Palangi beach video!

Palangi beach

As promised, more posts where I go to the beach. This weekend was Palangi beach on the west side of the island. Known as one of the best beaches on the island and hardest to reach. One assistant attorney general broke her leg getting there last month, which of course only made me want to go more. The hike wasn't bad at all so I have decided the AG's office needs to reevaluate who they hire. The path consisted of mostly just stumbling over wet rocks for twenty minutes until we reached a real beach....


At the end of Palangi beach was this rocky point. The water looked amazing but I was warned about 'avas and there was a chance I could get swept out to sea and that even my prior intense swimming regimen would be of no use to me. So I didn't jump...

Instead we laid in the low tide until a storm cloud chased us out. Below are Gwen, who cuts hair and works at the hospital, Pirate Chris, not sure what he does but he looks like a pirate, and the other law clerk, Chase.

Happy Birthday

I'll take a break from the island and wish my sister Molly a happy 22nd birthday!

So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains

About five miles up from Pago Pago is Mount Alava. The hike up is three miles and takes about an hour to complete.

At the top is a radio tower and the remnants of an old tramway system that no longer functions. In 1980 a Navy plane hit one of the tramway cables, crashed into a Pago Pago hotel, and the tram was never rebuilt. Now just ridiculous Palagis (white people) are the only people who climb to the top. But it's worth it because the view is killer.


Normally, people just hike down the way they came but we decided to go up and over the other side of the mountain. Going down the "Vatia" side of the mountain requires climbing down the five mile steep slope on makeshift ladders and ropes.
Here's me, taming Mount Alava. After many such ladder climbs we eventually reached the other side of the island...

Samoana High School Football Rules (Nu'uuli Poly-Tech does not)

I was excited to see my first Am. Samoan high school football game. As some may know, American Samoa has produced a large amount of NFL and Division I football players (relative to its size), see here. So we headed to a Friday night game featuring the Samoana High School Sharks versus the Nu'uuli Poly-Tech Wildcats. All games are played at the national stadium, which features $1 hot dogs and .50 sodas. We sat on the Nu'uuli side, which was good, because they didn't have many fans (see superfan above.) The Wildcats have not won a game in 4 years and Samoana had 3 kids that had already signed up with Division I schools. The game was a slaughter (see score) and 3 players had to get carted off the field. One, I was told later, had an ACL tear, which on the island is a career killer. Our hospital literally has cats walking in the hallways, so not much in the way of orthopeadic surgery. Despite the lopsided score, it was an enjoyable Friday night.

Airport Beach

Not much to say in this post except that I went to airport beach on Saturday. Airport beach is so named because it is next to the airport. The beach is small but the little hike to the beach is cool with waves crashing up through blow holes in the lava rock. While snorkeling at airport beach I saw sea turtles and the dorsal fin of a black tip reef shark. Airport beach was also recently in the news because a fisherman was swept tragically into one of the blow holes. It was also the site chosen for the detonation of various Vietnam era explosives discovered during some road work. Story here.

Rise up this mornin, Smiled with the risin sun

Sunday morning was my first trek to Larsen's Cove, which sounds more like a cheap seafood restaurant than a beach. The Cove also required a little bit of hike, 20 minutes or so through forest and banana plantations...



But the hike was worth it; awesome secluded beach, nice snorkeling, good weather...




and I received a nice sunburn. Contrary to popular belief I am not of Greek descent, I come from French-Canadian and Scottish stock. Although we tan eventually, the Fluets first need to pay the price.

So I will apologize now for what will probably be a couple weeks' worth of posts where "Ned goes to the beach." This appears to be a lot of what we do outside of work. I am told this gets old and eventually you want off the island. After a while it starts to feel like one long episode of The Prisoner or Lost (depending on your level of nerdiness.) In a month or so the blog will probably feature posts like "Ned reclines his chair." Until then, there will be lots of nature pictures.

Laundry Day

After two weeks it was time to do some laundry. Nothing funny or noteworthy happened, however, the laundromat has some nice views ...so I will just leave you with these.

Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss

A brief look at what I do for a living. I am a law clerk for the Chief Justice and Associate Justice of the High Court of American Samoa. Slightly different from my old office needless to say. Basically, I write opinions for the judges on the various civil and criminal matters that come before the court. Despite its small size, a little bit of everything happens on the island and so far the work has been interesting. Little American Samoa even has its share of political scandals. The top pic is the High Court, middle is the clerks' office, and the bottom is downtown Pago Pago, site of the courthouse.

Every lovely spot near or far, You can reach them too in your car

This is pretty much the car of my dreams, hence the glamor shot to start things off. Although I didn't really believe it at first, a car is pretty necessary for the island. Nothing is especially close and it rains frequently and without warning. So I broke down and bought this lovely '96 Toyota Tacoma. I got it from a Samoan guy named Anthony, who fixed the windows for me [they didn't roll up] and the doors [couldn't open them from the inside.] The price was right and the steering is loose.



No, my driveway isn't on a slope, my car just likes to chill like that.

Sweet Mother McAuley! Have you ever seen bigger rust holes!? Do I work for the Chief Justice of the High Court, hell yeah I do! I entreaty all blog viewers to click on this picture and experience this monstrosity in its full glory. Here's what the Tacoma used to look like before its rumble in the jungle. And the bumper sticker on the back..."Army of One"...pretty fitting for this survivor.

"Carr Gomm: Can you imagine the kind of life he must have had?
Dr Frederick Treves: Yes, I think I can.
Carr Gomm: I don't think so. No one could possibly imagine it! I don't believe any of us can!"