Around Pago Pago Harbor

    When on occasion people back home think of American Samoa, the exotically named Pago Pago (pronounced here as Pango Pango) comes to mind.  The harbor is named Pago Pago, as is the airport.  But in reality, neither applies well at all.  Pago Pago is a medium sized village, situated right at the very end of Pago Pago Harbor.  It is neither the capital nor does it house anything significant in the way of government or culture.  It is simply one of a few hundred small villages scattered across this island called Tutuila.  The airport is several miles away, again with no particular reason to be called Pago Pago.  The harbor itself has many villages up and down either side.  Pago Pago represents an historical anomaly.

Pago Pago, at apex of harbor

     Pago Pago Harbor is, in fact, an extinct volcano.  Sometime in the distant past it erupted, blew a big hole in the island, and then drifted with the island away from the "hot spot" under the tectonic plate.  It is completely extinct.  Millenia of erosion, rains, and waves have left it in the shape it is now.  And that is spectacular viewing - mountains which rise almost straight up from the sea, covered with jungle and trees, and beautiful aquamarine water lapping over reefs.  Here's an overview; I climbed Mt. Alava a couple weeks ago and got this photo from the top:

Pago Pago Harbor; looking east, north is to left, Utulei & Fagatogo to right.

Here's also a sign compliments of the National Park Service, explaining what you see:

Click to enlarge and read.

     Lets go on a tour, starting with the southern coast.  The approach is my commute; here are the Brothers, or Flowerpots, which mark the southern entrance to the harbor itself:

Brothers, Faga'alu to right

Big brother, looking toward harbor

 The road winds right along the coast, around a bay with a village called Faga'alu.  The only hospital on island - LBJ Medical Center - is back behind this village.  The word here is, "don't get sick." 

Across the harbor from Faga'alu

Looking into the harbor from Faga'alu

Wider view from Faga'alu; that's an elementary school across water

Then you come around that point just past the school, and really get into the harbor.  Here's the view from the point you see just above, called Blunt's Point:

Across harbor mouth

Above here on the hill over Blunt's Point is the remains of a gun battery put here by the Navy a long time ago, set to blast out of the water any invading ships.  Never fired in anger; the Japanese in WW2 never came here.  A similar battery is up on a cliff across the harbor, north side, shown in the photo, called Breaker's Point. You can hike up to them.  I did.  The guns are still there, rusting away; here's a couple photos and a video of the views:

Inner Pago Pago Harbor; Canneries & Mt. Alava.

Middle Pago Pago Harbor, to Mt. Pioa (Rainmaker).

Outer harbor; the Flowerpot; Faga'alu.

Here's the video, panning from the inner harbor, then across, past the gun battery, then to the outer harbor and the Flowerpots near Faga'alu:

     As a bit of history, Tutuila became American Samoa as the result of a hurricane.  Back in the 1890's, the Germans, British, and US were all interested in annexing (i.e. conquering and stealing) the Samoan islands.  They sent warships out here, meeting up in Apia harbor on Upolu, Samoa.  Angry words passed, a fight was brewing, and a naval engagement about to commence.  Then came the hurricane; Apia has a pretty lousy harbor, and several ships from each nation sank.  So they called off the fighting, had a council, and agreed to split up the islands.  Germany got Upolu and Savai'i, Britain got Fiji, and we, the good old USA, got Tutuila.  Those other islands were large, had coconut plantations, and so could generate some wealth.  Tonga, also nearby, had nothing of interest to anybody so it was ignored.  Hence the reason why Tonga now remains the only monarchy in the Polynesia, run by a king and dirt poor as well.  It still has nothing of interest to anyone except possibly tourists.  When Germany invaded France in 1914 to start WW1, New Zealand sent a couple destroyers over and kicked the Germans out of their islands.  They now are the independent country of Samoa.  Meanwhile, the USA was happy with Tutuila; it is rocky and mountainous, could not support plantations, but it had Pago Pago Harbor, the best by far in Polynesia.
So American Samoa became Navy property.  They developed a naval base here, which came in downright useful after Pearl Harbor in 1941.  Later, in 1951, the Navy no longer needed this base, so they moved out.  Pago Pago became a commercial harbor and port.

     Outside the harbor area the Navy let the Samoans pretty much alone to do as they pleased all that time.  The Samoans are proud to say that they never were conquered by the US, they willingly associated with us back then.  True, so far as it goes.  There are treaties signed by Samoan chiefs which say so, and which guarantee Samoan customs and traditions shall continue.  But those leaders were not being totally altruistic; likely alternatives included annexation by either Germany, France or Great Britain, and the US was a rather obvious lesser evil.  In any event, Samoans are now proud to be American nationals.  Many of them, in fact, join the military; fighting and dying in all our wars since then.  Most of the political and traditional leaders now are military veterans.  Around 20 - 30 Samoans have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9-11.  They are honored here, as they deserve.

     Continuing the tour:  here's your next sight - the oil refinery and storage area; trust me, it looks better from a distance than up close.  Smells better from further away as well.  You can also see it in the panorama up above:

Oil storage and refinery.  Can be aromatic.

     Then come the villages of Utulei and Fangatogo.  These have pretty much merged into the main town here; I office in Utulei, drive about a mile into Fangatogo where the courts are located.  Here are a couple photos of these.  Note the port facilities, container depot, and yes Ronald McDonald's establishment:

Sadie's by the Sea, from Utulei beach park

Utulei harborside park, Governor's mansion on hill, Mt. Alava

Container terminal, on/off-loaded to/from freighters

Dockyard, Governor's Mansion atop hill

Fagatogo central area

The Fono - Legislature - in Fagatogo

Houses climbing the hill, above Fagatogo

Mickey D's, Fagatogo

Fishing vessels and barges, tied to dock

Fishnets in dockyard

Tree carving, downtown Fagatogo

      That Governor's Mansion remains very much in use, not only as a residence but for ceremonial functions, visiting dignitaries, and so on.  Back in the Navy days it belonged to the Commandant assigned by the Navy to govern the island.  The road proceeds along into Pago Pago itself, at the end of the harbor, another half mile along.  A few seagoing "yachts" tie up here, past the commercial port.  They are part of a small group of people who live on boats, travel among the islands, and in general do what we only dream of doing:

Seagoing pleasure boats, looking toward Pago Pago village

Yacht deep in Pago Pago harbor

Pago Pago as very hard hit by the tsunami in 2009.  I took some photos of the damage.  Being at the end of a harbor that narrows as it gets here, the tsunami waves were highest and strongest here.  It has a long way to go before recovery.  Those photos will be part of a later post on that tsunami.

     The road now follows around to the north side, going right under Mt Alava and past the tuna canning factories.  Here's a photo of these from across the bay.  You can tell by your olfactory that the canneries are here.  Refer to an earlier post to see Charlie the Tuna; this is his home:

Canneries from across the harbor, under Mt. Alava

Tuna canneries, from Pago Pago; Rainmaker (Mt. Pioa behind)

Junk along shore, altogether too common

The tuna canneries are a story too.  They exist here because there are no import duties to the USA.  They got that, and other tax & exemptions from minimum wage laws, as inducements to operate here after the Navy departed.  It's the only industry around.  Most of the unpleasant jobs at the canneries are held by migrants, in from Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, who will appreciate the low wages which Samoans generally refuse to accept.  One of the canneries recently shut down; the other, Starkist, continues to operate but people are nervous that it too might close up.  These canneries used to generate lots of rather icky pollution in the harbor; but some years ago they were made to dump the worst of it well out to sea.  So now the harbor is, if not perfect, quite a bit better.  People swim and catch fish in here.

     We continue along the north shore, with vistas across and out to sea; small villages such as Aua, Leloaloa, and Onesosopo hug the shore:

Matafou and Utulei village, from Onesosopo

View to harbor entrance, from Aua.

Church in Si'ufaga

Home along north/east shore of harbor; far nicer than most.

     The harbor's end here in marked by a small point, shown in photos above.  The other old gun battery is up the hill.  The road turns north up toward the north/east tip of Tutuila.  This part of American Samoa is not highly populated at all.  They maintain many of the old traditions here.  A couple miles up is Tisa's.  Here's photos at the north end:

Matafou across the harbor, just before road turns north

Looking into harbor to Pago Pago, from same place

  Finally, last but not least, is a video panorama of the harbor.  It starts looking at the north point, then across the harbor opening, pans the south shore, then around back to the northern shore.   The pointy mountain you see just past the Flowerpots is Matafou, tallest on the island.  Mt, Alava is above the cannery area and has the TV tower:

So, now you have seen Pago Pago Harbor, warts and all.  It's even more spectacular in person, photos can't do justice, but it's the best I can do.  Keep checking out my blog for future posts!