UPDATE TWENTY-SICKS, AN' ERRY'BODY
IN A FIX
originally
sent January 17th, 2003
Fish
poisoning: it's a problem here in the Caribbean, where game
fish and reef fish alike are often tainted with wickedly powerful toxins,
and if eaten can cause crippling sickness and in rare instances be fatal.
And since no one escapes it in some way or another, here is the twisted
tale of my run in with the gastronomic hazards of the deep:
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My experience with fish-poisoning all dates back to November 2002 when my goood friend Damian (from Toronto) dropped in for a week's visit. As soon as I could, I took my old buddy to the nearest bikini laden beach (see left), and on a more spiritual afternoon we took in a beachfront class at the local Yoga Retreat. Damian bought a few souvenir conch shells while waiting for the Yoga shuttle ferry, but I just took pictures (and this one actually got printed in our last tourist guide here at Dupuch). The rest of the week we spent socializing, having beach bonfires, snorkelling, sailing around the harbour on my friend Peter's boat, taking in an amateur boxing exhibition and party at The Nygaard Estate, doing some impromptu jamming with my musician neighbour Steve, seeing the amazing sea-life exhibits at the Atlantis Hotel and, of course, making.... |
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...dinners! Damian is an amazing cook so I took him to the infamous Montague fish dock where local fishermen sell their catches. It's supposed to be a great place to get fresh conch and other goodies from the sea, so I thought I would give it a try. I bought a delicious hogfish (if you've never seen a hogfish, look to the left), and then, on a whim, I purchased a three-foot game fish that I was told was a "Bonito". Or, should I say, the fishmonger just said "Yes" when I asked "Is that a Bonito?". Anyway, he cleaned and filleted both the fish, and wrapped them plastic, but since we only ate the hogfish (mmmm.... hogfish) that night and never got around to preparing the other fish, I froze it and it languished in my apartment freezer, even after I.... |
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...moved! I left the spacious 2-bdrm sublet (and left it neat as a pin I might add) I've been in since April, and took over a small studio apartment that's still at Love Beach and is not too far from my old place. And it is literally right on the beach. Almost too close in fact, considering all the sand that blows in under door. But I like it. I have a great view (see left), and I have a great rent (provided I fix the place up for the landlord - my friend Michelle), and I can hear the waves breaking on the shore night and day. I also got a chance to assess how much STUFF I have accumulated in my 2 years here in The Bahamas. It's thought-provoking to see your life in a pile in the middle of the floor. And speaking of stuff, I have also accumulated a new.... | ||
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...car! I broke down and shelled out three-grand for a 2nd hand 1994 Nissan Sunny 4-door with right-hand drive and automatic transmission. But my other cars are still for sale. The Mercedes is at the mechanic's (where it spends most of it's time) and the red car got towed over the holidays because a certain petty and spiteful condo resident didn't like it taking up space in the roadside visitor parking lot. It was a bit of a shock to find out it had been towed, but no one was about to buy it from me anyway. I may just end up selling it for parts as it has been rescued from the tow place and is now with the same mechanic who has the Benz. And just so you know, not all my neighbours at Love Beach are such unsavoury vermin. In fact I'm even closer to my good friend Paul's apartment where I love to drop by for... |
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...brunch! Weekends at Love Beach are relaxing affairs, and with papaya, mango, banana and other fruit trees growing wild in the Paul's garden, there's often a bounty of fresh fruit to be had when we get together for an early morning repast. Paul's place is sort of a drop in centre for the people here in the condo complex (and he encourages it) so there's usually food laid out and lots of socializing. And can you believe the colour of that papaya? Half the time I never even leave Love Beach all weekend since everything I came to The Bahamas for is pretty much at my doorstep - sun, sea and sand. And most of my neighbours are also my friends, so there's no shortage of activity. But back to the story of the fish that has been languishing in my freezer all this time and which I never ended up thawing out until after.... | ||
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...Christmas! Christmas in The Bahamas is much like Christmas everywhere else in the world - lights, presents, decorations and wreaths over the doors. It also gets a bit colder (brrr.... 72F), and people get into the spirit by donning holiday apparel. There's even old granny-type craft show held out east every year where you can buy everything from orchids to sea-glass jewellery, and from fish-scale jewellery to assorted chintz. And it's the only time and place I've ever seen anyone make a crepe down here. I ended up buying myself some preserves and a marine-inspired dreamcatcher made with shells, corals and sponge. My friend Lisa (fellow ex-pat but longtime Nassau resident) makes this kinda stuff in her spare time. And, when you are in The Bahamas, you can't escape the fact that Christmas is also the time for.... | ||
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...Junkanoo! This local holiday celebration is a big deal down here, and there are 2 seperate Junkanoo parades in Nassau town. The first one is held after midnight on Christmas Day and the other starts shortly after 1am on New Year's Eve/day. The parades are attended mainly by locals but everyone is welcome and the raucous festivities last long into the night. The parade participants form teams and dress up in brightly coloured costumes (made from paper and painted cardboard, feathers, sparkles, animal skins - you name it) and the squads wait for their turn to march down the main city thoroughfare of Nassau. They accompany their march by blaring out a pulsing rhythmic beat played on trumpets, trombones, tubas, drums, cowbells, whistles and anything else that's lying around. It's all a bit chaotic and that's why I after seeing it last year I opted to return home to.... | ||
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...Toronto! It was a last minute decision, and sorry to anyone that I didn't look up while I was there. I took an afternoon Air Canada flight on the 20th and, lo and behold, two of my favourite Love Beach neighbours (Canadians Laurel & Lisa - left) were on the same T.O.-bound flight with me. So even though the plane was close to empty we all sat together in the same airplane row. And after touching down in Toronto I was met at the airport by my friend Iain, and we made straight for the opening night party for a new restaurant called Modesto (a friend of mine was hosting it - I love these e-mail invitations!). The rest of the week was spent doing Christmas stuff, enjoying the unexpected snowfall on Christmas morning, and shopping for all the necessary items on my checklist before I returned back to Nassau in time for.... | ||
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...New Year's Eve! I had some feelers out to get an invitation into the exclusive black tie Peter Nygård Estate (left) annual NYE party, and I got the final confirmation once I returned to Nassau. I even brought my tux from Toronto just for the occassion (but I've got no decent pix I'm afraid). Anyway, the party was a blast, with lots of free booze, food, fireworks, and plenty of music and fun - but no debauchery, like the last party of his I attended (see update #14), but plenty of beautiful women - some imported, some not - for ol' Peter to pose with. The party started at about 10pm and I stayed till about 3 in the morning and that was just what I needed to end the year right. There was even a mini-Junkanoo band that performed for us at 1am. But it was the night before NYE that I wanted to talk about all this time, because that's the night we thawed out the.... | ||
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...poisoned fish! I gave the fish to my neighbour Paul (as he is the best cook) and we were going to have a dinner with Paul, myself, Lisa and Paul's 2 friends from Germany (Marcel & Susan) who were staying in Nassau for the holidays. But through a series of mishaps I ended up missing the dinner entirely which was lucky for me because the next morning everyone there was sick to their stomachs and suffering from severe nausea, dizziness, fever, fatigue and burning skin (the poison is called ceigutera) . You see, I thought I bought a Bonito but I think what the guy really sold me was a Spanish Mackerel, or maybe an Amber Jack (the last two being notoriously poisonous). Everyone has survived the ordeal (proof to the left) but it's been a slow recovery all round and it certainly ruined everyone's week. I can't believe the fishmonger could have been so irresponsible but that kind of thing happens all the time here. And that's why we always say.... | ||
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...Only in The Bahamas! You see, Only in The Bahamas could someone get away with selling bad fish like that as there is really no Better Business Bureau or anything like that in place here to monitor what is sold to the public. And while we're on the subject, Only in The Bahamas could a Steven Speilberg major Hollywood release be spelled wrong on the marquee (see left). And Only in The Bahamas could you see: this, or this, or this, or even this. And although I doubt the validity of a few of those pix (courtesy of my friend Ernie B.) some of them "dey's be right fer troo bey!" (especially the gas station one). You see, getting things ass-backwards and upside-down every step of the way is, indeed, a Bahamas T'ing. But, to be fair, Only in The Bahamas do you find these kind of.... |
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...sunsets! You just won't find these kind of sunset or sunrise photo-ops back in the big city and so, despite all the things that go so horribly wrong here, I am still amazed at how beautiful this part of the world is, and I marvel at how nice it is to be experiencing all this natural wonder almost every day of the year. I just wish I didn't have to put up with all the insanity that comes part and parcel with life in paradise. It's quite exhausting! |
Well, that's it for now. I'm staying on in The Bahamas for a few more months and then I hope to be back in Canada for the end of April. I'm waiting for things to thaw out before I rush back up north. But, on a different note, here's a link to make you all jealous. Click here to see the monotonous weather forecasts I bravely put up in this place. What?... hot and sunny AGAIN?!!
over'n'out,
B.
