The year was 2020. I’d been home on Tutuila for six months straight, and loving it, to be quite honest. But I was itching to travel. Our island’s borders have been closed to the outside world, and though I’ve watched the chaos from afar, we have our own worries within this little bubble. And so I wanted to take advantage of my time and space to island-hop over the road less traveled… Manu’a.

It is now January 2021 at the time of writing this, and this trip took place in September 2020. I also went back to Manu’a in November/December for my honeymoon, but that’s a different story I’ll share later. As it’s a new year, I am looking back at some fond moments. I am so grateful for the opportunity to escape to Ofu-Olosega during such a time. Here’s a belated visual diary to show my gratitude.

All packed up for our trip. Funny looking back at these photos because my room layout has since changed. And so nostalgic to see bags packed, ready for an adventure.

I was so proud of myself for fitting all my clothes into two small packing cubes. After a nearly four hour rough boat ride on the MV Double Barrel, my fiance (at the time) and I cleaned up the Ranger Station, where we were staying, and settled in.

We borrowed our friend’s Bananagrams and played in between prepping dinner and making plans for our days to follow.

I brought this specific outfit because it kind of made me look like a ranger hahah.

The sun came out for a bit and Ian and I lounged at the beach all weekend long. It was a long Labor Day weekend, but time flies when you’re having fun.

Soaking up the sun in between goops of reef-safe Badger sunscreen.

Fish tacos. We packed so much good food on the boat, and I had a steady supply of potato chips, and Ian his La Croix – yessss!

I was so ready to help Ian and the CRAG gals out with their valonia algae surveys on Olosega, but the surf was too gusty for the inflatable SUP I was to trail them on, and I wasn’t confident that I could be of much help when I saw the conditions.

So instead, I hung back and did what I do best. I snapped photos of things that make me happy.

Olosega is so beautiful, at all angles.

More of the little details at the beach. Did you know that the Pandanus is the official flower of American Samoa? So cool.

Back at the ranger station on a rainy day.

It’s hard to spot, but on this morning there was a fish aggregating device (FAD) and a long heavy rope, likely from a fishing vessel, floating by in the high tide as marine debris, and Ian went in and dragged it out, saving it from getting caught on the reefs at lower tides.

He also changed out the batteries on the NPS’ weather device.

So many more photos from this trip and the trip in Nov/Dec…

In due time!

xo, Nerelle