Caribbean

Eating’ the Conch Penis…

rmiles7721February 18, 2008Travel

First check out the video…

We went down to Potter’s Cay early on Saturday afternoon. Actually we left the resort very early on Saturday and spent the morning walking around Nassau shopping and eating. It’s beautiful down there. I’ll tell you one thing though, fuck the walking and buses. Next time I take my own advice and drive, call a cab or rent scooters. I enjoyed the sites and being able to take pictures but we wasted about four hours on Saturday just walking so by the time we got back to Breezes I was ready for a nap.

After walking forever we got down to Potter’s Cay. Here’s what it looks like on the dry side.

Potter's Cay

I don’t guess anyone had used this boat in quite some time…

Nassau, Bahamas 101

This gull flew by at just the right moment…

Seagull

These guys were playing dominoes right next to the conch salad booth where we stopped. I’ll tell you one thing, they take their dominoes seriously. NOT a child’s game at all.

Dominos

I guess because of where I was sitting in the shade and the fact that it was so bright everywhere else, the exposures in a couple of these were really crappy. I had my dark shades on and wasn’t really paying attention or I would have most likely noticed in time to fix it. This is the dude that made the conch salad. He’s in the booth right next to the domino players and was extremely happy to chat with us while he made the salads. I forgot his damned name or I would have posted it here and told you guys to go visit him.

Nassau, Bahamas 105

The guy has been doing this for seventeen years. He buys conch from fishermen in the morning and makes salads all day long for both locals and tourists alike. Just a few bucks for a Heineken and Conch salad and it took both of us to eat it. Think cole slaw without the cabbage and with seafood. It really kicks ass. This is how he makes his living though and as he was so gracious and the food kicked so much ass I figured I would tell ya’ to go see him.

Conch Salad Ingredients

Those are the fixin’s above. He was making them two or three at a time to save on wasted food I am sure but for the three he made while we sat there He took and entire onion, a couple of tomatoes and a bell pepper and diced them up small, as well as one slice from a jabenero or some other type of hot pepper and a bit of sea salt. I found a recipe at the Hot Sauce Zone that has more involved ingredients and it sounds pretty good as well. Anyway he also diced up small a couple of fresh (raw) Conchs right out of the water behind his place, popped a hole in the shell to release the muscle that holds it in and pulled the damned thing out and started washing and cutting. After mixing all of the up he stuck it in a bowl and squeezed the juice out of a couple of limes and an orange as well. It was pretty damn refreshing after a hot walk to get down there.

Bridge to Paradise Island

Here are a couple of shots of Potter’s Cay from the water side.

Nassau, Bahamas 109

That big ugly pink thing behind the bridge? That’s the Atlantis resort. It’s not as close as it looks, it’s just fucking huge.

Oh yeah, the conch penis. The dude making the salad brings out these wiggly looking clear things to us and the bahamian sitting with his girlfriend right next to us. The other guy says “Conch Penis, better than Viagra” and down the fucker goes. I don’t think it’s the penis, but I ate it whatever the hell it was because I’m a guy and you can’t let one guy eat it and think you’re a pussy or anything. I wasn’t bad actually, supposedly has plenty of protein. Work like Viagra? I’ll never tattle…

Trinidad and Tobago

rmiles7721August 30, 2007Travel

…I don’t even remember what it was I was watching but there some action flick on last night before I went to bed and the location was down in the Caribbean, which of course got me to thinking about where I want to go on vacation in January or February. My September vacation is locked in already since the boy is graduating from boot camp we will be spending at least half the week in Beaufort, SC. As a matter of fact I just finished reserving a mini-van for the trip this morning and booked rooms last week.

Anyway, after Christmas it’s so dreary around here and that makes it the perfect time to go for a vacation in the Caribbean, perhaps in Trinidad. The weather that time of year is great. From what I understand, the temperature ranges from 70-85 degrees in January, neither too hot or too cold.

If you know your history you will know that Columbus discovered the island in 1498 and claimed it for Spain. Since there was no gold as there was in other parts of the Caribbean it wasn’t settled immediately. He also sited Tobago (naming it Assumption) but it was pretty much ignored until the 1600s. By the time a few years before the American Revolution there were only 800 inhabitants on the island and spain started offering incentives for people that were Catholic to immigrate there, whether spanish or not. By 1797 when the British took control of the island the population had grown to over 16,000 which included 2100 white Europeans and 4500 free Africans.

Since there were so many non-white land owners in Trinidad Britain granted the island Crown Colony status, which meant that the residents were denied the right to vote and kept them out of the political process. Trinidad finally gained independence from Britain in 1962 and Trinidad and Tobago together formed a republic in 1976. One cool fact about Trinidad is that it was the first country in the world to recognize emancipation from slavery.

trinidad.jpg
Like most of the Caribbean Trinidad and Tobago are blessed with warm blue seas and beautiful sunsets. It is the home of Carnival. Even though it is located just off the tip of Venezuela it is not considered part of the South American continent.