Samoa with Dinner Menu

Travel day: Easter Island to Apia, Samoa with a fuel stop in Tahiti.

Today was a very long day because Samoa is six hours behind Easter Island. In the morning, we have time for an interesting visit to Rano Kao, a volcanic caldera which contains a fresh water lake and a nearby ceremonial village. Eduardo regales us with stories about the Bird Men as we stand on the cliff above where the competitions took place. Then, it’s off to the airport. Our flight to Samoa is delayed for an extra couple hours by a fuel drivers’ strike in Tahiti. On the way, we watched a Kevin Costner produced total flop movie based on Easter Island lore called Rafa Nui. It was fun seeing the scenery we had just visited, but we had to turn the sound down to avoid nausea. A real stinker!

Our overnight stay in Samoa is at a beautiful spot called Aggie Grey’s Beach Resort. The resort is very nice and even though we arrived bleary eyed at 2:00 am Easter Island time; we were especially delighted by the feast we were served at our welcome dinner.

Here’s the menu:
Samoan Chicken and Coconut Soup, Seared Yellow Fin Tuna Sashimi, Tropical Shrimp Cocktail, Oka ai – Marinated Fish Salad, Oysters Kilpatrick, Cauliflower & Broccoli Salad, Coleslaw, Tomato, Onion & Cucumber, Potato Salad, Lettuce Salad, Dressings.
Chef Carving Baked Ham, Roast Turkey, Roast Beef, South Pacific Pineapple Chicken, Lamb Chop Suey, Pisupo, Chicken & French Fried Rice, Umo-Taro, Banana, Breadfruit, Palusami & too many desserts to mention.
It was all so delicious (best food yet on the trip) that I had to meet the chef who put this together. He turned out to be a New Zealander named Graeme Pullen. He promised to meet with me in the morning and share a few recipes with us.

There was a colorful show during dinner with band, dancers, fire dancers, lots of costumes and enthusiasm. Although they seemed to have studied at the Don Ho School of entertainment, it was fun none the less.