Malo! (Hello in Samoan.) I'm such the active blogger these days . . . NOT! We are still in American Samoa and are living quite happy lives here on our little island of Tutuila, American Samoa. It truly is funny how the wind may blow you to places you barely knew existed. When I occassionally return to the mainland and the topic of our current location comes up, no one knows where American Samoa is. Pretty sad that no one even knows that the United States has a territory below the equator in the South Pacific. But, I can sympathize. Pre-2004 I would have had just a vague general idea of some place called American Samoa.

For cruisers who are contemplating whether to stop here, all I can say is do not believe everything that you read in the cruising guides! And please do stop here! Heck, you might even end up staying here for a bit. For those U.S. citizen cruisers looking for a place to stop to replenish the cruising kitty, there are jobs to be found. You won't find the jobs in the paper, but come to the yacht club and start talking to people. That's how jobs are found on this island. People with mechanical or electrical abilities are nearly always in demand. And, for those cruisers from other countries, you may be surprised to learn that American Samoa does not fall under U.S. Immigration laws. We have our own American Samoan immigration laws, which are MUCH more flexible than U.S. immigration laws. Often times you can obtain work permission if your sponsor can document that your skills are needed and that the employer's needs cannot be met by hiring locals (who are U.S. nationals).

Pago Pago just went through a facelift of sorts with a nice new main road, replete with sidewalks. Sidewalks in the South Pacific? Now that's a concept. Sam threatens that when the first stoplight gets installed, we are "outta here." :)

For those needing a fix of fast food, a brand new McDonalds was built about a 2 minute walk from the dinghy dock. A laundromat is a 30 second walk from the dinghy dock. Buses run frequently and you can get around the island easily (but be forewarned -- they quit running around 5:00 at night and do not run on Sundays.)

Yes, there are two tuna canneries in the harbor and, yes, when they are cooking you will get some fish smell. But it's not horrendous. But, having grown up on a farm perhaps I am desensitized to odorific sensations. We were on Purrrfection in the harbor for a while and it's not overpowering, so don't let that stop you from paying American Samoa a visit.

After reading the cruising books before arriving, we had this absolutely terrible mental image of Pago Pago harbor and was pleasantly surprised when we pulled in and saw that our mental images didn't match with reality. While I wouldn't run the watermaker here, the good news is that Rainmaker Mountain on the eastern side of the harbor lives up to her name and there is plenty of rainfall. Friends of ours who are still living on their boat in the harbor said that they never have to lug water due to the amount of rainfall.

Soon the cruising vessels will start arriving and there will be new faces at the yacht club. Since this is a small island, and since the palagi (non-Samoan) population is smaller, we always welcome the opportunity to say "Hi" to new folks and live vicariously through their stories since we are now CLODs (cruisers living on dirt).

Hope to see some of you soon!

Fair winds,
Jennifer