We have a banana stalk hanging from our boat. TROPICAL BABY!
So far we haven’t traded for fruit. We’ve either had it given to us by other cruisers or we’ve been in uninhabited places and picked what we could eat.
When we first arrived another boat that was loaded down with fruit after visiting a remote bay gave us 6 pamplemousse, a guava, a papaya, a stalk of bananas and a grocery bag of limes. I’ve been using our lime press from Mexico to squeeze limes by the half dozen for drinks.
We’ve grabbed our own coconuts and our own polynesian grapefruit. Husking and cracking a coconut is a skill we are still acquiring but with enough brute force we had a tasty snack. In one bay we found a bunch of untended lime trees and restocked.
The Filipino way of husking a ripe coconut: 1) shred the loose husk off the best you can before storing (I think they dry out the husk so it shreds easier, usually it gets to the market already shredded.) 2) hold the hard shelled coconut in one hand, crack it in half along it's equator with the blunt side of a machete. 3) scrape out the insides with a large coarse dremel, or a blunted heavy duty fork bolted to a small bench. I'm too gutless to open a coconut that way, and do the sidewalk+hammer method. How did you open yours?
ReplyDeleteFor a young coconut: 1) using a machete chop the top of the coconut down as close as you can get to the middle without puncturing it. 2) a) if the person is talented, they can clean off all the husk leaving just soft nutty coconut flesh balloon filled with coconut water, or more typically, b) they cut a hole in the exposed top to drain the water before cutting it in half and scraping out the insides.
This post reminded me how badly I miss the tropics. But in a good way. :)
Those images and your descriptions sound fantastic. I'm hoping to see that area for myself in a few years. I'm curious - how are you obtaining your internet connection? It sounds like you are in the middle of nowhere, and yet here are blog posts with images. How are you able to manage that?
ReplyDeleteoh man! I love fruit. The picture of the coast line is amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteDani
Congratulations Carol and Liva: We've been following your progress and will learn from you. Were' also curious as to how you're sending your blog, are you using your SSB to send it? Enjoy!!! We're staying here in Mexico for the foreseeable future. Lynn and Doug
ReplyDeleteBen - Carol used the sharp rock on the beach method for the husking and then the chisel method for opening it. Hopefully we'll get better!
ReplyDeleteCraig and Lynn - If you see a text only post it came from our SSB (and our pactor modem). If you see pictures, it came from wifi. We've found unlocked wifi so far in Atuona on Hiva Oa and at Taiohae in Nuku Hiva. Also, Sandra at Atuona does laundry and lets you use her wifi while she does yours.
Dani - thanks!