Underwater scenes from Fagalua in American Samoa.

A photo journal from a Fagalua camping trip in January 2021.

Still in lockdown—borders closed—safely out of reach of COVID.

It was a fun weekend adventure with friends in celebration of Ian’s 30th(!!!) birthday — a milestone on its own, but it was also my first time visiting Fagalua by land (I’ve only ever visited by boat for work since it is a national marine sanctuary unit) so I was extra excited.

We got permission from the landowner in Futiga, then hiked down an overgrown trail for about 20 minutes carrying our tents and supplies to the secluded beach. We set up camp on the beach brush above the high tide line, and scoped out the waves and ocean current, trying to decide if it was calm enough to safely swim past the ava (riptide).

The guys went out fishing and the girls hung out inside the reef for a while and collected wood and coral rubble to set up fire for our freshly caught dinner (and seriously so much food we overpacked).

The next morning, I woke up just in time to see the vivid sunrise from inside my tent, a bright colorful view replaced the glittering stars that I had closed my eyes to the night before. After munching on some snacks, and coffee for Ian of course, we jumped in the water and swam out the ava.

The reef was even more beautiful than I expected. I had never snorkeled in this part of the cove, adjacent to the Fogama’a marine sanctuary area, separated by a promontory. I spent probably over an hour just admiring all the beautiful fish, inverts, and the reefscape, and just being submerged in this special place.

Here’s a photo journal to remember those days by.