Ofu Island..
Sometimes the real adventure is in just getting there. This was certainly true of my trip to the tiny island of Ofu. Once you have made it to American Samoa, you still have to navigate your way to Ofu. Only three times per week does a small island hoping plane take you on to the Manu’a Islands. This plane is not guaranteed as Polynesian Airlines will only commit a month at a time. So early in the month you call them and try to grab one of the available seats. If you are successful at that, you are still not on Ofu Island. The plane will take you to the island of Tau as the airport in Ofu has not had a plane land for two years. Then you need to catch a small fishing boat that will take you the 1 & 1/2 ride hour to Ofu. You could try taking the supply barge from Pago Pago to Ofu. It leaves every other week. When I was there it was grounded as it had not passed Coast Guard inspections. I met a couple at the airport who ended up being stranded for three weeks on Ofu, as the supply boat was not running as per schedule.
Vaoto Lodge..
Shortly after I got my confirmations, Ben from Vaoto Lodge (the place where I am going to stay) emails me that he will be gone during the time I will be there. A recent High School Grad named Edward will be the caretaker and only staff. Ben told me there was lots of food in the pantry - you will have to fend for yourself. This will definitely add more adventure for me, as I am terrible at cooking.
The lodge provided me with all the basic comforts I would need to stay on Ofu. The grounds were kept to a minimum standard, but OK. The one area that was definitely lacking was the kitchen. I won’t start to describe the almost complete lack of cleanliness. I’ll focus on Ben’s email to me, "lots of food in the pantry - you’ll have to fend for yourself”. The collage below will give you an idea of the state of the kitchen and the “lots in the pantry” email from Ben.
Like many remote islands pretty much everything has to be shipped in. Sometimes the ship isn’t working so supplies become scarce. Canned items are a staple. If you haven’t had Spam before, you should give it a try at least once in your life. It is basically mashed up processed meat that does not have to be refrigerated. Marginally passable when it is fried, not fried – NO WAY. Canned corn beef was another staple in the pantry, again best fried up. The inside of the refrigerator was a mass of items that had well passed their eatable lifespan.
Edward the Chef..
I became a bit nervous about this cooking thing. I knew that I could easily survive on one OK meal a day. Edward seemed pretty confident about his way in the kitchen, so I decided to Strike A Deal with him. One cooked meal a day, and I’ll provide him some extra cash at the end of my stay.
He accepted and a new partnership was begun. I tried to be somewhat helpful and do dishes, work the toaster - whatever. On my first toaster detail I noticed that the bread had several green spots on it - I just assumed that it was healthy mould, so kept on putting those slices in.
This is a picture ofEdwards first dinner creation for us. Canned corn beef with whole kernel corn, fried in a pan. It was accompanied by leftover rice. I added a little soya sauce to my dinner, just to add a little flavor.
This is Edward wearing his "Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe" hat. By the second day he wasn’t calling Lance - just Bro….
I’ll let you know how my Deal with Edward progresses, in a later post.
Posts from this trip.
