Pango Pango

So American Samoa, vital to the Americans as the only American territory in the South Pacific. The locals are American Nationals but being self-governing they cannot vote in the US elections. They have huge ties to the others islands of course, being mostly related. We’ve been to Western Samoa, now calling itself “Samoa”, although we only visited the islands of Upolu and Savaii. Pango Pango is on the island of Tutuila, its large harbour being the result of the collapse of an ancient volcano. The interior is very rugged with an extremely narrow coastal flat, the coast a continuum of fjord-like bays. With the high mountains rain falls frequently – 200 inches annually. In fact they call the mountain “rainmaker”. The vegetation is very lush with huge vines adding to the density of trees and undergrowth. From the Princess info sheet on the area I quote – “Tutuila’s hospital, the Lyndon B Johnson Tropical Medical Centre, occupies a glorious site in Fagaalu overlooking Pango Pango harbour.” Yes we spent the day there. No glorious views, no views at all.

 Hop had to report to the medical centre at 8 am and from there we were eventually transferred to the hospital with four crew members and three other passengers and wives. Princess got the name right, but it was on the narrow coastal belt with no hint of a view. However it was large and we got what we needed. Hoppy had to have a scan to check whether or not he did indeed have any kidney stones as the ship’s Doctor had diagnosed, although the pain intensity and the limited location didn’t entirely support the diagnosis. However all bases were covered.  He’d already spent three hours missing the day before while he was given a drip, medications and more pills as I feverishly searched the ship for him. So here we were at the emergency centre and it’s no different from home in that you can write off the day. It was concrete floored, with wooden benches, painted pale green and yellow and constantly full. We registered, followed a large slow walking soul 100 metres to pay our $30. and took the receipt back to the original area to hand it in and sit and wait some more. Eventually we were called by the nurse for a preliminary check of BP, temp and reasons for being there, then back to the waiting room. Eventually Doctor Annie called us. She checked everything out again and sent us off for a scan. Another ponderous walk to the pay office - $100, then down the hallway to wait. Not quite that easily of course as one has to be very observant to find the correct place to go! Hoppy was taken away and reappeared 20 minutes later. The doctor had an emergency to deal with so could not read the scan for a while. SO back to the original waiting room. Back to Dr Annie and reasonably good news. Everything seems OK although there were some cysts present which they attributed to the fact Hop has one large kidney. No sign of kidney stones. Not my understanding of the situation so some emergency follow up when we get home. The results will be interesting to compare to previous info. A visit back to the pay office for a copy one of the receipts, a call to our driver, a further wait and we’re back at the ship for lunch. There’s six hours of the visit to Pango Pango ungainfully disposed of. However we did get to spend a little money at the stalls set up by the ship. No chance of our intended warm leisurely swim. Hoppy still had a lure plastered to his arm so that made the possibility even more remote. He still has a little back pain so will be watching things closely. We fared better than the other couple who had been told to pack their bags as the ship’s doctor didn’t want him on board any more. He had a large gall stone and was on his way back to Adelaide. Not a happy man not to mention his wife who was stressed out of her mind. A cheap place for medical care. $100 for a CT scan. A crew member had to have a tooth pulled and it cost only $12. Good excuse for a holiday.

Hey but we’ve been to Pango Pango. Lovely people and very polite, mostly very large, i.e. everyone we saw with the exception of Dr. Annie, but apparently quite neglected by their parent country. The people are not rich and the buildings mostly seem neglected. There was one that was spectacular and recent.  Of course there was a major tsunami just a few years ago. Off now to Suva. We lose a Sunday on the way. My dilemma is what to do with the pills in my pill box for Sunday!!!!!