Trip journal - day 2
2 September 2005
Woke up at 6:30 am local time. Looked out the window at the sun rising. It struck me that the landscape was something my grandfather saw nearly a hundred years ago when he first landed at Pago Pago to begin his mission. I felt a tender kinship with him, my namesake.
You see photographs of tropical places, but it’s amazing to see lush green mountains rising in the not too far distance, and palm trees. Caroline woke up to go to the bathroom. I showed her the view. She pointed out palm trees with breadfruit, and a pool below our balcony with fish.
(The glare is from the unopened window)
Eventually we all got up and showered, then went to the Equator Restaurant right next to the hotel. We had fresh pineapple, orange, and cranberry juice and wonderful crepes, hotcakes, and omelettes while Sini told us about praying with his daughter after getting the call that we had missed our flight from Las Vegas. After praying, he got off his knees and said, “We are going.” He also spoke of the miracle that spared his wife another four years when she was given up for dead, and of the courage to finally let the Lord take her.
We met a fine young returned missionary who works at the hotel in the lobby. We packed up, checked out, and went to the Pago Pago Airport. At the airport, we met Phil and Allie Pili. She’s Caucasian, and he’s Samoan, in fact, American Samoa’s representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the American Samoa director of public communications for the Church.
Cindy, Caroline and I got on the 11:00 a.m. flight. We were the only Caucasians on the flight. Several Samoans had temple T-shirts on (“One worldwide family under one roof – Apia Samoa Temple - Pago Pago West Stake – July 30-31, 2005”). Two sweet, restless little boys kept their parents and us laughing. Everyone spoke Samoan, except the flight attendant, a handsome young (smiling) Samoan man, who provided safety instructions in both English and Samoan.
I took and and read some of the entries from Bapa’s missionary journal. His account of Pago Pago was interesting (since it matched what I saw and felt as I looked out the window early this morning), as well as his encounter with Sini’s grandfather.
Our plane was a twin-engine propeller plane and sat 30 people. After we took off, it looked like American Samoa lacked beaches – from what we could see from the plane – just lava rock joining the sea. We flew over beautiful turquoise coral reefs as we approached Western Samoa to land. We also saw lots of fish breaking the water in the blue Pacific.
We made it through customs and immigration, changed some money, and took a taxi to the hotel. Along the way, our driver told us many stories about the island and the sites we were seeing. He spoke of British missionaries, of Germans, New Zealanders, and others who had colonized the island and taught various things to the islanders. He spoke proudly of the island’s independence, and of their reverence for an old king, and disdain for modern politicians who changed the law to claim title as head of state.
There were probably 50 churches or more on the 30 kilometer drive from the airport to Apia. We also noticed many Church-run schools, and many family burial plots (typically two cement tombs above ground right next to homes). Our driver explained that families show respect to their parents (“Mummy and Daddy”) by burying them on the land where they brought up their families, and that they want to stay on that same land as long as they live. We also saw several large groups sitting in the shade of trees (probably lunch hour), and a couple of rugby teams taking the field coming from opposing directions carrying team flags. Our driver also emphasized the mixture of blood among Samoans from American Marines, Germans, New Zealanders, etc. “Half-castes” he called them.
We arrived at the Hotel Millenia and found that they had sent a van to pick us up. Mom was on the phone with the receptionist (Delilah) when we arrived. Turns out none of them made the 1:00 pm flight, so they’ll be flying in on a jet together tomorrow morning arriving at 9:30 am. We got to our room (19), turned on the AC, and quickly lay down and took a nap.
The hotel is steps away from the sea wall and has a fine view of the town and the sea.
When we awoke, we went downstairs to get a bite to eat from the restaurant (3:00 pm), but the kitchen was closed. Natalia, the wife of the owner’s son, spoke with us at length about local sights, our accommodations (including Internet – we’ll have to use the computer in the office), and suggested we go to McDonald’s to grab a quick bite. Everyone we have met here speaks English with a New Zealand accent. Notable, too, that in American Samoa, the current is 110V and things seem “Americanized”. Here there seems to be a stronger British, Aussie, and New Zealand influence, the current is 240V, and things seem more “British”.
Just before we set out, there was a heavy but brief rainfall. As quickly as it came, it left, and the sun came out. We took a taxi into town with some other people from the hotel. At the counter at McDonald’s, we met the Naylor family from Orem. He is the brother of the temple builder, and they’re here for the dedication. He said his brother gave him and his wife a VIP tour of the temple yesterday. The Lyons had been missing their luggage for three days because they were some of the last on the plane, and they said the Samoans brought a lot of boxes and things on the flight, so their luggage was bumped. They’ve been wearing the same clothes for three days.
After our late lunch, we took a walk through town. We bought a beautifully-colored sarong for Caroline at a fabric-and-locksmith (combination) shop run by a Caucasian lady. We also bought a tie at a chemist’s shop (Brit name for pharmacy) around the corner. (I had forgotten to pack one).
We also walked by a movie theater (showing “Monster-in-Law” [the inflight movie on the Pango Pango leg], “Dukes of Hazzard”, and a couple of others I didn’t recognize). We spent some time in a flea market, just before closing, where Caroline picked out a shell bracelet and some earrings for her friend, Meg Boshard.
We walked back along the sea wall, taking some pictures, and then got back to the hotel where Caroline and I uploaded the photos she and I had taken, sorted them, deleted some, and labeled them. Caroline is now reading on the balcony, and Cindy’s taking a nap. The sun’s beginning to set, and I can hear a rooster crowing. There’s also some music coming from a large tent they’re setting up near here. There’s a cultural and arts festival starting tomorrow. Interesting that the Church planned the dedication to be near that event (perhaps to make it convenient for people who were traveling for one to attend the other).
After Cindy napped (while I watched the beginning of the Saints and Soldiers DVD on my laptop – happily, the Apple power supply and international power kit works – it’s 240V current here), we went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
We sat on the veranda, our eyes getting used to the darkness. “Island country” music came from a nearby bar: “It’s Now or Never” and other favorites. Island style. Several minutes later, competing sound and music began coming from a nearby Assembly of God tent revival.
Samoa seems to disdain walls. Ocean breezes can flow through open windows and open buildings. So the two kinds of music and sound joyfully competed.
A young boy came to the railing and offered a lei. We bought it and put it around Caroline’s neck. It had fragrant blossoms.
Caroline had a “Samoan burger” and a Sprite. Cindy had Satay (kebobs) and a Coke Lite. I had a chicken curry bowl with garlic bread on the side and a Sprite. It was romantic sitting on the veranda, in the mostly dark, with balmy sea breezes blowing. Robert Louis Stevenson’s south sea isle paradise. We are definitely in a foreign country. A distant island in the South Pacific. A distinct minority. Everyone but us chatted in Samoan.
After dinner, we took a walk along the sea wall and looked up at the stars. We could see an extremely bright Mars, and another nearby planet – not sure which one. Also a very milky Milky Way. We tried to distinguish the Southern Cross. But the constellations in this hemisphere are unfamiliar.
We saw several dogs lying on or near the sea wall, all looking to be descended from the same original parents – kind of Palamino-colored, with long legs.
We returned to our room, had family prayer, and Caroline went to bed while Cindy continued to read her Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener, and I finished Saints and Soldiers. Good movie.
Our waiter said the bar would stop playing music around 11:00 pm. He said the revival should wind down around 11:30 pm. We will all be using earplugs tonight…
Woke up at 6:30 am local time. Looked out the window at the sun rising. It struck me that the landscape was something my grandfather saw nearly a hundred years ago when he first landed at Pago Pago to begin his mission. I felt a tender kinship with him, my namesake.
You see photographs of tropical places, but it’s amazing to see lush green mountains rising in the not too far distance, and palm trees. Caroline woke up to go to the bathroom. I showed her the view. She pointed out palm trees with breadfruit, and a pool below our balcony with fish.
Eventually we all got up and showered, then went to the Equator Restaurant right next to the hotel. We had fresh pineapple, orange, and cranberry juice and wonderful crepes, hotcakes, and omelettes while Sini told us about praying with his daughter after getting the call that we had missed our flight from Las Vegas. After praying, he got off his knees and said, “We are going.” He also spoke of the miracle that spared his wife another four years when she was given up for dead, and of the courage to finally let the Lord take her.
We met a fine young returned missionary who works at the hotel in the lobby. We packed up, checked out, and went to the Pago Pago Airport. At the airport, we met Phil and Allie Pili. She’s Caucasian, and he’s Samoan, in fact, American Samoa’s representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the American Samoa director of public communications for the Church.
Cindy, Caroline and I got on the 11:00 a.m. flight. We were the only Caucasians on the flight. Several Samoans had temple T-shirts on (“One worldwide family under one roof – Apia Samoa Temple - Pago Pago West Stake – July 30-31, 2005”). Two sweet, restless little boys kept their parents and us laughing. Everyone spoke Samoan, except the flight attendant, a handsome young (smiling) Samoan man, who provided safety instructions in both English and Samoan.
I took and and read some of the entries from Bapa’s missionary journal. His account of Pago Pago was interesting (since it matched what I saw and felt as I looked out the window early this morning), as well as his encounter with Sini’s grandfather.
Our plane was a twin-engine propeller plane and sat 30 people. After we took off, it looked like American Samoa lacked beaches – from what we could see from the plane – just lava rock joining the sea. We flew over beautiful turquoise coral reefs as we approached Western Samoa to land. We also saw lots of fish breaking the water in the blue Pacific.
We made it through customs and immigration, changed some money, and took a taxi to the hotel. Along the way, our driver told us many stories about the island and the sites we were seeing. He spoke of British missionaries, of Germans, New Zealanders, and others who had colonized the island and taught various things to the islanders. He spoke proudly of the island’s independence, and of their reverence for an old king, and disdain for modern politicians who changed the law to claim title as head of state.
There were probably 50 churches or more on the 30 kilometer drive from the airport to Apia. We also noticed many Church-run schools, and many family burial plots (typically two cement tombs above ground right next to homes). Our driver explained that families show respect to their parents (“Mummy and Daddy”) by burying them on the land where they brought up their families, and that they want to stay on that same land as long as they live. We also saw several large groups sitting in the shade of trees (probably lunch hour), and a couple of rugby teams taking the field coming from opposing directions carrying team flags. Our driver also emphasized the mixture of blood among Samoans from American Marines, Germans, New Zealanders, etc. “Half-castes” he called them.
We arrived at the Hotel Millenia and found that they had sent a van to pick us up. Mom was on the phone with the receptionist (Delilah) when we arrived. Turns out none of them made the 1:00 pm flight, so they’ll be flying in on a jet together tomorrow morning arriving at 9:30 am. We got to our room (19), turned on the AC, and quickly lay down and took a nap.
The hotel is steps away from the sea wall and has a fine view of the town and the sea.
When we awoke, we went downstairs to get a bite to eat from the restaurant (3:00 pm), but the kitchen was closed. Natalia, the wife of the owner’s son, spoke with us at length about local sights, our accommodations (including Internet – we’ll have to use the computer in the office), and suggested we go to McDonald’s to grab a quick bite. Everyone we have met here speaks English with a New Zealand accent. Notable, too, that in American Samoa, the current is 110V and things seem “Americanized”. Here there seems to be a stronger British, Aussie, and New Zealand influence, the current is 240V, and things seem more “British”.
Just before we set out, there was a heavy but brief rainfall. As quickly as it came, it left, and the sun came out. We took a taxi into town with some other people from the hotel. At the counter at McDonald’s, we met the Naylor family from Orem. He is the brother of the temple builder, and they’re here for the dedication. He said his brother gave him and his wife a VIP tour of the temple yesterday. The Lyons had been missing their luggage for three days because they were some of the last on the plane, and they said the Samoans brought a lot of boxes and things on the flight, so their luggage was bumped. They’ve been wearing the same clothes for three days.
After our late lunch, we took a walk through town. We bought a beautifully-colored sarong for Caroline at a fabric-and-locksmith (combination) shop run by a Caucasian lady. We also bought a tie at a chemist’s shop (Brit name for pharmacy) around the corner. (I had forgotten to pack one).
We also walked by a movie theater (showing “Monster-in-Law” [the inflight movie on the Pango Pango leg], “Dukes of Hazzard”, and a couple of others I didn’t recognize). We spent some time in a flea market, just before closing, where Caroline picked out a shell bracelet and some earrings for her friend, Meg Boshard.
We walked back along the sea wall, taking some pictures, and then got back to the hotel where Caroline and I uploaded the photos she and I had taken, sorted them, deleted some, and labeled them. Caroline is now reading on the balcony, and Cindy’s taking a nap. The sun’s beginning to set, and I can hear a rooster crowing. There’s also some music coming from a large tent they’re setting up near here. There’s a cultural and arts festival starting tomorrow. Interesting that the Church planned the dedication to be near that event (perhaps to make it convenient for people who were traveling for one to attend the other).
After Cindy napped (while I watched the beginning of the Saints and Soldiers DVD on my laptop – happily, the Apple power supply and international power kit works – it’s 240V current here), we went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
We sat on the veranda, our eyes getting used to the darkness. “Island country” music came from a nearby bar: “It’s Now or Never” and other favorites. Island style. Several minutes later, competing sound and music began coming from a nearby Assembly of God tent revival.
Samoa seems to disdain walls. Ocean breezes can flow through open windows and open buildings. So the two kinds of music and sound joyfully competed.
A young boy came to the railing and offered a lei. We bought it and put it around Caroline’s neck. It had fragrant blossoms.
Caroline had a “Samoan burger” and a Sprite. Cindy had Satay (kebobs) and a Coke Lite. I had a chicken curry bowl with garlic bread on the side and a Sprite. It was romantic sitting on the veranda, in the mostly dark, with balmy sea breezes blowing. Robert Louis Stevenson’s south sea isle paradise. We are definitely in a foreign country. A distant island in the South Pacific. A distinct minority. Everyone but us chatted in Samoan.
After dinner, we took a walk along the sea wall and looked up at the stars. We could see an extremely bright Mars, and another nearby planet – not sure which one. Also a very milky Milky Way. We tried to distinguish the Southern Cross. But the constellations in this hemisphere are unfamiliar.
We saw several dogs lying on or near the sea wall, all looking to be descended from the same original parents – kind of Palamino-colored, with long legs.
We returned to our room, had family prayer, and Caroline went to bed while Cindy continued to read her Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener, and I finished Saints and Soldiers. Good movie.
Our waiter said the bar would stop playing music around 11:00 pm. He said the revival should wind down around 11:30 pm. We will all be using earplugs tonight…
posted by Barney at 10:22 PM
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