What's For Dinner
11 February 2013 | Ensenada Honda--Vieques
Douglas Paddock
Once we staked out our claim on an anchor spot at Salinas Del Sur...I went ahead and took possession of the whole anchorage. We had seen no other boats anywhere east of Sunbay. I thought we had this all to ourself. Woo-hoo!
BUT sometime after noon, another boat pulled in. Stuffing my annoyance at the invasion into "my" territory, I watched to see if they would need "yelling at" if they anchored too close. Humans are strange creatures with their herding instinct. A pet peeve of mine is being in a spot with miles and miles of open anchorage spots and having a strange boat motor right up on us and drop their hook. But this couple anchored well off and I conceded to their presence.
Later that afternoon, Meyka and I swung by on the dinghy and introduced ourselves. They ended up being a great couple from Fairbanks, AK (their boat's home port is Valdez) on an awesome custom built aluminum 48 footer. The next day when we moved down to Ensenada Honda we invited them along.
Night before last they came over for Indian food and we made arrangements to kayak the mangroves together yesterday. Mid-afternoon as we paddled together, they stopped to take a picture of the bright orange and yellow starfish in the shallows. We heard a shout as they reached in and pulled out a huge conch. "Supper on our boat tonight!", they exclaimed. Now the hunt for more conch was in earnest. We scoured the waters and came up with three more. When our paddle was completed, we made arrangements to bring a salad and bread for dinner on their boat.
Meyka and I had only had conch a couple of times before. Once raw with lime and peppers-scorched conch. Once we fried it. Neither time had we been impressed. Conch are hard (and gross) to clean. I have a hard time eating stuff I have gutted--blah.
When we arrived at their boat,Azaya, with salad and bread in hand, Axel and Mary were muttering, "What were we thinking?" after having two of the four conch fighting for their lives by refusing to leave their shells. But once they got them out, cleaned, skinned, and pounded Mary fried up the conch and it was delicious.
So-o-o...I like conch (at other people's house).
Today we explore the reef after Meyka defrosts the fridge and I de-rust the stainless. Pleasure and pain...pain and pleasure.