September 16, 2012
One reason cruisers like to go to American Samoa is the shopping. There is a Costco-like store and a supermarket that sell American goods. Both of these were right by our hotel, and we had come prepared with a giant shopping bag to fill and bring back with us to Western Samoa (we hoped they’d let us carry it on the plane).
We went to the Cost-U-Less first (the Costco-like store) and bought some wonderful things: a big bag of Famous Amos cookies, 3 large bags of plain and peanut M & Ms, a bag of mini Hershey bars, several boxes of Kraft Mac n Cheese, and six large cans of chicken. Unfortunately, the only good-quality (not instant or Folgers) coffee they sold was whole-bean coffee, and we don’t have a grinder. We had found treasure, but not the Holy Grail.
We then headed to the supermarket and made a beeline for the coffee section. And there it was, the holiest of Holy Grails: Starbucks coffee! We excitedly loaded up, taking 5 packages and leaving one. (I am now kicking myself for not taking that last one, but we only had so much room in our bag).
Fitting everything into the shopping bag was a challenge, but we did it. And in the end, they did let us bring everything on the plane. I wish I’d gotten that last bag of coffee, though, even if I had to tie it on my head and call it a hat. -Cyndi
