February 18, 2014. The Queen Elizabeth. Pago Pago.

Tonight we turn the clock ahead one whole day. Today is Tuesday, February 18. Tomorrow will be Thursday, February 20. Until now, every so often we have been turning our watches back one hour, but tonight we leap forward one whole day. This is another first for us. Of course, on the ship going back, we will repeat the same day twice. Such fun. This morning, we docked at Pago Pago, in America Samoa. The foliage is lush and tropical with steep hills rising straight up from the sea. It is also hot and humid. Later today Ken and I will go on land and walk around the shops and inspect the fishing boats. Pago Pago is called Pango Pango. I do not know if this is true but this is what is being told. When the missionaries first came to the island and began to write down the local language, the letter N was missing from their printing type. They did not wish to admit it so told the locals how Pago was pronounces in English. When the locals finally discovered the error, they refused to add the N to the spelling of Pago but they always call it Pango Pango and wish everyone else to call it Pango too. I wonder if this is really true? It sound about right to me. You never know what those missionaries might tell the natives!!