The Umu

You can see Tisa and CandyMan divvying out the amazing food that had been cooking on the hot rocks covered in banana leaves for hours. My favorite was the octopus and the meat eaters felt bad and gave me all theirs! Lovely night. Complete with margaritas.

Yum Yum

Going to Tisa's tonight for an Umu!
SO excited, the food is amazing. I will post some pics soon!

Yet So Far Away...

We have arrived at Tutuila (American Samoa) early; we expected to get in tomorrow (Sun) early morning but ended up making good time and getting here this (Sat) afternoon. Unfortunately, the port is not expecting us. So, we stay out and gaze upon the island until tomorrow around 10am. Then...we got to the fuel pier, then transit to the pier where we will be tied up, THEN we have to clear customs (got me...AMERICAN Samoa, right?!?). So, by the time I can set foot on land it will be late afternoon. Tis OK, no big plans except to grab a drink and some food. Still, have not been on land in 27 days as of tomorrow. It does not help that in this picture lies Tisa's Barefoot Bar. Ahhh Tisa's. (See 2010 posts)

Room With a View

OK Chrissy, you asked for it. Here is my stateroom. But this is when we were in port. Now I have an awesome roommate, so between the two of us we have way more stuff in here and she is on that top bunk (but I have a nice new flatscreen hanging up!). I LOVE my room because of the way it is shaped; long so I can do yoga, and it feels roomy. Many of the other rooms are in an L shape. I also love that I am on the 01 deck, which means I have a pretty nice window and not just a porthole. You can see I have put some of my little touches on it-rug etc. We share a head with the two man stateroom next door. Not too bad for a ship!

Bling

Sailor gifts are the best! Real coral on a hand stitched necklace.

Howland Island

Two days down at Howland Island, two days left before we transit to Baker. Howland is a mile and a half long and a half mile wide; a thin, flat stretch of white sand. Many islands we go to have reefs that keep us from getting too close, but Howland has such a steep drop-off that the ship is able to get pretty close. It is gorgeous, but sadly Amelia Earhart missed it, and she was never seen again. However, standing tall out of the island's greenery is a lighthouse constructed in her memory.

Some of the divers come back early and work on the stern in the "baby box." Kerry, Russel, and Jesse are hard at work here finding critters that have been collecting on plates they put down when we were here two years ago. I got to play with some cool shrimp, brittle stars, and crabs from this particular one.