英語のウェブサイトに移動します。

Visit a recreated Samoan village and watch demonstrations of ingenious and ancient ways of island life still faithfully practiced by the villagers. It’s hard to describe in words how staggeringly beautiful the scenery is here on Tutuila island. Suffice it to say that your drive from the pier will include one breathtaking sight after another as you make your way westward across the island. Perhaps the most sensational is tree-covered Flowerpot Rock that vaults straight out of the ocean at Fatumafuti as if it was a sentinel guarding the Pago Pago Bay entrance. But there are many candidates. After a time, you’ll arrive at this excursion’s focal destination: a uniquely laid-back small village where the residents live together communally in thatched wooden fales – canopy structures open and without walls, symbolic of an unrestricted culture. Each fale is used for a specific purpose, such as sleeping or food preparation. While here, you’ll watch daily activities underway that illustrate how traditional Samoans live their lives. The cooking demonstration is especially enlightening as you watch a meal being cooked in an aboveground umu oven of heated river rocks covered with banana fronds. You’ll even taste the delicious result.

Witness one of the most revered ceremonies in Samoan culture, performed by an illustrious High Talking Chief at a traditional village. Your drive from the pier will be breathtakingly scenic as you make your way westward across the island, passing sights like monolithic Flowerpot Rock – also known as Fatu-ma-Futi – that vaults straight out of the ocean at the entrance to Pago Pago Bay. Farther west, you’ll pass a mission monument commemorating the arrival of Christianity here. Despite the church’s success since, Samoans still cherish traditional ways, especially with regard to ceremonies, social occasions and the significance of a High Talking Chief or tulafale. Think of him as the village spokesman, a grand orator highly skilled at holding an audience’s attention through his command of language and proverbs. During your village visit, the traditionally garbed High Talking Chief will launch into an animated and authentic performance of the ancient Samoan ceremony used to welcome visiting VIPs. It’s absolutely hypnotic to watch his passion as he weaves his dramatic tale for your entertainment. After the ceremony, which takes place in an open-sided thatched fale, enjoy a traditional dance performance and complimentary fruit punch. They’re passionate about their fruit here, too.

Be introduced to the sights of Pago Pago’s downtown district and the scenic eastern end of the island, with a refreshing beach stop on the agenda. This relaxed, mostly panoramic tour heads out of town, skirting the coastline and stopping for photos and closer inspection at several points along the way. One of those stops is the famed Sadie’s Inn, where English writer Somerset Maugham penned a story that inspired several movies. Another is Camel Rock, an impressive offshore rock formation whose shape is captured by its name. You‘ll have a bit longer interval at paradise-like Avaio Beach, perhaps to bask on the sand, watch the coconuts sway in the breeze, sip a beer from the snack bar or take a delightful ocean swim. Let’s just say there are many good reasons why this spot is so popular. Circling back toward town, you’ll check out a new produce market with a few souvenir stands mixed in among the fruits and vegetables. Back in the mountain-rimmed capital city, you’ll enjoy a panoramic spin past its most noteworthy landmarks, including a white clapboard courthouse that would look right at home in the American South, the Navy communications building and others.