Hey,

We have been working in Island Harbour this week.  It’s got a different kind of vibe to it.. the place is on the far east end of the island, kind of separated and proudly, traditional fishing.  Interview appointments are flowing well at the moment but I think we might hit a high refusal wall soon…. it’s going to take a lot of charm to win over these boys!

Having said that the interviews we have conducted have been fascinating!  The fishermen mostly spear fish and fish with pots for crayfish and lobster.  They use smelly old cow hides as bait for the lobster.  One fisherman showed me where an octopus had sucked the body right out of his crayfish while it was caught in the trap leaving him an empty shell. The older guys talk about how they used to sail all over the Caribbean delivering goods and how virile and lush the inshore coral reefs used to be.  The younger guys get excited by the offshore fishing.

I was extremely lucky on our second day in Island Harbour to jump on one of the traditional racing boats while they were doing their practise run for a big race later that afternoon.  The boats are wide, open hull, with huge triangular sails –quite distinctive-looking, more like the dhows from the Persian sea.  I sat in the bottom of the baot basically acting as a sand bag (providing weight) whilst all the boys jumped from one side to the other trying to balance out the power of the wind tipping us over.  It was VERY exciting!  We watched then later from the safety of the beach during the race.

That night I also tried my first ‘pigs foot’.  It’s like a white, fatty, lump held together by a couple of bones, boiled forever in salt water until it turns into a gluey mess.  I just can’t understand why people love it so much…it’s more of a cankle than a foot and more like boiled tripe than pork ;/  In another unsatisfactory food first I also ate my first parrot fish.  After spending days learning all the species of parrot fish I now see them as my friends and (thanks to some training from Clare) I ate eat the eyeball first so it wouldn’t keep giving me the puppy dog eyes.

Sarah x