24. AMERICAN SAMOA NATIONAL PARK, AMERICAN SAMOA:
"HEART OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC"
Ofu Island
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| Students Wearing Lavalava |
When the plane carrying me from Honolulu landed at the Pago Pago airport in American Samoa, a torrential rain greeted me and the other arrivals that night. The small terminal was jammed with people arriving on one of the two weekly flights from Hawaii. I made my way through the crowd to find a taxi. My burly cab driver was silent and unsmiling and he left me apprehensive. Then his mood changed after I started talking about professional wrestlers as well as Japanese Sumo Akebono and Konishiki who are Samoan heroes. The driver could not restrain himself and assisted me when we reached my motel where no one was at the reception area. He began to look for the desk clerk and we heard a strange noise. The clerk had laid down to rest on the floor waiting for Honolulu passengers to arrive. But she had fallen asleep and when we arrived she sheepishly scratched her head, stretched her arms, and smiled broadly. Now the clerk and driver were both making me feel welcome in this isolated part of the Pacific region.
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| Battery Ruin |
The territory of American Samoa consists of five volcanic and two coral islands in the South Pacific. This territory is 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii, and it takes five and one-half hours flying time to reach it from Honolulu. The most populated island of the seven is Tituila which has a population of about 60,000. The people descend from Polynesians who arrived over 3,000 years ago as well as other Asians and Europeans. Both men and women look healthy and vigorous like the wrestlers living in a tropical climate. The rainy season occurs between October and May. In 1899 the United States acquired the first of the seven islands that form the territory. After the United States Department of the Navy administered the islands for about 51 years, the United States Department of Interior took charge in 1951. The islands still have ruined batteries or military fortifications serving as reminders particularly of World War II. The American influence has been, not only military, but also cultural; for instance, English is spoken more than Samoan.
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| Mother and Children |
In 1993 the United States Congress authorized leasing land to establish the National Park of American Samoa. The National Park Service acquired by lease more than 10,000 acres from nine tribal villages on the islands of Tutuila, Ofu, and Ta'u for fifty years. This unique arrangement was designed to preserve tropical forests, cliffs, and coral beaches.
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| Village of Vatia |
Even though my visit to the park occurred during the rainy season, I enjoyed seeing the land and the people. Every day I drove my car from downtown Pago Pago to Aua village. From there I followed a mountainous road to the village of Vatia which is within the park. Every day towards evening I went to the beach hoping to see the sun set. But there was no sunset to photograph because of the rain clouds. While driving around to see these villages and other places on Tutuila, I was saddened by the sight of the ruined batteries that brought painful images of what might have happened if soldiers from my homeland had invaded the beaches.
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| Vaiava Strait |
My happiest experiences were meeting local people and particularly the Tone family which lives on national park land. The family can stay here because it had acquired its land before the park lease was signed. Their land is surrounded by a tropical rain forest and it overlooks a cliff washed by the ocean. It has a house, consisting of a frame with a roof and floor, and stands near a sign erected by the National Park Service. Few tourists come here and those who do can look into the house and see the prized possession--a television set. Usually, they also see clothes hanging on lines strung between coconut trees. The family's five barefoot children waved to me like the few others who pass this way. Big families have obviously spurred population growth, doubling the population of Tutuila in the last two decades.
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| Ofu Island |
In the evenings I watched other Samoans playing volley ball in Vatia. Both young and old play the game or watch it. The game is a wonderful way of bringing the village people together. They seem to be happy without all the material comforts of western culture.
On my last full day in American Samoa I flew on a small airplane to Ofu which is connected by a bridge to another island called Olosega. The white coral beaches of the four-square-mile island of Ofu are within the park boundaries. While walking along the beach, I met a seventeen-year-old fisherman. The young man, who is the father of two children, showed me how to catch a fish. He succeeded in catching a beautiful tropical fish which was cooked for us by his aunt who operates a bed and breakfast facility near the beach. Outside the park areas is a small village with about 350 residents. Olosega, too, has a small village. The islands are not crowded like Tutuila. Indeed, they are the paradise of the South Pacific. I was told that, since the first Europeans came to these islands, sailors have understandably been leaving their ships to seek women.
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| Fisherman |
National Park Visitor Center (684-633-7082), www.nps.gov/npsa/home.htm
American Samoa Office of Tourism (684-633-1091), www.samoanet.com