American Samoa and our 52nd National Park!

Today was a big day for us!  On this day we visited our 52nd national park of the 58 national parks in the USA (we still have 6 in Alaska to see).  American Samoa is a United States territory and it has one of the newest national parks, established in 1993.  It is different than other national parks in that the land is not federally owned – the park land is leased from native villages and the Samoan government.   

Our only goal for today was to get to that national park and check it out.  The second we stepped off the boat in Pago Pago there was a park ranger with maps and info – he was a welcome sight for us!  We grilled him for a while on what there was to see and how to get there, etc.  We knew we wanted to hike to the top of Mt. Alava (1,610 feet) but had to figure out how to get to the trailhead.  The first (and only) taxi driver we approached wanted to charge us $40 for a 10 minute drive to the trailhead!  Yikes.  We opted to take the “city” bus, which we learned are actually private buses run by each driver with no real set route.  For $3 each we found one that would drop us off at the trailhead.  Success!  We took our requisite photos at the park sign and started our hike.  It was three miles to the top of Mt. Alava where the views were spectacular.  We decided to hike the additional two miles to a village on the other side of the island where we hoped we could get a ride back before our ship left that afternoon.  As we descended, the trail got steeper and steeper.  There were steps pounded into the mountain at the steep parts with a knotted rope hanging down so you could “repel” down.  I got a little nervous at the repelling part (cliffs and heights are not my specialty), but really none of it was too bad (I just stare at my feet and don’t think about how far I could possibly fall).  Just when we’ve conquered all the steep parts and the trail gets halfway normal, it starts to pour rain!  We were soaked!  It wasn’t entirely unexpected; the tallest mountain on the island is called Rainmaker Mountain for good reason.  We were so darn hot and sweaty from hiking that the rain felt good.  Just to top off the experience, when we’re almost to the village we encounter three angry dogs in the middle of the trail!  Luckily their owner wasn’t too far behind and was able to calm them down.  Phew.  Once we reached the village we wandered around a bit and did a short nature trail that was also part of the national park.  Eventually we caught a bus that was headed back to Pago Pago. 

Little did we know how exciting the bus ride back would be (it was no Greyhound, that’s for sure)!  We were the only tourists on the bus; in the back were three local guys.  As we’re sitting there one of the locals goes up to the front of the bus, opens the glove box, and pulls out a large knife that he took to the back of the bus where his friends were.  Yikes.  I’m trying to remember the history they told us on the ship – was it this island that used to be cannibalistic?  The next thing I know there is a large Samoan guy handing us two freshly opened coconuts with straws.   We are on the Coconut Bus!  A few other tourists got on the bus and they were handed coconuts too.  The locals were SO friendly and fun – the ride back to town was full of laughter and questions from both sides, all of us getting to know each other.

As we get closer to town the bus driver comes across a group who needs a ride to the local cannery (Pago Pago is the home of a tuna cannery; you can tell if it’s a good tuna day or a bad tuna day by the smell in the air – similar to Greeley, CO).  He decides to dump all of us off at a nearby store so he can go back and pick them up and take them to work.  I guess you can do this when you own your own bus!  As we all got off the bus we joked about how happy we were to be stranded – we must have been high on coconut milk!  In no time at all another bus came along and we were on our way.  

Before ending this post I’d like to share some facts about Samoa:  the Samoan island chain lies in the center of the South Pacific, about 2,300 miles southwest of Honolulu.  Since 1899 it has been divided into Western Samoa and Eastern (or American) Samoa.  American Samoa consists of six islands with a total land mass of 77 square miles.  The population is about 60,000 and only 9,000 live in the capital city of Pago Pago (which is pronounced Pango Pango for some strange reason); the rest live along the western and southern coasts.  We learned that the tsunami of last year destroyed many coastal homes and as a result they are rebuilding further inland where their ancestors used to live. Despite Western influences (traditional elliptical and open-sided homes are now constructed with western materials, walls, and windows; American TV is broadcasted by satellite to remote villages), the Samoan way of life is still retained.  The larger family lives together in a group and family members stay together, even after death.  We saw graves of loved ones in the front yards of houses all across the island.  They are strongly religious, having taken to Christianity immediately when the missionaries arrived in 1830.  A village minister is on the same level as a high chief. 

The inhabitants of American Samoa are U.S. nationals but not citizens, which means they cannot vote for U.S. president.  There are twice as many American Samoans living abroad as there are living in their native homeland.  Only a full-fledged Samoan can own land here.  The territorial government is the largest employer, while fishing is the major industry.  Everyone we encountered spoke English and the currency used was the U.S. dollar, which made it easy for us to get around.  We enjoyed our time in American Samoa and would definitely go back if ever given the chance.