This is Part II of my travels to islands in the Pacific.  Part I, The Treats of Tonga,  is here.

Writers seem to have a love affair with Samoa.  Robert Louis Stevenson spent the last years of his life here.  Poet, Rupert Brooke said of his stay in the Samoan islands: "... It is sheer beauty, so pure it is difficult to breathe in it."  Somerset Maugham journeyed here.  His short story, Rain, was set in Pago Pago, American Samoa.  And anthropologist, Margaret Mead, wrote her controversial Coming of Age in Samoa after studying life in the the villages of Si'ufaga and Luma.

Dutch navigator, Jacob Roggeveen first sighted the Samoan Islands in 1722.  They were later named the Navigator Islands in 1786 by the French navigator, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville.  Towards the end of the 19th century, Germany, Great Britain and the U.S.A. obtained privileges in Samoa, sending consuls to Apia.  A power struggle erupted between the three powers and in 1889 a Special Commission was set up to resolve the conflict.  The islands were ultimately divided between Germany and the United States.  Germany took Savaii, Upolu and the adjacent smaller islands in Western Samoa.  The U.S.A. took Tutila and the adjacent islands which later became known as American Samoa.

Germany administered Western Samoa until 1914 when New Zealand military forces occupied the islands.  In 1945, at the end of the Pacific War, Western Samoa was made a U.N. Trust Territory with New Zealand administering power. The Western Samoan people requested independence which was not granted until 1962.

Apia, the capital of Western Samoa, is situated on the second largest island in the group, Upolu.

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 Arriving in Apia, Western Samoa ...

 My very first stop just had to be Villa Vailima ... Robert Louis Stevenson's House (I'll write a separate post on this visit later but needless to say I was thrilled to be in this magical place!)

Island magic comes to life when in the company of the beautiful Samoan people ...

 

We stumbled across this canoe on the Mulinu'u Peninsula...

Buses ... all so very bright and breezy!  This one is "Julite's Express"... 

And this is Julite!  Julite's giggling passengers alerted him to my taking the above photo and then he couldn't get out of the bus quick enough to ask if I'd like to take a photo of him too!  So here he is ... standing very proud in front of his bus!  A friendly and happy fellow!

Aggie Grey's started out as a hamburger stand for US servicemen stationed in Apia in 1942. Over the years it has become an upmarket tourist hotel, is very close to the dock, and is a lovely place to have lunch ...

... and a refreshing drink!

I think this was called something like 'Samoan Surprise' and your guess is as good as mine as to what was in it but, boy, it's a drink so huge that it's just made for sharing!

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Just before leaving the dock in Apia we were treated to an impromptu fire dance by some local Tongan gentlemen.  (Please excuse the quality of the video but we were all squashed on the deck of the ship and I managed only to find a spot peering between a lifeboat and the railing!)

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American Samoa is the only American territory in the southern hemisphere. Like most of the islands in the archipelago, the main island in the American group, Tutila, is of volcanic origin.  Eighteen miles long and six miles across at its widest point, Tutila's jungle-clad mountains rise abruptly from the sea, and fjord-like bays cut deeply into narrow valleys, with dense vegetation covering the land.

The island's capital, Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango), is located on Tutila.  Its natural harbour, created when the seaward wall of a great volcano collapsed,  is one of the most spectacular in the South Pacific.

The Western influence is obvious in American Samoa.  Village fales or homes, once traditionally elliptical and open-sided, are now constructed with Western materials, walls and windows; the US Navy's presence is noticeable in Pago Pago Bay and American TV is broadcast by statellite to the most remote villages on the island.  Even the golden arches of a McDonald's were to be seen as the ship docked.

But, despite the Western influences,  Fa'a Samoa - the Samoan way of life - still retains its basic unit, the extended family. The larger family lives together in a group with each nuclear family having its own fale (home).

Family members stay together - even after death. There are no public cemeteries for Samoans; the graves of loved ones can be found alongside the fale. The more important the person in the family, the more impressive the marking.

Our visit to Pago Pago coincided with Flag Day as American Samoa observed the 111th year since the United States flag was raised on Sogelau Hill in Fagatogo.  (More here and here.)

 The carved tree in the heart of Fagatogo (downtown Pago Pago)...

Snapshots of Flag Day celebrations in Pago Pago - 17 April 2011

Our escort out of the harbour...

And it's time to say a sad farewell to the islands of Samoa.

A special day fades into night with a beautiful, golden sunset

I'll always hold a special place in my heart for Samoa and her beautiful people.

And for toritto who asked to see a photo of my ship ... here she is in dock one night ... The Dawn Princess

Images by Kate