September 15, 2012
After day two of our car rental, Rich and I were much happier here in Western Samoa. We could stay cool and comfortable in the car during the day while having plenty to see and do. By the time we’d return, it was cool enough to sustain life back in the marina. We’d get home, enjoy a cool shower, then head up to the restaurant/bar above the marina for good food and a cold beer. We decided to rent the car for a few more days.
We headed in early the next morning to extend the car rental and were shocked to find the car had been rented to someone else. We hadn’t anticipated this possibility! We walked away on foot, dazed. We had planned to leave, but our next weather window for the passage to Tonga was a week away. Meanwhile, a string of long, hot days lay ahead, and we needed to figure out how we would survive. We weighed our options. We could rent a car from another agency, but the process was a rather costly hassle and we’d likely end up with a stick shift. We thought about getting a hotel room, but Aggie Grey’s was booked solid, and the other nearby hotel was pretty spartan.
Rich came up with a great idea: American Samoa! We had heard from a good source that even though it’s only 80 miles away, it’s a good 10 degrees cooler. We had wanted to go there originally but had given up after hearing about the many difficulties of anchoring a boat there. We knew we could fly from Samoa but didn’t plan to bother with it. Now, we had reason to bother: survival! Rich got online and looked into it, and the price was very reasonable. He booked a flight, and soon we had a hotel booked, too. We planned to spend two nights there, and during that time we could see the island and buy some American goods at their big Costco-like store.
Two days later, we were boarding a morning flight to Tutuila, the main island in American Samoa. It was a smallish plane, seating about 12 people. Today it seated two: Rich and I had the plane to ourselves. The pilot turned and asked if we’d seen the east side of Samoa before. We fibbed and said no, not really, then said absolutely yes to his offer to give us a little tour from the air!
We figured we’d be in for a fun ride, and we were right! Our pilot flew low over the north coast, giving us am amazing view of the coastline and coral reefs. We even saw a humpback whale mother and calf! We then flew low over the mountain rainforest, coming out over the east coast, where he turned down to give us a good view flying low over the offshore islands. It was a thrilling ride!
After a short flight over open ocean, which was flat calm and an unbelievable shade of blue, we were coming in for a landing in American Samoa and so happy to be there. And for once, customs was quick easy as we were back on US soil. -Cyndi
(Rich… I can’t believe how strange it felt to be using US currency again. Ironically, it felt very foreign.)
