Western Samoa

Last weekend, Chase and I spent a few days in Western (Independent) Samoa. The island, despite being a short 30 minute flight away, is really a different world. Good restaurants, good bars, great beaches, and interesting natural areas.

The ocean trench -- forty feet deep cavern where the ocean tide creates a shallow pool.


















Floatin'














The descent into the trench














Most of the weekend consisted of chilling on the beach at Litia Sini hotel in Lalomanu.





























Artsy beach shot














Black sand beach





























Western Samoa has maintained a lot of rural areas, below: Rooster 'n Pig














Sliding Rock: series of waterfalls suitable for, predictably, sliding

American Samoa Boxing Association

We attended our first boxing match held by the American Samoa Boxing Association. Held on Saturdays, the bouts start with 6-year olds and then move up to kids in their late teens. The youth of the some of the pugilists was surprising but they were into it and the event was well-attended by family and friends. What follows are my attempts at sports photography.

One of the 7-year old bouts














One tired kid














This little guy provided the most exciting bout of the day, see his video below, taking on another much larger kid, he controlled the match from the start. Here he is with his cornerman.














Catching his breath














Eventually, we saw older boxers that, although not as entertaining as the little kids, were pretty impressive.





























This boxer, we learned, has been in a number of international competitions and was really sharp. Here he is waiting for his opponent to get up.














Fuzzy action shot


















A ref

Clash of the mini-titans

Here are 3 rounds from the bout of the century, well, two 8-year olds boxing each other at an American Samoa Boxing Association match. The little guy in red was pretty tenacious and wound up winning the match. His fury is matched only by the crowd's great reaction.

If you go to YouTube you can view the match in higher quality by clicking the "watch in higher quality" button under the film.

Gov Howard Dean comes to American Samoa!

Governor Howard Dean visited American Samoa over the weekend. This was his final stop in his pledge to visit all 50 states and all US territories. He attended Friday's inauguration of the Governor, where he was served some of American Samoa's finest cuisine: three pieces of KFC chicken, KFC mashed potatoes, corn, two McDonald's fish fillet sandwiches, and a Quarter-Pounder. Seriously, that's what they served him. These photos come from a Democratic fundraiser we attended on Saturday night.

Dean has a special place in American Samoa's heart for once giving Wolf Blitzer the business after Wolf joked about American Samoa being seated at the DNC but not Michigan or Florida. As right he should, American Samoa has more Iraqi War casualties, per capita, than any other state.

Matt, Aaron, Doug, and Naomi wait for their turn with Gov Dean.















Gov Dean fills the gap















Also in attendance was one of my paddling coaches, Peti. Note my traditional Samoan formal attire and note Peti's 20 inch biceps.

Massacre Bay (sort of)

Co-clerk and I tried to hike to Massacre Bay on Saturday. The bay is on the north side of the island, which requires driving to the top of the island and hiking down to the other side. We ended up not finding Massacre Bay but landing on a bay previously untouched by palagi lawyers. Like Columbus, we didn't know where we were going when we left and didn't know where we were when we arrived.

Above, Chase cuts a path to Law Clerk Bay [Aoloau Bay].
Below, first sighting of water,















Nearing Law Clerk Bay















Arrival






























The walk back up was very steep and wrecked both of us but we persevered. At the top, a farmer greeted us with fresh coconuts.

Chase, triumphant














Me, triumphant