By Doug Mack
Say it right: “Pongo Pongo,” usually shortened to “Pongo.” The capital city of American Samoa seamlessly adjoins the neighboring village of Fagatogo, where the territorial legislature and courts are located, all one contiguous small town.
Fagatogo Market (Route 1, downtown Fagatogo) is the island’s crossroads and the main spot to buy locally grown produce – coconuts, breadfruit, papaya, bananas, all radiant and fresh – or linger over a bowl of koko rice. If you need a bus, the central station is right next door.
Villages communally own over 90 percent of the territory's land, including all of the National Park of American Samoa. Its visitor centre is in Pago Pago, but the park itself stretches across vast swathes of three islands, encompassing paleotropical rainforests, coral reefs, villages, and subsistence farming.
About ten percent of American Samoa’s residents come from outside the territory. They can’t own land, but they’re part of the community, operating businesses like Fia Fia (Samoa News Building, Route 1, Fagatogo), a Chinese restaurant on the main road, where seafood soup comes with massive crab legs poking out of the bowl.
The domed roofs of the legislature – called the Fono – and many other buildings are a nod to the design of fales, traditional Samoan open-sided thatched huts.