can't quite get enough.

     I later went out to Tisa's with Steph, another lawyer in our PD office. Tisa's is unique; on an island with virtually no tourist industry, Tisa's caters to we palagis quite well. There's a bar, under a thatched roof, open to the sea right in front of you. They make the best pina colada this side of paradise. There's a sandy beach to walk, swim,or snorkel. Best of all, it's open Sunday when almost everything else is closed off.  It was raining and, yes, cold (relatively, I still wore shorts). There are a couple of beach sleeping fales to rent for a night on the beach, if you want. Any questions about Tisa's, or for that matter the island?   You can ask Candyman, the laid-back bartender who is also Mr. Tisa.  Or Tisa herself; they live across the street and are always around.  Since it was raining pretty hard this day I don't have many photos; here's the entrance:

Tisa's on the Beach

     I test drove a car Saturday, may buy it, but that led to the Great Samoan Car Wash Caper. See, I'm driving down the main road in my prospective buggy; I see a bunch of kids, a church group, with a sign advertising a Car Wash – make a donation. Well, I know a couple of the adults there, Samoan neighbors and acquaintances, and they beckon me in for a car wash. So I return the tester and drive up with my boss's car, loaned for the day. I figure, great, I can donate and also return a clean car to her. I pull up, give them $10 and then notice – gee, funny, for a car wash, I don't see any hoses, water, sponges, etc. So I ask – just where is the car supposed to be washed? Then comes the realization that there is of course no car wash, only the donation part is true. This is a church group, wonder how bad it would be if it was something more sinister, like maybe dance line or something?  Big laugh on the palagi, and I laughed too. Had to, it cost me $10.  I drove by a couple more times that day and they beckoned me over, but fool me once and not twice . . .  I later found out that the Great Samoan Car Wash is an institution here, some days you have to run a gauntlet of maybe a half dozen or so. The odd thing is that washing a car is silly here – it's gonna rain in an hour or so anyway. Why bother?

     Last, but certainly not least, is the highlight of any trip to American Samoa, and here it is direct from me to you:

Great taste and tastes great, together at last.

Ground zero, the home of Charlie the Tuna. Sorry, Charlie, you gotta stay here.

     I'm close to getting a car, and my boss has invited me to her family's Samoan Thanksgiving. They have turkey, I think, but also roast a pig. Will post again soon, likely after the weekend. Happy Turkey Day everyone!