Friday, December 12, 2008

Larsen's Cove

Back in August, Erin and I hiked to Larsen's Cove, one of the better beaches on the island. After a relatively easy 30 minute hike, you come upon a beautiful, secluded beach:

Climbing down the rocks:

Entrance:

West side of cove:

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Fagatele Bay

Looking out to sea:

Interior:

Thursday, December 04, 2008

A Harty Halloween Party

The Harty family hosted an excellent Pirate-themed Halloween party at their beach front house on Coconut Point. Ned [co-clerk] and I decided to forgo the Pirate costumes and don our newly made bespoke "Safari Suits".

Hangin' tough:
Our friend Alden cares for injured island fruit bats in a cage behind his house. Appropriately, he brought one of the bats to the Halloween party for all to enjoy, which we did thoroughly:
As I was too lazy to bring my camera, much appreciation goes to Kelly Dixon for the [unauthorized] use of her photos.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Paddling Races

In an attempt to stay in shape, make friends, and avoid island fever, we started an outrigger paddling team through the Pago Pago Yacht Club. We're all above 6', so our team is called U'umi which, loosely translated from Samoan, means "Tall Team".

We practice 3 days a week by paddling varying lengths and speeds inside and outside the harbor. About a month ago we were paddling down the coast, when we stopped for a breather and were rolled by a wave. The outrigger flipped, dumping us into the water. Normally, this isn't a major problem as you simply flip the canoe upright, grab the bailer (a laundry detergent bottle cut in half) and bail out the water. Normally. It seems we forgot the bailer, so we began bailing with our hands -- a tedious process. Full of water, the boat can only accommodate 2 people, so the rest remained in the ocean, steadying the boat. Normally, this would be fine. Normally. However, when you've unknowingly flipped into a smack of jellyfish (yes, a "smack" is the proper term), a problem arises. Luckily I avoided stings, but a few of my teammates weren't so lucky. 20 minutes of jellyfish avoidance and hand-bailing ensued. Then the boat flipped again. Seriously. After another long, painful, and tiring process, we finally regained our boat and were able to limp to shore.

We hoped our luck would improve a few weeks later when U'umi took part in an international paddling competition against teams from American and Independent Samoa. It didn't. We lost.

Pago Pago Yacht Club:
Outriggers:
Outriggers:
Kids sailing in front of the Yacht Club:
U'umi:
Doing my best as steersman of the blue boat:
Post 10k exhaustion: