I was told that Laura's last words when she was undergoing anesthesia prior to her surgery were that she wasn't worried because she was going to paradise. When I heard this, I knew instantly what she was thinking about. She was referring to Ofu which is part of the American Samoa archipelago. Looking at pictures of this place was one of the factors in our decision to move to American Samoa. I take some comfort in knowing that some of her last thoughts and images were of this place. Finally made to Ofu to do some field work. Wanted to share some photos of paradise.....
To get to Ofu we had to fly from Tutuila to Tau, then take a local fishing boat to Ofu. They kept one of the engines running on the plane just in case it wouldn't start again....comforting
View of Ofu/Olosega islands from the air....
local fishing boat for travel from Tau to Ofu...
View from harbor in Tau looking towards Ofu....
Approaching Ofu by boat....
Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world....
Typical catch in Ofu, mostly skipjack and tuna...
Peta, the man who actually caught the fish...
Hard at work...
Peaceful villages. All you hear is birds and ocean....
village of Ofu...
village of asaga...
airfield at Ofu. No flights are coming in because the runway is too short and the airline won't fly into Ofu anymore....
