How the rainforest got its name....Rain!

Wedensday, September 15, 2010

Today marks one week in American Samoa.  We weren't planning on staying a full week, but we have had so much rain and related sea state that we have not wanted to venture out of the harbor.  The weather is calming down a bit, and it looks like we might leave tomorrow afternoon for Apia in Samoa.  Now it depends on our main GPS system which decided to start screaming this morning and then died.  Russ is trying to wire in one of our other three GPS's to take its place.  We will leave when he has that figured out.

While we have been in American Samoa, we have rented a car for two days and visited both extremes of this island.  It is a lush green rainforest.  The key word is rain.

It has rained everyday since we have been here and the last two days have by far been real gushers with thunder and lightening.

We opened the top to our water tank and within four hours topped off our 250 gallon tank which was probably half empty when we started.  Unfortunately, we have not had a real sunny calm day to explore the beaches and do some snorkeling.  We have seen some very active waterfalls as a result of the rain.  The downpour and runoff is quite brown.  We named this gusher, latte falls.

American Samoa is has beautiful topography and beaches.  The people are very outgoing, pleasant, and are proud to be an American territory.  The tuna industry is the primary employer on the island.  There used to be two large tuna factories, but over the years the tuna industry here has been on the decline not only because there are fewer fish in the sea, but because the American minimum wage law along with other regulations is causing the industry to lose its competitive edge.  It costs eleven cents to produce a can of tuna in other countries (Micronesia-Philipinnes) and forty-five cents to produce a can of tuna here in American Samoa.  One of the factories has closed down, and the Starkist factory and fishing boats look like they are suffering.  Building and boat maintenance or lack of maintenance is very obvious.

Within the last couple of years American Samoa has also been subjected to hurricanes and last year a Tsunami wiping out many of the structures close to the warer (most of the buildings are on the flat perimeter of the island).  It looks as if some reconstruction is under way, but the cleanup process seems to have stalled out.  All along the coast there are piles of tsunami rubbish that have been built for pickup, but there hasn't been some pickup in quite some time.  The lighter weight trash is blown away. There are few public trash drop off points (garbage cans) so it seems that the locals just drop whatever they have in their hands.   Plastic bottles, bags, etc. pollute the waterways and Pago Pago harbor is a terrible mess.

The trashy condition of the island is very sad to see.  Having been in French Polynesia where the French government subsidizes the ailing economy by employing locals for landscaping and cleanup, there is a noticeable contrast, and it has resulted in a clean and pristine environment.  America might want to consider a similar strategy. The could rename Charlie to Charlie the Cleanup Man.

On our tour of the island, it is amazing the number of churches here.  There must be  one church for every 500 people.

There are 63,000 people on American Samoa.  The perimeter roads are clogged with cars and independently owned buses everyday of the week but Sunday.  We rented a car on Sunday and drove around the island, encountering only a handful of vehicles.  Everyone else was busy with church activities throughout the day.  Villages begin to gather at their churches around 9:00 a.m. to socialize.  The service starts around 10:00, after which everyone has a large lunch, followed by bible study and then a late afternoon church service again.

We were invited in one village to come and eat with the congregation.  They motioned to us with hand gestures while we were in our car.  We waved, smiled and declined the invitation.  It was raining, and we were perhaps over reacting to the leprosy warning signs as we had entered the village.

The men and women in American Samoa wear a long skirt.  The women wear a tailored, long tunic with a rounded neck, cap sleeves and zippered back over their skirt.  Many of the Sunday clothes for women are accompanied with beautiful hats.  Some of the church goers wore all white, not sure which denomination it was, but it wasn't the Mormons or Catholics.

There is also a large Seventh Day Adventist congregation on the Island.  We saw some of them at their churches on Sunday, but they were more casually dressed as their Sabbath is on Saturday.

Prior to the missionaries converting the Samoans to Christianity,

it is believed that Star Mounds, radiating rock structures, were used not only by village chiefs to capture pigeons, but were also used for some religious rituals.  There are few of these Star Mounds left.  We found one near the Catholic church behind and apartment building. 

In every village there is at least one pavilion or "guest house" where the chief entertains guests and where locals conduct funerals, celebrations, meetings, etc.  It is a covered outdoor area that is also used to hang laundry when not being used for a special event.   Some villages have multiple guest houses.

Like most of the Polynesian Islands, land passes down from family to family.  There are no For Sale signs on land here.  In most of the front yards or side yards of family homes, deceased ancestors are buried about.

We have enjoyed our stay here, but are looking forward to moving on to perhaps a little more sunshine, but we have certainly enjoyed the beauty.

All is Well on Worrall Wind