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Tafuna, AS → Alega, AS → Tafuna, AS 28.7 mi (46.2 km) |
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Tatou sopo, tagata uma!
Today’s the day of the big hike in the National Park of American Samoa! Up and out super early, I was determined to beat the heat, or the rain, however the day would go. Retracing my steps from yesterday, I turned into the village of Vatia once again to reach the top of Tutuila’s mountains. Only I had a heck of a time finding the trailhead, tucked back as it was among houses, with the parking lot little more than a grass patch in front of someone’s home, guarded by very cranky feral dogs! Was it a warm welcome? Not exactly, but it was a warm day. I was going to make the most of it!
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Right off the bat, I could tell this would be unlike any other national park trail I’d ever been on. It was super steep, grassy, and wet leading up out of the village. The trail was also very overgrown, even disappearing behind a huge fallen tree at a switchback, which I had to scurry under.
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But it was so amazingly green all the way up. The thick canopy kept the scorching tropical sun at bay as I zigged and zagged through a vine-draped tunnel with a lush, fern carpet! All around, too, I heard the distant cries of the lupe, or Pacific Imperial pigeon (Ducula pacifica), once a prized capture in annual games around Tutuila! The Samoan islands are kind of amazing as bird islands, with very few native mammals and reptiles, and no native amphibians!
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Like yesterday’s trail, this one was full of ladders! The photo doesn’t quite do it justice; this ladder was very steep! That’s why it required a rope. Steep though it was, it really made this trail into an adventurous route, my cup of tea for sure!
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With all the ladders, combined with switchbacks and heat, plus swatting spider webs out of my face practically every step of the way, I got pretty tired pretty quickly, so I was glad to see some vines hanging down over the trail. As the years of adventuring go by, I’m finding that a nap, here and there, gets more and more appealing! Oh, but I couldn’t rest too long if I wanted to beat the elements!
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I was so groggy after my nap that I nearly bumped right into a huge set of pincers! It was a big mama coconut crab, very cross at having been disturbed from her morning forage. About the size of a volleyball, with claws almost as long as I was, she warned me to keep my distance until she got out of sight, and I was not about to chase her and ask for a photo! I later found out that adult coconut crabs are super rare on Tutuila—they’re found more often on the outer Manu’a islands—so I’m counting myself as super lucky to have seen one!
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It’s also possible that they’re so seldom seen because the trail was a menace to navigate! What you’re seeing in this photo was part of the trail! After pushing through a solid wall of plants and spiderwebs, I had to leap up over a mire onto this log, then leap again into the next wall of plans and spiderwebs, which I was pretty sure continued on as the trail!
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I took another break after that, once the trail opened up again, and I got to appreciate some of the smaller things, like this pretty budding teuila, the national flower of Samoa! A type of red ginger (Alpinia purpurata), it’s fragrant like other gingers and has medicinal properties, but you’ll mostly see this one planted for its beautiful red flowers, which I was just too early to enjoy today.
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I wasn’t really sure how far I was supposed to go on this trail, both because it became extra overgrown not far past the mire and because the ranger had warned me not to go all the way to the summit. A storm back in December had blown down the TV towers on top, meaning there were lots of wires waiting to be cleaned up. I was disappointed, as I was just starting to see pieces of a view, but I decided to keep going until I saw my first wire.
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And look! There was yet another ladder to climb! I decided to tackle it, because even though the rope was the right shape, my keen ears picked up no electrical crackles. Whatever was at the top I hoped would be worth the climb.
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And would you look at that? Though I was still quite a way below the summit, even from the ridge here, I had one spectacular view of Pago Pago Harbor! From here, I could plainly see how the harbor itself was the remnant of an ancient, enormous volcano! Luckily, the Pago Shield Volcano stopped erupting 1.27 million years ago, so water and wind were the chief elements today. This felt good enough for me, because further up the trail was a long ladder down and more long ladders up to an unreachable summit. Sometimes in life, you have to pick a “good enough,” and boy was this spot more than good enough!
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I returned to the trailhead in Vatia, having completed my time in the National Park of American Samoa, and after so much hiking, slipping, climbing, and dodging of large arthropods, I figured it was time to take it easy. Continuing east along Route 001, I looked for pullouts and beach combing sites, enjoying a tropical stroll along the beach in front of Camel Rock. I found some plumeria flowers on the ground and put one on my head, which reminded me of my trip to Thailand with Mom. I wonder how she’s doing. I should send her a postcard!
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Not far away was a great place to sit and write postcards: Tisa’s Barefoot Bar, a local landmark! It seemed to be open, but I didn’t see anyone at first when I walked in. There was one fellow hanging out on an open-air bed, but it turned out he was renting the space, AirBNB-style! What a place to stay!
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And what a time to be here! The thing I’ve really noticed on this trip has been the utter lack of crowds! That probably changes at certain times of year, or when a cruise ship pulls into Pago Pago, but apart from the tenant and a couple really nice dogs, I had the whole bar to myself!
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Tisa’s was located right on the edge of Alega Bay, the conservation of which has been spearheaded by Tisa herself since 1985! Now, reef walking and intentional killing of coral are banned, and from where I looked out, her efforts had made a blue, pristine bay full of both turtles and sharks!
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After a while, Candyman, the bartender, emerged and showed me what was available for the day. While Tisa’s was famous for their weekly Umu feast—seafood and veggies all cooked on hot rocks, as they have been for centuries—those only took place on Wednesdays. Today, there was no food on the menu at all! So I ordered a coconut and lost myself for a while, sipping and staring out over the stunning blue!
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When I’d had enough of that, I strolled on down to the beach, which was great having full permission from the proprietors and not having to wonder who to ask. It was so calm and quiet. I’d forgotten places like this still existed in this increasingly crowded world!
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I got spooked by a ghost crab (Ocypode cordimanus) scuttling out of its burrow into the sea, and then I got my feet soaked by a wave! No matter! When I was done strolling the beach, I just climbed back up on Tisa’s deck, ordered another beverage, and let my bare feet dry out under that South Pacific sun.
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Tomorrow is Sunday, which means most everything is closed on Tutuila. I’ll do some brainstorming this afternoon and come up with something fun to do on that day of rest. So far, days of rest have been plentiful on this island. Is that what a vacation is?
Feiloai taeao!
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Total Ground Covered: 65.2 mi (104.0) |
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