East Side Sunday

We decided on Saturday evening, after having a chore laden day to head out to Aunu'u on Sunday. Aunu'u is the island that is about a mile south of the eastern end of Tutuila. It's supposed to have a cool small village, a lagoon in an old volcano crater, some caves and a number of worthwhile sites. With our group, consisting of a driver who's on a short contract with the Park service, a criminal prosecutor from our office and us, we got an early start off to the east side of the island to see what trouble we could get into.

One of the first sites on the way out to Aunu'u, besides the green volcanic islands we saw here, is an old shipwreck that's washed up on the shore right beneath the coast road, past Pago Harbor. The old hulk's rusted through to the point you can see the waves washing through the seaward side. There were even a few boulders which had landed on the deck of the old ship. We couldn't fathom how they ended up there, with the steep cliffs being at least 50 yards back from where the ship came to rest. It must have been quite a slide or one heck of a bounce to make it up that high and that far out.

Here's the view looking out towards Aunu'u. It's the smallest inhabited island in the territory. There's a tiny village on the island which receives most supplies and basic commodities by regular boat trips which depart from a small wharf/harbor near the eastern end of Tutuila. The beaches along the North end of the island are supposed to be nice and there's a hiking loop that we've heard good things about. Plus, there are no cars on the island, just foot traffic, like the islands have been for centuries prior. Sort of a throw back, to how Tutuila was prior to the federal government taking a real interest in the welfare of the locals. Some of the stories I've heard from the locals tell of getting around by horseback and a true tropical paradise, not the cross between consumer culture and the native culture we now see on the island.

Once we made it to the harbor, there weren't any boats waiting at the dock. So we lounged for a bit on the breakwater that protected the harbor and tossed the rugby ball around. The weather was sunny with enough of a breeze to keep the heat from getting to be too much. I received a little bit of a scare when I realized I couldn't find my keys. Convinced they fell down between the rocks of the breakwater, I was sure we'd never be able to find them. Sara also didn't bring her keys. (Way to fall down on the job, Sara - you're supposed to be my backup in situations like these.)

After waiting a while, a boat arrived and started loading up with

some supplies. After we talked with the Aunu'u-ese they said the island was closed to outsiders on Sundays and we wouldn't be able to make the trip out there. They told us "No tourists on Sundays, come back tomorrow." Too bad we all had work tomorrow (Monday). A little bummed, we rallied up and decided to follow the coast road out to its end. We hopped in the NPS vehicle and continued our trek out East.

Near the end of the road, it wraps around around to the north side of the island. Not far from where the road ends, you get some great views looking along the north coast of the island. In the distance of this picture you can see the Cock's Comb, or Pola Island if you prefer the Samoan name. The North Coast of the island is steep and dramatic. We'll need to work on getting out here more and spending some time in the more remote sections of the island. The road ends a short way down from here. It ends with a whimper. - The pavement stops, three driveways head off in different directions, and that's the limit of how far you can go on the East end of the island.

We did a little exploring, I almost made it up to the top of a palm tree, problem was, once I got up there I couldn't use my hands to free a coconut, they were too busy holding on for dear life to the trunk of the tree. I need to work on those thigh muscles before I'll be an able coconut gatherer.

The Eastern point of Tutuila is sort of the end of the world for us. It's odd to feel physically bound to this small island. Sara and I don't have island fever yet, but I see it in people who have been here longer than us. We'll see what happens when we start to feel the small size of the community and island.

We also have seen this phenomena around the island at various spots. Rumor has it, its a means to keep ghosts and spirits away. Who knew that old detergent and bleach bottles could be that useful. The smaller villages are full of little superstitions like this, we need to get out and get a little more details to confirm or deny the ghost stories.

With our plans to visit Aunu'u in tatters, we opted to go to our new favorite east-side Sunday activity: Tisa's Barefoot Bar. We rolled up and the beach scene was in full effect there. We were able to grab a table on the deck overlooking the beach. A few Vailima, some snorkeling and socializing with the island's palagi population soon had us in good spirits.

There was even a tattoo artist working with the traditional Samoan tattooing fork. It looked like a time consuming and painful process, even more so than usual, since the guy receiving the tattoo was almost a tourist attraction under the fale next to the bar. We at least asked if we could take his picture first, but I wouldn't want to be in his place. It may not have been the Sunday we planned, but it turned out quite excellent and we'll always be able to make it Aunu'u another weekend...

Once we made it home, Sara and I had to devise a way to break into the house. Our back door hadn't locked properly, so we were able to make it back in without too much shattering of glass or otherwise. Turns out someone (Sara), had borrowed my keys to grab a few last minute additional items and left my keys on her dresser upstairs. Thanks for the scare, Sara. Er, I mean it's good we got back into our house without too much trouble.