the infamous Bem Ermii burger

Slept in today. Decided to go into town to see the Etpison museum of Palauan culture. It costs $5 to get in, but if we come back again, there won't be a second charge.

It was a very nice little museum.  We spent over an hour there. There is a collection of sea shells from the waters of Palau, including the cone snails. The Triton shell seems to be the biggest. there are nautilus shells and cowry shells (probably my favorite) and many others. The cases that the shells are displayed in have a little sign that says they were donated by the Shell.. oil company or local gas station... not sure... but I thought it was a stroke of genius for them to sponsor the sea shell displays.

There were life size dioramas, one depicting a very special ceremony that is done for all first time mothers. It is wonderful that they honor the new mothers with a special ceremony and one showing a woman wearing turtle eggs along with a turtle laying eggs and a lizard making off with an egg.  There are life size men in their tribal finery, including a pendant necklace with a sperm whale tooth as a focal centerpiece.  Vertebrae from dugongs (manatees) made rare special bracelets. This was in long ago days, now the dugongs are endangered and they are trying to raise awareness about protecting them. There is a Wyland mural of dugongs on the outside of the museum.  There was weaponry made out of  teeth from sharks and sawfish blades.  Many items made with coconut fiber, carved wooden serving pieces inlaid with mother of pearl... the material culture was rich. There were replicas of  outrigger type sailing vessels and the abai or men's house.  There were trade items.

very brief history (info from the phone book)

The island was sold to Germany by Spain in 1889. After World War 1 it passed from the Germans to the Japanese. By 1922 there were 40,000 people here, but only 10% were native Palauan, rest were largely Japanese. After World War 2 Palau was a UN Trust Territory and in 1994 it achieved independence but maintains a compact of free association with the United States. The Palauans can travel to the U.S. without a visa. Many have visited and lived in the U.S.

after the museum we went shopping for some food at the WCTC: Western Caroline Trading Company    best buy seemed to be a 50# bag of Jasmine rice for $38

Then, in the interest of having a budget meal on the heels of last night's splurge, we went to a little roadside stand selling burgers. Bem Ermii. (It means come and taste it, and the play on words is intentional.) E calls the burgers that he gets at other places here "raton" burgers... but he truly loves the Bem Ermii burger... and I've been hearing about them for quite some time now... so it was a bit of a crack up when he pulls the rental car up to the stand and asks me what I want, and I told him to order me what he was ordering for himself ... and STILL he stood outside the roadside stand taking stock of the some of the food items mentioned... then even asked for the menu.

We brought our burgers back to the motel and ate in our little kitchenette area. It tasted like a Burger King burger.  Two burgers, with small fries and drinks= $15

to my way of thinking, for just a couple dollars more, the Rock Island Cafe (Diner I mentioned in an earlier post) is a better deal. I want to try their pizza. But now I've had the famous Bem Ermii burger!