A Day in the Life (Commuting in Paradise)

      American Samoa is a polyglot mixture of strange, wonderful, odd and beautiful sights. But the highlight of any day is, yes, of all things the commute to work. Let me show you why.

Daylight begins by 6:00 a.m. The roosters have been crowing for a couple hours by now, but after the first couple days they fade into background noise. With the warmth and the sun, getting up is easy. I usually leave for work well before 7:00 a.m. Here's the Batmobile, looking toward the sea, my trusty steed ready to take me away to work:

Ready to go to work.

Up the bumpy driveway, I come out to a suburban road and turn left at the Sogi store:

Left onto the street.

Leone, my village, lies toward the west end of the island, on the coast. It's not the end of the road, for that goes on for another 15 miles, winding around small villages which cling to the shore. Beautiful, but very small and isolated. Aside from a few small stores (similar to the Sogi store) there is absolutely nothing commercial either in Leone or west of here. Here's a couple photos, just for getting the flavor:

Welcome to Leone

Leone street

Main road, heading north/east

Main road again; note tires as lawn decor.

North & east, past Pago Pago, is similar to the west side. Only small villages and nothing commercial at all (but Tisa's is up this way). Even more beautiful, as the beaches look better, but very few people live up there. I haven't explored that end much yet; it is coming up later on.

     The bulk of the island's population, and virtually all its commercial areas, are between Leone and Pago Pago, actually between Leone and Nu'uuli south of Pago. That is a relatively level plain, no more than 8 miles long and at maximum not even 2 miles wide. There are stores, shopping, auto dealers, the airport, all in that small area, as well as the vast bulk of the population. Leone is a pretty well-to-do suburb occupying the western part of this plain. Here are a few photos from this area, you can get the rather open feel here. My morning drive runs through this kind of neighborhood for about 4 miles. Remember, at a speed no more than 25 mph, that's at least 10 minutes. One feature of Samoa is that you always are driving behind some Samoan for whom 25 mph is way too exciting, so they must go far slower to maintain their sanity. When that person turns off, invariably another just as slow turns on right in front of you:

Ubiquitous pickup truck in front.

The next 4 miles or so is through the commercial area. Traffic is heavier and if possible slower here, with many stops and starts. It's also neither pretty nor very interesting. One exception is Zeek's Treats in Nu'uuli. Here's a photo of Zeek's:

Zeek's

I found Zeek's in about my second week, searching for a cup of coffee for the morning. Here's typical coffee in a Samoan convenience type store (pretty much all there is here): there's a pot of hot water, with which you fill your cup. Next to it is a jar of Maxwell House Instant and a spoon in a cup of water. Yes, the spoon you use for getting the instant into your cup and stirring to get – viola – coffee. Then the spoon goes back into the cup of water for the next guy. That'll be $1, please.

Zeek's has real coffee, brewed, and also real rolls and pastries. It ain't Margo's, but its a sure sight better than instant. So now I've developed a friendship with the people at Zeek's (maybe one of them is Zeek?) and stop in every day to fill my insulated mug. Sometimes a cinnamon roll too. OK, often.

UPDATE:  Zeek is the son (about 3 years old) of the woman who owns the establishment.  He's cute as can be.

This rather ugly area ends shortly after Zeek's, and that's where heaven begins. Coming around a corner, the land drops away and you see nothing but open sea, waves on the reef, views all the way up island, and a road that winds around the shore for the last 4 miles into work.  The shoreline is scalloped all the way in.  Here are photos, none of which compare at all to the real thing but might give you an idea:

Breakout from Nu'uuli to coast.

First curve

Looking back.

View up the island coast; reef & waves breaking.

More up the coast, reef with breakers.

Wave action; pure, aquamarine.

The Brother, or the Flowerpot.

Freighter into port & the Flowerpot.

View up north/east coast; lagoon & Pago Pago Harbor

Tanker again & coastal view.

The island here has steep hills that drop straight down into the ocean, interspersed with some small bays where a few tiny villages cling. The road runs right against the ocean with cliffs on one side and waves on the other. It winds in and out, in a kind of scalloped pattern. Along the way are the two Flowerpots. You drive right past them too. Sometimes you see people swimming along the shore, or fishing. Sometimes you may see a big ocean freighter or tanker coming in to Pago Pago Harbor. Or maybe a sea turtle. The water is pure, clean, aquamarine. The road eventually runs into that harbor before my turn off into the Executive Office Building. More photos:

Freighter steaming past the Brother

The Second Brother (Little Flowerpot), looking back.

Tanker coming into Pago Pago, tugboat coming to help.

Curve and vista

Freighter about to enter Pago Pago harbor

See the later posting for commute videos.

The EOB has this mural by a guy named Wyland, it's supposed to be famous, it's called Year of the Reef:

Wyland mural on EOB

EOB front

I park in the back. If early I get a spot under a big shady banyan tree near the door; nice on sunny hot days. Here's what the back looks like:

EOB rear employees entrance

A close-up of the last photo:

Chickens!

     My favorite lunch spot is directly across the road, right in the park along the shore of Pago Pago Harbor. I can sit there under a fale, see the ships come & go, watch the Rainmaker mountain, just hang out awhile as I lunch. Not the Skyway, perhaps, but a pretty nice substitute. Here's photos:

My favorite lunch spot.

Here's why - looking out from Pago Pago Harbor

When I tear myself away from work to go home, the reward is that amazing stretch of road right away. It takes at least a half hour to drive, more if traffic is heavier. At home I am greeted by my adopted local puppy, “Little Guy” or simply “Pup” or "Dude". I started to feed him, and now he follows me everywhere. Here he is:

Pup - aka Little Guy aka Dude

And, last but certainly not least, the daily sunset celestial show, best enjoyed with a glass of wine and soon with Cyndi:

I'm off to Western Samoa for the weekend, will post about that upon my return. Happy New Year, talk to you all again in 2011.