Tonight we had a very special treat when Vince and Christine gave us tickets to their hotel's luau and let us look after their baby as well. Claire was dolled up in her best pink hula dress and soon we were enjoying complimentary exotic cocktails and the all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet.
Not strictly barbecue, this was actually kalua pig cooked in an imu - an underground oven where the unfortunate swine had been buried for around 17 hours (we presume he was dead before he went down there). Together with deep fried plantain, some mahi mahi, rice, and sweet potato, we had a meal to remember. Two of the more memorable components were the pickled seaweed (self-explanatory) and the poi (a purple starch sauce made out of taro root...whatever that is).
After dinner the entertainment really started. Our luau was hosted by one Glen Medeiros, who had a number one single in England in 1988 and is apparently a favourite of my mother-in-law. Hawaii - where pop music careers come to die. He was actually quite fun, even impersonating Elvis and Tom Jones at different points, but mainly introducing dances from across Polynesia.
The evening was educational too with a demonstration of how to husk a coconut, and a guy making fire on stage by rubbing sticks together. We had a dance from Tahiti and a New Zealand haka, as well as pom-pom swinging and even more fire, punctuated by announcements of birthdays and wedding anniversaries of those in the crowd. This being a military hotel we were asked to hold up candles for anyone we had lost in war, before Glen finished the evening with a rendition of 'Proud to be an American'.
Hula princess Claire.
Tourists in the tropical grove.
The imu, from whence the kalua pig emerged.
Our fruity table, all set and ready.
Pre-dinner tree climbing demonstration.
Pre-dinner complimentary cocktails.
Piping up the pig with some handy conch shells.
Expectant faces in the crowd.
He's down there somewhere...
And here he is! Thankfully he tasted better than he looked.
Gathered and ready to eat, while being entertained by a Hawaiian band.
Miss Pineapple #1
Miss Pineapple #2
Poi. Not so great.
Hawaiian hula - obviously inferior.
Dessert. A little underwhelming...
...although somebody was very happy with it!
Then the show: a guy rubbing two sticks together in a coconut.
And making fire! Impressive.
A New Zealand haka on our tour of Polynesian culture.
Dry roasted nuts.
Happy couple, dubious toddler.
