Catching

Thursday, April 19
Abraham's Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas

And so, this week, having checked into the Bahamas, and with fishing license in hand, we have begun, to the extent one still can, living off the ocean.

During the day, for the past few days, we've been venturing out to the four-mile-long reef to see what we can catch (that enormous grouper from last year is still hiding in the old wreck, still too wily for humans to catch him). At night, we turn the fish and conch we've caught into the main course for an ever-growing, travelling potluck. Conch fritters, conch chowder, and grilled fish with butter and lime have made the menu, along with sides of cornbread, thai noodles, chicken curry, and lemon poppyseed cake.

Unlike the enormous and anonymous potlucks in Trinidad and Grenada, where some boats would roll in with boxed mac and cheese or even plain Jello--one singlehander simply opened a can of beets one Sunday--our group, with nothing to do but snorkel and cook, has emptied the larders for every meal.

We are eating well here, but if we don't move soon, we'll be down to canned beets ouselves! The store, such as it is, is stocked to sell to whomever of the 200 total residents shops on this side of the island. Supplies for the store arrive twice a month by barge, weather permitting. From the looks of the shelves down here, I suspect we are somewhere toward the end of a shipping cycle. It's a good thing cabbage keeps so long.

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