Pago Pago – A Far Away National Park

February, 2023

Our view of the island as we arrived in their deep water harbor.

It’s almost 7,000 miles from Greencastle to the Islands that make up the American Samoans. Visiting the National Park on this island has always been a dream. So, we were quite excited when our ATW itinerary stopped at this tiny island nation.

Just A Few Details

America used these islands with their deep water ports as coaling and repair stations during the 1870’s for our Navy. Today, these islands are considered an unorganized and unincorporated territory of the United States, maintained under the Department of the Interior, since 1900. While their citizens have the rights to enter and live in the US, they are not considered US citizens.

The largest employer on the island is Starkist Tuna and the American Samoan Government. As you drive around the island, you will have no issues identifying when you are close to the tuna factory. The nose knows.

Starkist Tuna – The smell of $$$ is in the air.
Hey Charlie!

A Three Hour Tour

We did an Island tour that took us into the National Park and around the island. The whole island is beautiful and lush with vegetation and the beaches are rich with sea life. There aren’t many roads on the island so you certainly won’t get lost.

This island is full of lush hills.
Our three hour tour was on a bus similar to Gilligan’s. Believe it or not, it did survive the journey. But we weren’t sure it would.
When you die in Pago Pago, you are buried in the front yard of your home. I have no idea what happens if your family decides to move.
The only native animals on the Samoan Islands – fruit bats. These large flying bats are necessary pollinators for this island nation.

If you ever get a chance to visit our furthest National Park in this tiny island nation, you won’t be disappointed. And be sure you pronounce their name correctly or they will know that you are a tourist. It’s properly pronounced: Pango Pango (the g is pronunced as ng).

The National Park office has lots of great info about the island, it’s people, flora and fauna.

2 comments

  1. Interesting. Did you need and have your Golden Eagle Park pass with you? Unfortunately, we both left ours in our cabin safe, when we visited the Fort in San Juan Puerto Rico, and it could have saved us $40 in entry fees!

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    • No park pass was needed and there wasn’t even a gate. The park office front entrance is not handicapped accessible but the back door is EXCEPT there is no way a handicapped person could wheel themselves or walk up the steep driveway to get to the parking lot and then to the ramp.

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