Day 306, Year 1: A Trip to the West End of the Island
Date: Saturday, August 19, 2006
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day (winds down just a little)
Location: Pago Pago Harbor, Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Note: The log and other e-mails were not sent last night. We could not get a channel to send, so we are trying again on Sunday morning after the net.
It was the kind of sunny day after heavy rains when everything green in the world glistens from being so clean. Almost everything in American Samoa is green, so it was a gloriously glistening day. Shortly after noon, we met Evelyn on the dock and started our tour of the island between here and Leone on the west end of the island. Although we had been out that way on the bus, Evelyn wanted to show Mark where he used to live and visit with a couple of people out that way. The airport is in Tafuna and that is where the largest group of government housing is located. We went there first. Mark lived in Tafuna for a few months when he first arrived and had planted hibiscus all around the house, but even with that as a guide, he couldn’t figure out in which of the many houses (which all look alike) he once lived. In this same area, we drove past some of the largest
churches we have seen in the South Pacific. The Catholic church in Tafuna is a huge complex that includes assisted living housing for the elderly. We then drove past the golf course in Ili’ili. It is beautiful with views of the ocean and Matafao Peak towering above it. Evelyn said that the scenery can be quite distracting when on the course.
As we continued to drive out toward Leone where Mark had lived for a about a year and a half, he started recognizing some landmarks. Leone High School was and still is at the end of an old air strip. When Mark was here in 1967 to 1969 there were five government houses located on that old air strip just north of the high school. There was almost no vegetation, so the houses were out in the open. That has certainly changed. Those houses are now surrounded by green and almost hidden from the road as you drive past. They
are no longer government houses and have not been kept up very well. Mark got out and took a few pictures and marveled at the very large tree in what would have been his front yard. There was no tree there almost 40 years ago and the tree that is there now is massive. When Mark was here he was in the wedding of a colleague, Marvin Leach, who married a Samoan woman, Fafatai. Evelyn had called and knew that Marvin is off island, but she was hoping that Fafatai would be home. She was not, but her home is in a dramatic location overlooking the ocean. This was near the village of Vailoa and the location of Sliding Rock. As Evelyn pointed out, it is possible to slide down the very slick rock just offshore, but she personally knew three people killed here attempting this. She calls it “suicide” rock and doesn’t recommend it because of the very strong current that can pull you under the rock once you have slid down. Next we drove to
the village of Viatogi and along a scenic stretch of black lava coast. The seas were crashing into the black lava and it was beautiful. This is the sight of the Turtle and the Shark legend. There are many different versions of this story, but the one Evelyn told us was that during a time of famine, an old blind woman and her granddaughter jumped into the sea after being turned out of their village because they couldn’t provide for themselves. When their family learned of this, they came to the shore to look for them. When they called out their names, they saw a turtle and a shark and they
knew their family members were alright. If you sit here on the rocks, you will almost always see a shark and possibly a turtle. School children here sing the folktale. Our final stop was to visit friends of Evelyn’s who have just bought a five acre track of land right on the ocean in an area of black volcanic rock and blow holes. Dean, originally from New Zealand, and his Samoan wife, Isabelle, are currently remodeling the house to turn it into a bed and breakfast. They already have a very successful bed and breakfast in Fagotogo on the side of the mountain overlooking the Pago Pago Harbor entrance. This new location they are developing is the most beautiful spot on the ocean that we have seen in the South Pacific. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on a deck right on the beach watching the huge waves
crashing into the black volcanic rock shooting spray straight up into the air. Dean and Isabelle’s eight-year old daughter, Evelyn (named after our friend Evelyn), could play on the black rocks and be totally safe from the ocean’s waves. Sometimes the surf would come into the beach area right in front of us. On a calmer day, you sit in the pool formed by the surrounding rock. This description in no way really describes the beauty of this spot. The bed and breakfast will be completed by year’s end and they will begin
building beach fales and a small restaurant at the water’s edge. This is one place I would love to revisit once it is completed. I could sit on that deck by the ocean for days and never tire of the sound of the crashing waves.
We ended our day by stopping by the Yacht Club and visiting with George and Ute from Miami, Brian from Thistledown, and Eddie from New Horizons II and then having dinner at Sook’s Sushi Restaurant close to the dock. Sushi here is just tuna, but it is certainly fresh and good. We can’t thank Evelyn enough for her willingness to share her love of American Samoa with us.
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| 060819 Day 306 American Samoa–Daytrip with Evelyn Bowles Weilenman |
