I think it’s October 10, but I’m not sure as we are going to be crossing or we have already crossed the dateline. I do know we are in Pago Pago instead of Apia, which is what it says on the itinerary. Pago Pago (pronounced Pango-Pango) is tiny, green, lush, hilly, tropical, hot and pretty.
It’s the dry season right now, so there are not as many flowers as there would be in the wet season, but the torch ginger, mati, hibiscus and bougainvillea are definitely in bloom. Mati is a new flower to me. It’s a series of pink flowers that grows in a cone-shape.
Like all tropical islands, it’s green and lush. The vegetation grows everywhere...on buildings, cement beams, as well as on the ground. All homes look dirty, even when they are freshly painted, as the mold stains everything, forever. The homes are made of cement block or poured cement. There are a few wooden homes, but they don’t do well in the humidity or the typhoon winds.
The waters around the island are blue and relatively calm...at least today they are calm. The surf rolls in over a reef making for a riptide. Also there are not many sandy beaches, at least where we were.
We took a local taxi ride for 3 hours. We saw the “flowerpots” which are gumdrop-like formations in the ocean covered with vegetation.
Then we drove some more and found the blow-holes in a black lava stone beach. I tried to take a picture of the water blowing thru the hole, but my timing was off.
I did see a shorebird picking at the lava. There are the requisite boonie-dogs and chickens, but it’s rare to see a cat in the tropics, I don’t know why?
The island has all the mod-cons. The LBJ Topical Medicine Center, an International Airport, Post Office, Consulate, Ace Hardware, Napa, McDonald’s and Carl’s Jr. There are lots of mom-and-pop stores that sell just about anything from water to bingo supplies.
We had a nice time on the island. Next stop is Fiji...keep watching this space.
1 comment:
I'm watching. Any word on Chico?
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