A bright and glorious morning up at Mt. Alava in photos.
From the night before (not pictured)… We set up camp on the platform. Ian sang me a song. We watched the stars. Cuddled with Yodi pup. Reminisced on the last four years together. Talked about many more. Stared at my finger adorned. Felt the cool mist get colder. Moved our tent to the fale. I whined about the mozzies. Ian emptied the tent to clear them. And read until I fell asleep.
lovable moments in black and white. camping at Mt. Alava.
A photo diary underwater in Gataivai
It’s usually a day reserved for church, big to’ona’i lunches, and rest across the island.
Some friends from our “American Samoa Adventure Crew” Facebook group got together for a morning at the Vatia Tidepools, at the bottom of the National Parks’ Lower Sauma trail. We were running a bit late–our friends had just gotten out of the water and the tide was coming in. Of course, Ian jumped in anyway… so I made a GIF of him below.
After Vatia Tidepools, I got right back in the water at home. No photos but I snorkeled for a couple of hours with two other girls. Ian was hanging out onshore and realized one of the girls was swimming further out than she should have been. He kept an eye on her for a while and when he lost sight of her, he grabbed the SUP and paddled out to check on her. I stood on the treehouse and tried to find her white fins. She was caught somewhere in the waves, but it was difficult to pinpoint her a quarter mile away from shore. Ian must’ve had an eye on her just then because he held his arms in the air signaling to her in the wash. He put his nose to the waves and charged in. Soon he was in the water and she was on the board. They paddled out of the foam and made their way back to shore. She was totally okay and was a complete champ about it! She didn’t panic like I probably would have, and described the situation as if she was in a washing machine–getting spit up by the waves and pulled back with the currents. I’m so glad Ian reacted so fast to the situation! Things might have turned out very differently if he wasn’t there.
We showered, stuffed our faces, and hung out for about an hour, then headed over to Dustin’s place at Lealā. It’s whale season in Tutuila and Dustin’s got front row seats to the migratory giants passing by. Alanna and I were on our way to the seawall with our cameras in hand when we heard Ian yelling “WHALE! In front of you!” I was looking out further in the horizon and finally realized it was literally right in front of us, about 100 feet away from shore. We oohed and aahed over 3 whales that showed off their pectoral and fluke slapping.
Dustin and his guy gang were experimenting on some all natural wood coals. The kiddos were running around the yard making mud cakes. The lovely Ma’i grilled up some grub, and we watched the sky’s mood change to a warm soft glow.
Just another Sunday Fun Day in American Samoa.
Last week was something else… Friday was especially dreamy.
Just for starters, my hunk of a boyfriend made me a yummy breakfast, I packed my adventure bag, and on our way to town, I saw a pod of dolphins!
This felt like déjà vu because exactly 1 year ago on my 23rd birthday, Ian and I were house-sitting for some friends in Faganeanea. Ian made me breakfast in bed and I opened gifts on the porch, and was sipping on coffee and looking out at the ocean when I saw a pod of dolphins swimming gleefully in front of me!
How crazy is it that exactly a year later, I would witness this all too familiar sight, fins gliding in and out of the ocean’s surface, forcing me to recall a whole year’s worth of blessings I am so grateful for.
Fast forward to my 24th birthday. I took the dolphins as a sign of a good day ahead.
I had the day off from work and the awesome people at the National Parks of American Samoa invited me out for a boat ride around the island’s north shore. This is one of those perks – dating an NPS marine tech – that I never took advantage of until now! I almost cannot believe that this is their everyday job, diving in pristine waters and maybe tanning on the bow in between. It’s something of a dream. I jumped off the boat and snorkeled for an hour while the dive team worked, and got to use my birthday present (all green DaFiN kick fins) that Ian surprised me with that morning!
But nothing could detract from how amazing I felt my day was going otherwise. The dive team came back up and picked me and Brenda up from the bay we were snorkeling in. We took a photograph-worthy tour of the north shore and went around the eastern most tip of the island, in between Tutuila and Aunu’u. When we got to the Pago Harbor, I asked to drive the boat and they let me! It was in the no-wake zone so we were going 10mph tops, but I was still ecstatic. And then the NPS team brought out brownies and ice cream in a Hydro Flask and started singing happy birthday to me!
The rest of the day went by just as amazing – my best friend and boyfriend threw me a surprise party and there was painting involved and lots and lots of friends and pizza. What more could a girl ask for?!
