American Samoa is still under Code Blue, which means we have 0 confirmed cases of coronavirus — thank God. It also means that we have some freedoms to roam, albeit very limited, and not necessarily encouraged nor recommended. I’ve mostly kept to the confines my home and village peninsula for the last, what is it now, 70 days… ?! But on this particular day last week, I did some field work, and got treated to my first meal out at an actual restaurant in more than 2 months!
Last week, my Code Blue life looked a little like this…
Fogama‘a national marine sanctuary is one of my favorite little hideaway beaches. I went with a few coworkers and Gabby tagged along so we could capture some future outreach media.
Snorkeled for a bit and the science team checked the reef for signs of possible bleaching. Based on my sight surveys, there were some small patches of bleached coral, but overall it looked like it was doing well despite the heat stress.
After spending the whole morning at Fogama‘a, Gabby and I went back home and hung out at our beach for a couple of hours. We were super hungry after a long day under the sun, and decided to eat out. Big thanks to Gabs for treating me and Ian to dinner out at Sadie’s by the Sea… our first meal out of the house, and it was so lovely! So grateful for her, and so glad she made it back home from her travels in time before the borders were shut.
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