On Easter Sunday, April 16th, Holland America docked at Pago, Pago and we took their tour, the Taste of Samoa life ($54.95 US). The tour left at 10:30 and lasted till about 1:30.
We went on an old bus - the drivers seat was on
plywood, not raised, and his legs were under the bus floor. The tour guide, a
younger woman, looked after two of maybe eight buses. It was very hot, but they let the windows
down and kept the door open.
After 10 minutes, we came to a flowerpot rock, and
some got out and took pictures. Back on
the bus, after 5 minutes, the bus ahead blew the tire out, so the two buses
waited there while another bus was sent.
We waited in the shade next to a park for about 20 minutes. The third
bus had a gasoline leak, so the tour guide called for the 4th bus, and stayed
behind, while we took off on the first bus.
After about 15 minutes, we stopped at a golf course.
Although the golf course was very lush, the bathrooms
were not - run down, the doors did not lock, there was reams of toilet paper, but only on the floor.
There was a waiting area outside with 6 - 8 tables,
but the building was very run down. The
tables and benches were shabby and very dirty.
We bought a coke while we were waiting ($3 US). We stayed here for 30 - 40 minutes. After taking photos, we killed time. Finally, back on the bus - after about 10
minutes, then we came to the Samoa village.
When we went to wash our hands, the taps did not
work in the bathroom. There were no
tables and chairs set for lunch - you stood in line and they put a banana leaf
with a little piece of paper in your hand, and served you breadfruit, banana,
chicken and coconut with tuna. I preferred
not to take the coconut/tuna, and the chicken was greasy - fortunately, very
small portions. There was no coffee, tea or soft drinks, even to buy.
This village was not besides the ocean, but rather
inland, with lots of bushes around, so absolutely no breeze. When they put on their show, they showed us
how to skin a coconut, how to put food on the cooking fire, and then was one
little dancer, only about 7, who did a 7 year old dance for about 5
minutes. You sat outside in the heat,
taking shade where ever you could find it.
We stayed here about an hour and then back to the
ship. We missed a stop on this tour - we
were supposed to stop at the beach and see the Tsunami monument - we were
looking forward to the breeze. But look at what we seen.....
We did not mind the bus breaking down, but the stop
at the golf course and the Samoan village were both disappointments. However, we did tip the tour guide $5AU,
cause with the bus breaking down, and having to phone for two buses, she had a
hard day.
We think that we wasted the money for this tour, and
when we put in a complaint to Holland America, they refunded half the money.
For dinner, on Easter Sunday, I had king crab
devilled eggs, caramelized onion and shiitake soup, roasted lamb with navy
beans and spinach, and for dessert, nutella cheesecake, and a Grolsch beer.
The South Pacific islands are so hot, that the men
wear a skirt called the sulu.
