Ta'u, Ofu and Olosega

 

Hey everyone!  So i had the awesome experience of going to the outer islands of Ta'u, Olosega and Ofu last week.  We had to fly in this dinky little plane and land on a runway that ends way to quickly.  It was surprising, we (my coworker and I) didn't have to go through any sort of security whatsoever.  In fact, the only security i saw was them rifling through my checked baggage to see if there was anything hidden in there but no metal detector, no x-ray.  I guess no one really cares about small planes going to these islands.  

So we had to fly to Ta'u because the runway on Ofu was damaged from an earthquake.  Ta'u is the biggest of the outer island  chain and according to legend it is where Samoan culture first began.  It is essentially one massive dome that contains 3 main settlements.  As you can imagine this place is pretty remote, there aren't that many cars and unlike Tuituila (the main island) no buses to take you around. Mila and I were only there for 24 hours and just to get some contracts signed.  But it was fun none-the-less, i can't wait to get back there in July for some more serious sightseeing.  We were picked up my Keli who works for Land Grant and is sort of the guide for federal workers on this remote island.  He picked us up and took us to the wharf where we boarded a tiny little fishing boat to travel across the channel to Ofu.  The water was pretty rough so the trip took about 1.5 hours.  Along the way you could see flying fish popping out of the water and cruising across the surface before ducking back in again.  Ofu and Olosega are two seperate islands but their proximity to each other allows for a bridge between the two (see the picture).  We got our signatures and needed to get back to Ta'u before nightfall so we boarded the boat again.  It was pretty funny being treated like the prince of england by these big Samoan men thinking that it was somehow necessary for them to help me onto a boat.  All of these guys got into the water and steered the boat clear of the reef so that we didn't run aground. 

Poor Mila got lifted up and right as she nearly made it onto the boat a big wave came and inundated her.  She's was a good sport about it though.  On the way back, the seas were much rougher so you had to hold on to something and you pretty much got sprayed with seawater the whole time.  On the ride back the men operating the boat decided to do some fishing.  They were catching what looked like Tuna to me they kept calling it Aku and when i asked what the English name for it was they replied Bandito, which i knew was wrong cause it looked like Tuna but i let it slide.  I looked it up when we got back and sure enough it was Skipjack Tuna.  They caught 8 of them so for dinner that night guess what we ate?  If you sear it and then get some soy and wasabi dipping sauce it can taste really, really good.  I've yet to find a place on Tuituila that sells Tuna aside from the occasional store which is sporadic and roadside vendors who only seem to have it some of the time. 

Keli let us stay at Land Grants house near the Highschool in Ta'u which was alright, except for that no one told me that there wouldn't be a bed (if i had known i probably would've packed my camping gear).  So as a result that wasn't the best night sleep.  The following morning we did a mini tour of the island and picked up a stranger who turned out to be a really nice guy and of course started talking about religion which is always fun.  He was also heading back to Pago Pago.  Caught our flight at noon and then the flight back was only like 20 mins.  And then it was back to work.  

My shipment finally arrived, so i finally have decorations and my tv and game systems.  My bike came as well but i think the quick release mechanism for the front wheel got lost somewhere in the moving process. Still waiting for internet, they said the would come sometime this week so hopefully they're right.  Well that's all for now.  Till next time.