Traditional cooking of pig is done in a stone oven called umu. Free food for all is passed around to the festival goers.

Hiking down to massacre bay in the Samoan rain forest, which covers 80% of the island. Wild boar, fruit bats, flying squirrels, and numerous species of birds.

The ethnic people from New Zealand, The Maori perform a traditional dance.

The south pacific is divided into 3 different regions: polynesia, melanesia, micronesia. Here is a group from New Caledonia- the colonial language is french.

Girl wearing coconut outfit from the Cook Islands. A great book about the these Islands is called "An island to myself" by Tom Neale.

Easter Island located off the coast of Chile; the inhabitants speak Spanish as well as local dialect. Here the performers dance on the beach stage.

This is a scene from the 10th annual Pacific Arts Festival which occurs every 4 years in a different south pacific nation. I am standing here with 2 performers from papua new guinea.

Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary on a cloudy day. This bay is an ancient flooded volcano. The water visibility in the bay is normally around 70 feet. The steep slopes surrounding the small bay contain some of Americas's rare paleo-tropical rainforest. Fagatele Bay is a vibrant tropical reef marine ecosystem, filled with all sorts of brightly-colored tropical fish including parrot fish, damselfish and butterfly fish, as well as other sea creatures like lobster, crabs, sharks and octopus. From June to September, Southern humpback whales migrate north from Antarctica to calve and court in Samoan waters.

I will completing Physician Assistant school with a rotation at Lyndon Baines Johnson Tropical Medical Center, opened in 1968. Its a 128-bed general acute care hospital, and is the only hospital in the territory. LBJ has 4 major departments: Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, and OB/GYN. I will be moonlighting in the primary care clinic & the emergency room.

Talofa & welcome to American Samoa! The serpentine island of Tutuila, with Pago Pago as its capital lies 14s/173w within the central south pacific ocean. Tutuila ranks 3rd in size (out of 7), 54.75 sq miles, within the samoan archipelago. The 2000 census listed a population of 55,876, 92% being samoan. The highest point on the island is Matafao peak, 2142 ft.

This is an aerial view of Pago harbor, taken atop mt. alava elevation 1610 ft. This is within American Samoa National park, the only U.S. national park south of the equator. Pago forms one of the deepest and best protected harbor in the south pacific.

This is a shot from Tisa's Barefoot Bar overlooking Alega beach, where the annual tatoo festival is held. The snorkelling is excellent & if you start getting pulled out to sea, her partner "candyman" will rescue you. Tisa's is where i enjoyed my first samoan beer vailima.

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