Cinco de Mayo in the South Pacific

While I've only met one person from Mexico on the island since I've been here, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated here. At least it is if you organize a mexican food dinner for 25 on May 5th, which is what happened over the weekend. It wasn't just a Cinco de Mayo fiesta, it was also a birthday celebration (Sebastian, Emily and Su). Randy, Billy and I organized the event and went over to the Talolo Lodge earlier in the week to set things up. We tasted the margarita's and the homemade salsa...and then another margarita, just to make sure things were satisfactory. Our hostess Chande knew what she was doing. Best margarita I've had since I've been on the island...I think the only one I've had on the island though so that may not be saying much. The Talolo Lodge also has a pool, which is pretty sweeeeeeeeet, cuz not many places on the island have a pool.

We left work early (not a problem here) to get to the Ili'ili Golf Course for a quick 9 holes before it got dark. Chande wanted to join us so we picked her up on the way. The Talolo Lodge http://www.american.samoa-hotels.com/taalolo-lodge/Index.html is right next to the golf course so it was a perfect pre-party activity. There were 9 of us golfing so we had one foursome and one fivesome. Sebas, Gonzalo, Benja and Jeff led off, followed by Chande, Doug, Steve, Randy and me. I've actually been golfing quite a bit lately. It's so cheap. The cart rental is actually more than the golf fee. For 9-holes the cart is $7 and the round is $3...ridiculous. Throw in a few six packs of beer and you have a great afternoon for around $12. Can't beat that. You do get what you pay for though. While Ili'ili Golf Course does provide spectacular views across the Tafuna Plain and Matafao Peak (the highest peak on the island at 2,142 feet), there's no sand in the sandtraps and the greens are covered with patchy grass and lava rocks. A 2-putt is a good thing here. Still fun though.

So we teed off and I was killing the ball off the tee. Best drives I've had in a loooooong time. Naturally though since my drives were on, my short game was pathetic. I put up a 5 on the first four holes, in recognition of Cinco de Mayo. Then put up a couple sixes and ended with a 4. We only managed 7 holes due to darkness. Chande who is probably twice my age, slaughtered all of us by going 1-over for the seven holes. Talk about consistent...she crushed the ball straight down every fairway. Her punishment was a lot of waiting around in her cart while the rest of us zigzagged the course. We finished around 6:30, emptied our beer cans and bottles and moseyed (yes that's how you spell it...I looked it up) over to the Lodge to get the fiesta going.

First thing I did was jump in the pool. Felt nice after working up a sweat on the golf course...doesn't take much to work up a sweat here. I'm sweating just typing this right now. Anywise, people began to show up at the Lodge and before we knew it we had a large group of people drinking beers, margaritas and enjoying chips and homemade salsa. There are only two places on the island that serve Mexican food. The Yacht Club has a pretty good chicken burrito and Evalani's has a larger selection, but I have yet to have a meal there that I would go back to order. So simply having chips and delicious homemade salsa is quite a treat. The menu then followed with albacore tuna tacos, chile rellenos, cheese and chicken enchiladas, refried beans, and spanish rice. It was awesome! I got seconds, but couldn't finish.

After the grub, there was more boozing and swimming. Randy was trying to learn to do back flips on the edge of the pool. If only that pool had a diving board, I couldn't quite get all the way around on my flips, probably cuz I was overloaded with rice, beans, and beers. The hardest part was balancing on the edge. Demond, fully clothed, attempted to help Randy steady himself at one point, only to be dragged into the pool. No word on whether his cell phone is working again. It was a grand event, a bonified Cinco de Mayo golf and pool party. Chande was a gracious host and can't wait to kick our butts in golf again. The pool party aspect reminded me of the good ole days at Rogier's place in Wavre. Aaahhhhh those were the days...damn I'm old, that was over 17 years ago!

In my next post I'll explain what a palagi actually is...