Saddle Sunset

Jay and I had discussed going up to the saddle between Rainmaker Mountain and Alava Ridge for quite some time. Last week after work, we finally made it a reality. We left the office, drove around Pago Harbor and stopped at a local convenience store to grab a couple of Steinlagers and some snacks (in this case, bread fruit chips and ahi poke).

We then drove up the super-steep switchbacks heading up to the saddle and pulled off to the side of the road. This view greeted us at the top along with a nice cool breeze and a much-needed dose of tranquility. A single Samoan man was sitting along the guardrail with us, but after a toothy smile and brief "malo," he left and began to walk down the mountain road.

As we sat there drinking in the view, we were greeted by flocks of tiny swiftlets, who were using their echolocation to wheel past us in crazy patterns, presumably to catch the insects swirling in the late afternoon light.

To our immediate left was an aspect of Rainmaker Mountain, which really shows you how steep some of the terrain is here. As we admired the cliffs, we also noticed some larger white birds flying in pairs with long white tails, which were unlike any we had ever seen. One of our many intrepid biologist friends later informed us that they were the aptly named tropicbird, though he seemed to be a bit distressed that he couldn't remember the Samoan name for it.

Finally, as dusk began to set in, we saw several large fruit bats, whose languid wing strokes distinguish them from anything else in the sky.

We enjoyed our Steinlagers on the guardrail and then took the switchbacks back down to Pago. It was an excellent way to wind down after a day in the office and an experience I'm sure we'll repeat in the coming months, at least until the rains hit....