Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific


Aggie Grey's Hotel Facade
Facade of the hotel founded by Aggie Gray on the coast of Apia.
offshore cruise
Cruise to the lake of the capital Apia and the Aggie Grey's hotel.
Marlon Brando stayed here
A plaque distinguishes the fale in which Marlon Brando stayed at the Aggie Gray hotel
big night of spin
Party night spins at the Aggie Grays hotel in Apia.
powerful hips
Young dancer enchants the night audience with fast and exuberant hip movements.
fire dance
Young man exhibits another dance with flames by the pool at the Aggie Grey's hotel
Fia Samoan
Dancers perform Samoan choreographies during a night of dancing at the Aggie Gray hotel
Argument "South Pacific"
Aggie Gray holds the script for South Pacific, the musical that inspired the character of Bloody Mary.
Samoan Fashion
Samoan-style dress display outside the hotel.
Aggie Gray's seal
Samoan stamp that evokes the character of Aggie Grey.
Marina Gray
Marina Grey, Aggie's daughter-in-law shows off her skills in Polynesian dances during a night of dancing
She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.

Almost every day or several times a day, Upolu is irrigated by thunderstorms.

The afternoon had started perfectly but, as on other days, we were once again caught without refuge by the dynamic weather and a warm rain that left us drenched. So it was with pleasure that we returned to the temporary home from Apia, Samoa, for long showers and change of clothes.

aggie gray, samoa, south pacific

Facade of the hotel founded by Aggie Gray on the coast of Apia.

That night, we were invited to watch the spin spin (Samoan party/banquet) at the Aggie Grey's Hotel. Perhaps because of sacred Polynesian humility, those responsible for promoting Samoa had forgotten to explain to us where they were going to stay.

Little by little, thanks largely to a hardcover book we found in our room and to the internet that we only picked up from the balcony, there we learned about the historical importance of that place and the family that founded it.

Aggie Grey's Fascinating Samoan Origin

Agnes Genevieve Swann was born in 1897 in island of upolu, Samoa. She was the second daughter of William Swann, a sailor who settled on the island as a pharmacist, and of Pele, a Samoan ceremonial maiden.

Shortly thereafter, a war broke out between the chiefs of the archipelago, Agnes was sent to the safety of Fiji. When he returned, Samoa had been divided between Germany and the USA, in accordance with the Tripartite Convention of 1899, Upolu was integrated into the Germanic Empire. The misfortunes did not stop there.

In 1903, his mother died. Aggie was raised only by her father. He tolerantly adjusted to his hedonistic existence, financial problems, and Samoan stepmother. Confirmed an already announced bankruptcy, she and the sisters helped the parent in a small shop far from town. But as they grew up, isolation plagued them. Thus, they engendered a longed-for return to the city.

aggie gray, samoa, south pacific, samoan dresses

Samoan-style dress display outside the hotel.

After a few months in the graces of an influential friend, Aggie has become a desired single on the social circuit “afakasi” (mixed Samoan and Western). She ended up marrying two promising New Zealanders.

The first relationship ended with the death of her first husband. The second became extremely degraded, with five children to raise, another bankruptcy and a new retreat far from the capital Apia.

In the distance, life in the capital continued to call for Aggie. But the only profitable businesses open to women were, then, either brothels or bars. The bars and Drinking Clubs of Apia had succumbed to the prohibition with which the later New Zealand colonist sought to remedy the excessive alcohol consumption of the Samoans.

The British Club and Aggie Gray's Career in Catering and Hospitality

Finally, Aggie Gray came up with the idea that revolutionized her life: she rescued the decaying British Club in the capital and began serving drinks legitimated by “medical authorizations” that she could get in unserious numbers.

Over the years, it has turned the new Cosmopolitan Club into the favorite haunt of bored, lonely expats. Later, also hundreds of soldiers passing through the city. He made a small fortune serving American sailors' favorite drink, a Tom Collins.

James Michener and the Disclosure of His “Tales from the South Pacific”

James Michener was one of them. By that time, this naval lieutenant was developing a fruitful career as a writer, author of 40 titles, largely family sagas set in unlikely locations around the world.

Your "Tales from the South Pacific” and the partial film adaptation “South Pacific” revealed those confines of Samoa to the West. Covertly, it was the figure of Aggie Gray that inspired Michener for the cartoon character Bloody Mary.

Aggie Grey, Samoa, South Pacific, "South Pacific"

Aggie Gray holds the script for South Pacific, the musical that inspired the character of Bloody Mary.

Aggie's convivial aptitude and her experience dealing with men acted as a surefire decoy. Disillusioned lovers and angry wives gave the business the publicity it no longer needed. It turned out to be common to all of their ventures, including the Aggie Grey's hotel that had hosted us.

It's Fia Night at Aggie Grey's Hotel

The fia-fia Samoan night begins.

Fia Fia: High Rotation Polynesian Folklore

Proud of her heritage, Marina Grey, daughter-in-law of Aggie, wife of son Alan Gray (hotel manager), takes the microphone and speaks: “I'd like to introduce you to these beautiful young Samoans all of them working here at Aggie's.

Tomorrow, one of them will be your waiter for breakfast, one of them will take care of your room and others will help you at the reception or with the purchases you make in the store. Please give them a warm applause.”

Aggie Grey, Samoa, South Pacific, spins

Party night spins at the Aggie Grays hotel in Apia.

On a stage with a vegetal aspect – with so many palm leaves and other plants that decorate it – island musicians prepare the audience for their contagious spirit of fun and celebration. When the objective is assured, they are joined by a group of energetic and hyperactive dancers in typical costumes from the archipelago.

They accompany the accelerated melodies they sing with mimic choreographies from Polynesia, beating arm against arm and arms on legs in an almost acrobatic way and at the infernal rhythm that distinguishes Samoan dances from much slower Maori, Hawaiian or Tahitian dances.

Several performances later, Marina Gray is called back to the stage. Despite its classic figure, something british, joins the last dance in an elegant and harmonious way, which surprises and delights newcomers.

aggie gray, samoa, south pacific, samoan dancers, marina gray

Marina Grey, Aggie's daughter-in-law shows off her skills in Polynesian dances during a night of dancing

The Stimulus of Hamburgers Served to American GI's in World War II

Soon after, a buffet full of traditional Samoan dishes opens, which spectators line up in long but fluid lines. And yet it was to serve fast food American mother-in-law Aggie cooked the family's success.

With spread from WWII to the Pacific, US armed forces poured into Upolu from Pago Pago, the capital of neighboring American Samoa. The Seabees (Navy Construction Force) were quick to reveal to Aggie Gray their Yankee love of hamburgers.

aggie gray, samoa, south pacific

Cruise to the lake of the capital Apia and the Aggie Grey's hotel.

“The Americans had all the money in the world, they didn't know what to do with it, and they were at war. I really cared about those guys.” You declared in 1977 to a reporter for the Free Lance Star. “I bought a cow, gathered onions, salt and pepper, just like I was told to do.

In the first sale, I had to ask the GI how to stop everything from falling apart. He jumped to the other side of the counter, smoothed the meatballs and said, "See, it's easy."

Aggie estimates that he served hamburgers to more than 12.000 Seabees and GI's. With the money, he made the Cosmopolitan Club a hotel and built speak (traditional cabins) additional for accommodation.

aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale

A plaque distinguishes the fale in which Marlon Brando stayed at the Aggie Gray hotel

And soon, the Aggie Grey's Hotel Stardom Phase

Gary Cooper, William Holden, Marlon Brando, the entire cast of “in the South Pacific” and so many other showbiz personalities elevated him to stardom. At 80, Aggie still delighted guests and guests with prodigious displays of blasphemy and his humorous and warm tirades. He died in 1988, aged 91 years.

aggie gray, samoa, south pacific, stamp of aggie gray

Samoan stamp that evokes the character of Aggie Grey.

Aggie Grey's was just part of their heritage.

From the first moment, the room that we were given seemed to be basic, with a controversial decoration, not to mention in bad taste. But we had already realized that Aggie Grey's had never had to worry too much about ephemeral Western luxuries and refinements. It was from the overcoat of his mentor's aura that he prospered.

Until recently, thousands of guests chose it – the original and the SPA version built in the meantime – as a base to discover Upolu, one of the unavoidable islands of Polynesia and the surrounding Pacific.

In December 2012, Cyclone Evans left the original hotel in disrepair, but a half year later it was reopening. For most Aggie Grey's historical fans, the worst was to come.

A few months ago, Tupaimatuna Lulai Lavea and Lupesina Frederick Gray – representatives of the group and of the holding Aggie Grey's – closed a deal with the Starwoods chain.

Some time later, the Aggie Greys's were renamed Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey's Hotel & Bungalows

Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Houses

Homes Sweet Homes

Few species are more social and gregarious than humans. Man tends to emulate other homes sweet homes in the world. Some of these houses are impressive.
Apia, Western Samoa

Fia Fia - High Rotation Polynesian Folklore

From New Zealand to Easter Island and from here to Hawaii, there are many variations of Polynesian dances. Fia Fia's Samoan nights, in particular, are enlivened by one of the more fast-paced styles.
Upolu, Samoa  

The Broken Heart of Polynesia

The imagery of the paradisiacal South Pacific is unquestionable in Samoa, but its tropical beauty does not pay the bills for either the nation or the inhabitants. Anyone who visits this archipelago finds a people divided between subjecting themselves to tradition and the financial stagnation or uprooting themselves in countries with broader horizons.
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

At age 30, the Scottish writer began looking for a place to save him from his cursed body. In Upolu and the Samoans, he found a welcoming refuge to which he gave his heart and soul.
Couchsurfing (Part 1)

Mi Casa, Su Casa

In 2003, a new online community globalized an old landscape of hospitality, conviviality and interests. Today, Couchsurfing welcomes millions of travelers, but it shouldn't be taken lightly.
Travel does not cost

On the next trip, don't let your money fly

Not only the time of year and in advance with which we book flights, stays, etc. influence the cost of a trip. The payment methods we use at destinations can make a big difference.
Samoa  

In Search of the Lost Time

For 121 years, it was the last nation on Earth to change the day. But Samoa realized that his finances were behind him and, in late 2012, he decided to move back west on the LID - International Date Line.
Tongatapu, Tonga

The Last Polynesian Monarchy

From New Zealand to Easter Island and Hawaii, no other monarchy has resisted the arrival of European discoverers and modernity. For Tonga, for several decades, the challenge was to resist the monarchy.
Effortless Traveling

Book Comfortable Stays for Your Finances Too

As with flights, booking accommodation has its secrets. Find out what the strategies are to ensure a welcoming and financially rewarding stay.
Savai’i, Samoa

The Great Samoa

Upolu is home to the capital and much of the tourist attention. On the other side of the Apolima strait, the also volcanic Savai'i is the largest and highest island in the archipelago of Samoa and the sixth in the immense Polynesia. Samoans praise her authenticity so much that they consider her the soul of the nation.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
Safari
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 5th - Ngawal a BragaNepal

Towards the Nepalese Braga

We spent another morning of glorious weather discovering Ngawal. There is a short journey towards Manang, the main town on the way to the zenith of the Annapurna circuit. We stayed for Braga (Braka). The hamlet would soon prove to be one of its most unforgettable places.
Itamaraty Palace Staircase, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil
Architecture & Design
Brasilia, Brazil

Brasília: from Utopia to the Capital and Political Arena of Brazil

Since the days of the Marquis of Pombal, there has been talk of transferring the capital to the interior. Today, the chimera city continues to look surreal but dictates the rules of Brazilian development.
lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Adventure
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

In the late XNUMXth century, an indigenous chief ceded the PN Tongariro volcanoes to the British crown. Today, a significant part of the Maori people claim their mountains of fire from European settlers.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Ceremonies and Festivities
Cape Coast, Ghana

The Divine Purification Festival

The story goes that, once, a plague devastated the population of Cape Coast of today Ghana. Only the prayers of the survivors and the cleansing of evil carried out by the gods will have put an end to the scourge. Since then, the natives have returned the blessing of the 77 deities of the traditional Oguaa region with the frenzied Fetu Afahye festival.
Nahuatl celebration
Cities

Mexico City, Mexico

mexican soul

With more than 20 million inhabitants in a vast metropolitan area, this megalopolis marks, from its heart of zócalo, the spiritual pulse of a nation that has always been vulnerable and dramatic.

Fogón de Lola, great food, Costa Rica, Guápiles
Meal
Fogón de Lola Costa Rica

The Flavor of Costa Rica of El Fogón de Lola

As the name suggests, the Fogón de Lola de Guapiles serves dishes prepared on the stove and in the oven, according to Costa Rican family tradition. In particular, Tia Lola's.
One against all, Sera Monastery, Sacred Debate, Tibet
Culture
Lhasa, Tibet

Sera, the Monastery of the Sacred Debate

In few places in the world a dialect is used as vehemently as in the monastery of Sera. There, hundreds of monks, in Tibetan, engage in intense and raucous debates about the teachings of the Buddha.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Sport
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
extraterrestrial mural, Wycliffe Wells, Australia
Traveling
Wycliffe Wells, Australia

Wycliffe Wells' Unsecret Files

Locals, UFO experts and visitors have been witnessing sightings around Wycliffe Wells for decades. Here, Roswell has never been an example and every new phenomenon is communicated to the world.
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Zapatismo, Mexico, San Nicolau Cathedral
Ethnic
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico

The Home Sweet Home of Mexican Social Conscience

Mayan, mestizo and Hispanic, Zapatista and tourist, country and cosmopolitan, San Cristobal has no hands to measure. In it, Mexican and expatriate backpacker visitors and political activists share a common ideological demand.
sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Celestyal Crystal Cruise, Santorini, Greece
History
Nea Kameni, Santorini, Greece

The Volcanic Core of Santorini

About three millennia had passed since the Minoan eruption that tore apart the largest volcano island in the Aegean. The cliff-top inhabitants watched land emerge from the center of the flooded caldera. Nea Kameni, the smoking heart of Santorini, was born.
Pico Island, Azores Volcano Mountain, at the Feet of the Atlantic
Islands
Pico Island, Azores

Pico Island: the Azores Volcano with the Atlantic at its Feet

By a mere volcanic whim, the youngest Azorean patch projects itself into the rock and lava apogee of Portuguese territory. The island of Pico is home to its highest and sharpest mountain. But not only. It is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Azoreans who tamed this stunning island and surrounding ocean.
Oulu Finland, Passage of Time
Winter White
Oulu, Finland

Oulu: an Ode to Winter

Located high in the northeast of the Gulf of Bothnia, Oulu is one of Finland's oldest cities and its northern capital. A mere 220km from the Arctic Circle, even in the coldest months it offers a prodigious outdoor life.
Couple visiting Mikhaylovskoe, village where writer Alexander Pushkin had a home
Literature
Saint Petersburg e Mikhaylovkoe, Russia

The Writer Who Succumbed to His Own Plot

Alexander Pushkin is hailed by many as the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. But Pushkin also dictated an almost tragicomic epilogue to his prolific life.
Chã das Caldeiras to Mosteiros, Fogo Island, Cape Verde
Nature
Chã das Caldeiras a Mosteiros, Fogo Island, Cape Verde

Chã das Caldeiras to Mosteiros: descent through the Ends of Fogo

With the Cape Verde summit conquered, we sleep and recover in Chã das Caldeiras, in communion with some of the lives at the mercy of the volcano. The next morning, we started the return to the capital São Filipe, 11 km down the road to Mosteiros.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Flock of flamingos, Laguna Oviedo, Dominican Republic
Natural Parks
Oviedo Lagoon, Dominican Republic

The (very alive) Dominican Republic Dead Sea

The hypersalinity of the Laguna de Oviedo fluctuates depending on evaporation and water supplied by rain and the flow coming from the neighboring mountain range of Bahoruco. The natives of the region estimate that, as a rule, it has three times the level of sea salt. There, we discover prolific colonies of flamingos and iguanas, among many other species that make up one of the most exuberant ecosystems on the island of Hispaniola.
M:S Viking Tor Ferry-Wrapped Passenger, Aurlandfjord, Norway
UNESCO World Heritage
Flam a Balestrand, Norway

Where the Mountains Give In to the Fjords

The final station of the Flam Railway marks the end of the dizzying railway descent from the highlands of Hallingskarvet to the plains of Flam. In this town too small for its fame, we leave the train and sail down the Aurland fjord towards the prodigious Balestrand.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
Martinique island, French Antilles, Caribbean Monument Cap 110
Beaches
Martinique, French Antilles

The Armpit Baguette Caribbean

We move around Martinique as freely as the Euro and the tricolor flags fly supreme. But this piece of France is volcanic and lush. Lies in the insular heart of the Americas and has a delicious taste of Africa.
holy bookcase
Religion
Tsfat (Safed), Israel

When the Kabbalah is a Victim of Itself

In the 50s, Tsfat brought together the artistic life of the young Israeli nation and regained its secular mystique. But famous converts like Madonna have come to disturb the most elemental Kabbalist discretion.
Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Weddings in Jaffa, Israel,
Society
Jaffa, Israel

Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

Tel Aviv is famous for the most intense night in the Middle East. But, if its youngsters are having fun until exhaustion in the clubs along the Mediterranean, it is more and more in the nearby Old Jaffa that they tie the knot.
Casario, uptown, Fianarantsoa, ​​Madagascar
Daily life
Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

The Malagasy City of Good Education

Fianarantsoa was founded in 1831 by Ranavalona Iª, a queen of the then predominant Merina ethnic group. Ranavalona Iª was seen by European contemporaries as isolationist, tyrant and cruel. The monarch's reputation aside, when we enter it, its old southern capital remains as the academic, intellectual and religious center of Madagascar.
São João Farm, Pantanal, Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul, sunset
Wildlife
Fazenda São João, Miranda, Brazil

Pantanal with Paraguay in Sight

When the Fazenda Passo do Lontra decided to expand its ecotourism, it recruited the other family farm, the São João. Further away from the Miranda River, this second property reveals a remote Pantanal, on the verge of Paraguay. The country and the homonymous river.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.