Monday, September 29, 2008
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.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
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.
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