Day 141 Pago Pago

Night time entrance
We arrived at the harbor entrance to Pago Pago at 0430 and previously had not attempted to enter or anchor at night. Pago Pago is more of an industrial harbor than a tourist area. The major industry is tuna canning and there are two large operations in the harbor - Starkist and COS Samoa Packing. For this reason, it is very well marked with lights and buoys and Mark felt comfortable entering at night. While the rest were on deck I sat at the navigation table and monitored the GPS and the computer charts. This was a bit unnerving as it was the first time I realized that the accuracy of these navigational aids was less than perfect. I watched on the screen as we appeared to run right over one of the main lights marking the harbor entrance and by the time we anchored, the image on the screen indicated that we were on land. I expect that some the systems used by commercial boats are more accurate than this.
After a brief nap, we roused ourselves for a quick breakfast before Mark went ashore to clear us through 6 departments including U.S. Immigration, Customs, Agriculture and a few others.
While we waited on the boat, it began to rain. At times, it was hard to see the other boats that were anchored 50 feet away. Along with the rain, came wind over 30 knots. By the time Mark got back, we had dragged the anchor and were getting too close to the boat behind us so we had to pull up the anchor and try again. This harbor has been an industrial site for so long that the bottom is famous for being littered with debris making anchorage difficult. Even through the heavy rain it is easy to discern that we are in an area with fish canneries. The smell gives it away. Throughout the day it rained about 6 hours in which there were many 10 minute periods of deluge.
Between squalls, Mark and I went ashore to try to run a few errands. We got on one of the "buses" that are famous here. They are a small truck, many of them the smallest Toyota pickup, onto which has been attached a bus body with wooden seats. To get on you stand by the side of the road and wave your hand. Loud base-dominated music blares from large boom box speakers. To get off, you knock on the roof and upon departing you pay the 50 cent fare.
The scenery we passed along the way was a mixture of Polynesian paradise and American urban blight. An incredibly lush, green rain forest covers the steep hills that tower over the road. In the town of Pago Pago, some buildings appear new and well maintained but others are run down and there are even some that have collapsed. It is quite a contrast.
One stop we made was at the Pago Pago Yacht Club where we met an American lawyer who works for the Department of Commerce on environmental issues. He had been in public service on various U.S. island territories for 17 years and seemed quite knowledgeable about American Samoa and how it compared with some of the others (like the American West Indies). His comments about the effects of U.S. welfare were similar to those we had read in some of the guide books. The $300+ million in "aid" that the U.S. government pays to the 60,000+ residents every year has impacted the work ethic and many of the cannery workers come from independent Samoa. The bright side is that the people are happy, friendly and there is no crime.